Thread: Laminating native veneer for teapot handles

yes, another can of worms, but then again, maybe not.

A water bath! The Shaker site shows a long box filled with water that is kept at a certain temperature and is used to soak/soften the timber before bending.

Hmm, one pot of water on the stove, now that I can do!! Heat the water, simmer gently or whatever the instructions say, then fit the handle into the mould/jig and put it aside to set

What do you think?

cheers
Wendy

Some years back I made a cabinet from Sally Wattle and had a small problem with the boards cupping. S, I thinked a thunk and the solution was as follows:
1)teatowel ( or other cloth) soaked in hot water and placed on tray
2)some pieces of 4x2 placed around and board placed on these so that the concave curve faced down and was exposed to water vapour, convex curve upwards exposed to sun.
3) keep eye on this, when nearly straight remove board and simply sit in sun (same way up) for a few minutes.
No cost but effective!!

A similar principal would apply to steaming your handles:
1) steam the outside of the curve while heating the inside of the Curve
2) hold ends close togetherwhile doing each layer so they hold their shape
3) set in jig, glue and clamp.

Again I suggest you look up nightingale chemicals. They once told me that they make glues for absolutely all timbe purposes.
Good luck.

Tea Lady,

There is a cross linked PVA called Titebond 2, it is waterproof when dry. I bought mine at Carba Tec, but Im sure one of the forum vendors would carry it.

Another thought for bending. The rig is called a Fox Bender, look at this one http://www.lint.org/TechNotes/lowcostbender.html the basic idea is that the globes heat the wetted timber and the clamps progressively pull it into shape. Used by luthiers the world over.

Love your forms! I assume you are selling them, XMAS is coming.......

Sebastiaan

Just done a bit of research at that place where lowest prices are just the beginning.
According to my reading of box, tube and tin labels Selleys RECORSINOL seems to be the go. meets the requirements of standing ip under high stree and exposure to water.

G'day Tea Lady,
Fitstly Welcome to the forum,
I have had some sucess with some similar bending and laminating jobs by soaking the timber completely for a day or so then bending it till dry, then Aquadhere, Maybe a rivet or two through the center would take some strain off the glue as well.
Cheers ravlord

So you don't think the steam from making tea in the tea pot would unbend the bentwood handle?

Good question!!

Is there a lid on the pot? If so, does the lid have a steam hole in it?

If not, then I'd say the handles should be fine.

But then, I'm not a tea drinker so maybe some the tea appreciators had better answer

cheers
Wendy

So I finally got to Bunnungs without the kid in tow so I could have decent poke around without the background whining mucking up the concentration, and found what I was looking for . No, not the meaning of life but the urea formaldehyde glue. Is called "Selleys 308 High Stress Glue". It is a bit pricey, but at least I can have a go with a small amount before investing in a 5 ltr vat of it. buying the larger quantities means the price is comparable with ye olde PVA. but I couldn't see myself ever using that much just making teapot handles. Anyone want to become part owner of a vat of glue?

I've been woodbending for six months and have completed 15 projects using bent wood. Based on my limited experience: if your bends aren't holding you either got the wrong glue, your laminations are too thick, or both. If you can get a copy, Lon Shcleining's book on Wood Bending (ISBN 0941936546) has been a great help to me.

Handles are delaminating. I don't actually seem to have any spring back at all even, let alone unbending. So I think it is the wrong glue. May get to try my glue sample today even if I have to fumigate the five year old in the process. (Just joking. I'll at least open a window, or send him or me outside) I think some of the native tropical woods are not only close grained but exude a really waxy oil too so PVA is fairly useless. Is it kosher to glue laminations with "Liquid Nails"? And what is it anyway? Just polyurethane by another name?

Nice looking handles on the teapot.

Selleys 308 is the only glue i have used that i couldnt get a satisfactory result with. Dunno what it is, but i dont like it.

If you need urea, go to http://www.avsyntec.com.au/ and use the AV201 with the liquid hardner not powder. Its fantastic glue and brilliant for laminating. Even adding 5-10% PVA will give the bond a bit of elasticity wich would be needed with the constant change in heat and moisture from the hot pot.

Having said that, i would use West System epoxy and filler. You can get small bottles with measuring pumps that are reasonably priced.

Originally Posted by tea lady

Handles are delaminating. I don't actually seem to have any spring back at all even, let alone unbending. So I think it is the wrong glue. May get to try my glue sample today even if I have to fumigate the five year old in the process. (Just joking. I'll at least open a window, or send him or me outside) I think some of the native tropical woods are not only close grained but exude a really waxy oil too so PVA is fairly useless. Is it kosher to glue laminations with "Liquid Nails"? And what is it anyway? Just polyurethane by another name?

Wipe the wood with acetone before immediately gluing. It cleans away all the oils so the glue sticks.

Originally Posted by tea lady

Handles are delaminating. I don't actually seem to have any spring back at all even, let alone unbending. So I think it is the wrong glue. May get to try my glue sample today even if I have to fumigate the five year old in the process. (Just joking. I'll at least open a window, or send him or me outside) I think some of the native tropical woods are not only close grained but exude a really waxy oil too so PVA is fairly useless. Is it kosher to glue laminations with "Liquid Nails"? And what is it anyway? Just polyurethane by another name?

Could I suggest that your real problem is not the glue but overtight clamping causing glue starvation. Try using the very minimum pressure needed to get the laminations to conform to shape.
BTW, good luck with the black bean. I've never tried to bend it, but I did try turning and it's weak and brittle stuff.

Edit: Are you leaving your laminations clamped until the glue develops full strength. Typical time is on the label.
And there is nothing laughable about your jig. It looks perfectly functional to me.
Did anybody answer your spelling query? I think you want "abhor".

My hubby made the bow for this chair from ironbark, which is quite a brittle wood. The bow was made of about 5 or 6 pieces laminated together. He steamed them for quite a while (cant remember how long) and placed them in the mold straight away. They were clamped in the mold for about a week. When removed they were given a light hand sand, glued with pva and put back in the mold for another day or two in the same order that they were previously. The curve in the mold was tighter radius than what he wanted the finished radius to be to allow for springback. Then it was taken out and reshaped. I used to have a fact sheet with a list of the aussie timbers most suitable for bending, if I find it I will post some of them.

I love your little teapots, and have always admired the shaker boxes, will try and make one one day.

donna