On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 15:34:31 GMT, Brian Nystrom
wrote:

steveJ wrote:

Well Nick, I must admit that where I saw this was not on a boat.
Musical instrument makers have been doing this for centuries to bend the
sides of guitars and such. Though the wood was thin, I've seen a guitar
maker bend honduran mahogany using a two inch iron pipe that was set up
on a stand with a propane torch burning in the middle of the pipe.
water was sprayed on the surface of the wood to prevent burning. Worked
very well. I wonder if this concept/tool cold be used for larger pieces
for bending ribs on small boats. I see no reason why it wouldn't work
when making small ribs like for a kayak or something.

I suspect that it would be difficult to get even heating of a 1/4" thick
kayak rib, but it might be worth a try. However, steam bending is so
easy that I'm not sure if the experiment would be worth the effort.

How even does it have to be? As I posted earlier, the curved sides of
Flemish harpsichords were bent over a hot iron, probably the top of
the shop stove, for about 2 centuries. The bent side started over 1/2
in thick. It is a little thinner at the area of greatest curvature
because they had to scrape the charcoal off before they could paint
it.


Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

Smoking in a bar is like peeing in a punchbowl.