First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/14/20, 6:08 PM #1

Tom G
Guest

First time steam bend troubleshoot

Tom G

Hi. I have been building stuff out of wood for 20ish years, and last night I decided to finally take a plunge into steambending. The strip did not get as flexible as I expected. In fact it hardly bent at all without a good bit of hand held pressure. Could someone tell me what I am doing wrong (to avoid a whole bunch of trial and error). The strip I tried to bend was ash--an 8 inch strip about 60" long. Bend was ~5 inches. My box is 72" x 4" x 2" internal dimensions. I got the box up to 200 deg (thanks to the wife for use of the meat thermometer). Could not get it any hotter. Once at this temp, I let the strip steam for 7-8 minutes (per the steam generator mfr instructions). I put the inlet for the steam hose in the middle of the box since it is the middle of the strip I am trying to bend the radius into. (I know its generally recommended to put the inlet at one end). The strip was elevated with some dowels to allow steam to circulate all around it. I was using this product to heat the water. (Note the hose is 12 ft long) https://www.woodcraft.com/products/earlex-steam-generator-for-bending-wood

I can think of a lot of causes for my lack of success, including box volume too big/not hot enough, improper inlet placement, hose too long, insufficient steam time, stock too thick, too much time to get stock into the clamps. I am pretty sure the grain in the stock was ok.

I appreciate the help.

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/14/20, 6:17 PM #2

Kneale Brownson
Member
Offline
1,031 posts

Registered: 8/1/07

Isn't an hour per inch of thickness advised?

- - -

I’m a fairly spry 82-year-old who had been a reader/participant at WoodCentral since the demise of Badger Pond. I started visiting BP to learn something about finish for a project I’d completed and became hooked on internet forums as a way of increasing my knowledge about all sorts of topics. I have been a moderator for a couple other forums on subjects I enjoy. My interest in woodworking began in the early 1970’s when my wife and I had contractors add to our house near Traverse City, MI, and I ended up doing the trim work to reduce mounting costs. I had no tools. I bought a P-C skilsaw, hammer, screwdrivers and one of those wooden miter boxes with a backsaw. I made trim for windows and doors from one-by lumber and started my woodworking career. At the same time, I started a 50-year career as a ski instructor. I got onto the night shift at a mental hospital so I could ski days, and spent my 30s and 40s with that schedule. I eventually replaced the PC-upside-down-in-a-board with a real table saw and began the purchase of enough equipment to fill a jam-packed 40-foot shipping container we used after we sold our property in Michigan. The ski instructing had taken us to Colorado and we were spending too much on maintaining utilities for two homes. A couple years ago, the dozen years spent at 10,000 feet of elevation was making my body produce too many red blood cells, so we had to leave my “forever” home in the mountains and we moved back to Michigan. Now I have to find myself a shop space for all those tools in the container.

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/14/20, 6:23 PM #3

Tom G
Guest

Re: Isn't an hour per inch of thickness advised?

Tom G

Thanks. To clarify, the piece was 1/8 inch thick, which works out to 7 or 8 minutes, I believe.

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/14/20, 7:19 PM #4

TJD Edmonton
Guest

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

TJD Edmonton

My experience is that ash is tough to bend. I found that I needed to steam it for a lot longer that the books say. I'd give it at least 15 min for 1/8" maybe a bit longer. It will still be a tough bend but should go OK. The moisture and heat seem to take longer to penetrate into ash.

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/14/20, 7:52 PM #5

Dick Coers
Member
Offline
5,250 posts

Registered: 8/7/07

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

Dick Coers

Air dried wood steam bends easier than kiln dried. Long straight grain also bends easier. And, unless the boards come from the same tree, no two bend the same. No such thing is a number in a book to tell you what works.

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/14/20, 7:55 PM #6

Jack Guzman from Maine
Member
Offline
3,329 posts

Registered: 5/9/04

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

Jack Guzman from Maine

I find it harder to bend kiln dried wood. Steam bending is pretty simple. If the piece won't bend well you should steam it longer. Sounds like you have the method right. Experiment.

- - -

I am a carpenter by trade.Also a handyman/Jack -of-all-trades.I work around my neighborhood mostly helping people keep up their old houses.I have a fairly large woodworking shop in my house where I work with both hand and power tools. At the moment I'm focusing on Windsor chairs building.I will build most anything if needed. I'm always learning,adapting,changing trying to broaden my woodworking skills.I work mostly with hand tools in my shop but will use power if it is a better way to get the desired result. My wife,Donna,and I live in the woods of Maine with our dogs,cats,and birds. We have 5 grown kids and six grandchildren. Woodcentral has been central to my growth as a woodworker. I pass through this place every day.

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/15/20, 12:04 AM #7

Bruce, a MN Galoot
Member
Offline
3,764 posts

Registered: 1/7/04

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot *LINK*

Bruce, a MN Galoot

That radius can be hard to bend without a backing strap. Here’s a really good tutorial from Lee Valley, available online.

LV steam bending booklet

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/15/20, 5:35 PM #8

Pete in Holland MI
Guest

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

Pete in Holland MI

This guy has a lot of experience in bending. This is a pretty cool video of 10 common issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pPKUgpn0CI

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

6/15/20, 9:25 PM #9

Barry Irby
Member
Offline
13,125 posts

Registered: 1/27/05

Re: First time steam bend troubleshoot

Barry Irby

My son wanted to make a guitar. I resawed some air dried cherry for him and set up a home made heat pipe. He bent the body on tow pieces. I was at work and did not witness what he did, but he had pretty good luck with it. The heat pipe was a piece of about two inch pipe screwed into a flange and mounted horizontally with a propane torch inside it. Might give that a try. I wonder if you could do both at the same time, steam and heat pipe?

First time steam bend troubleshoot

Posts