Thread: Steam Generator

You can use ply for the box. Buy a wallpaper steamer for the steam generator.

Hi John,

I have used a Wagner Wall Paper Stripper for steam bending for about 10 years. Works well and needs to be refilled about hourly; reheats quickly. Mine cost about $80 from Mitre 10; should have bought two!

I stopped using my steam box when I bought the steam generator, then junked that box two years later - it is redundant technology.

All my bending is now done in a plastic bag. It works far better than a steam box and you keep it steaming while you are bending.
https://www.google.com/search?client...iPQIwSEJM,st:0
Do some googling "steam bending in a plastic bag" and watch some videos. You buy the plastic bag material in 50 metre rolls.

Originally Posted by John Samuel

It looks likely that I'll need to do some steam heating.

Can the brains trust provide ideas for a steam generator and a steam box that will take 300 mm wide and 1,200 long veneers. I was thinking of using ply for the box, but would appreciate any other ideas, especially for sealing the box on the inside.

Do most folk make their own steamer ... or do they buy a steam generator?

John, given that what you currently wish to do is flatten some [many ?] sheets of 3mm thick sawn veneer, what you could do is poor near boiling water onto the worst veneers and clamp the veneers between thick flat cauls while they dry. Use paper towel to soak up the excess water while veneers dry.
Perhaps less work than attempting to steam the sheets

Originally Posted by ian

John, given that what you currently wish to do is flatten some [many ?] sheets of 3mm thick sawn veneer, what you could do is poor near boiling water onto the worst veneers and clamp the veneers between thick flat cauls while they dry. Use paper towel to soak up the excess water while veneers dry.
Perhaps less work than attempting to steam the sheets

Worth a try, the KISS principle. As I mentioned above - ramp it up only if you have too. It's not like you only get one shot at it.

With a steam box setup etc you must be well organized and well setup to reap the benefits as you only have a very short "open time" to get the piece out of the steam box and into position and clamped. We used to make our own 16" sailing skiffs in the 1970's (before Tupperware (GRP) boats came along) with diagonal veneer hulls and steam bent frames from red cedar & northern silver ash. Many hands are very helpful, but only if they don't get in the way!

I like Graeme's suggestion. The only steam bending I have done in a while has been small stuff, steamed over an open boiler. Even that may work for you if the warps are spot areas (around knots or compression figure etc.) on the sheets.

The "steam box" can even be something as simple as a large heavy duty plastic bag constrained between whatever you have on hand, though it needs to have some fall so condensation drains away and be vented so the steam flows through nicely. We used to comandeer an old fashioned laundry boiler (they were still about in the 1960's & 70's) and cobbled up a steam flue system.

I do love this forum.

The best decision I ever made whilst woodworking was to join this forum. People like Ian and Wongo educated me about seasonal wood movement. Ian gave me ideas and encouraged me to try veneering, which changed the way I made cabinets. Wongo beat me until I bought a Domino. BobL was my guide to upgrading the dust collection system. auscab guided me through my first dovetailed cabinet. IanW, PJT, Chris Parkes, Pagie, Graeme Cook, Mobyturns, and many others have attended to my education, for which I will be forever grateful.

Today I got several ideas/different approaches to help eliminate the buckling and warping in my veneers. One way or another, I am confident the problem will be solved, thanks to the skill, kindness and generosity of the brains trust.

A thousand thanks to the brains trust.

a) Completely agree re the value and positivism of the brains trust - not always stated enough, but its a real 'force mutiplier' for problems etc, and this has to be one of the least fractious forums (fora?) I've ever engaged with.

b) Plus 1 for the Wagner steamer. I use mine with a length of plastic downpipe for steaming stringers for boats etc. Good bit of kit if you need to generate steam safely and reliably.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

Hi John,

I have used a Wagner Wall Paper Stripper for steam bending for about 10 years. Works well and needs to be refilled about hourly; reheats quickly. Mine cost about $80 from Mitre 10; should have bought two!

I stopped using my steam box when I bought the steam generator, then junked that box two years later - it is redundant technology.

All my bending is now done in a plastic bag. It works far better than a steam box and you keep it steaming while you are bending.
https://www.google.com/search?client...iPQIwSEJM,st:0
Do some googling "steam bending in a plastic bag" and watch some videos. You buy the plastic bag material in 50 metre rolls.

I did buy two steamers, The 1 I got from England was cheeper than the one from the big green store. I looked into getting the plastic bag rolls but was too dear for what I needed at the time. Where do you get yours?

Originally Posted by Pagie

... I looked into getting the plastic bag rolls but was too dear for what I needed at the time. Where do you get yours?

I bought it on the web - cannot remember where.

I got Duraplas brand - it was recommended to me as more reliable than Asian imports. Apparently it is made on North Coast, NSW.

I bought 2 boxes/rolls of it - Duraplas clear layflat poly tubing - 100 um thick and 350 m long.

• 155 mm wide - cost $99.
• 300 mm wide - cost $199.

Stanley packaging has LayFlat Poly Tubing 350mm 100UM Natural 7.5kg/roll. $48.64 per roll, $76.46 including shipping.

I use an old hot water urn for my steam setup. Got the idea from Darren Oates. Just drilled a whole in the top of lid and used some poly pipe and fittings to divert steam. Gets a good couple of hours of steam before refilling.IMG_0132.jpg Could probably find a better way than some bricks to hold lid on but mines a bit bent and it works.

Originally Posted by shanesmith80

I use an old hot water urn for my steam setup. .00

I used a similar set up before I got the Wagner - it heats up a lot faster.

The real break through was using plastic bags rather than a steam box. Technique just works so much better. I do not stop the steam flow untill after I have finished clamping - no rush, and the materiial stays fully flexible.

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

I used a similar set up before I got the Wagner - it heats up a lot faster.

The real break through was using plastic bags rather than a steam box. Technique just works so much better. I do not stop the steam flow untill after I have finished clamping - no rush, and the materiial stays fully flexible.

You convinced me, Graeme.

I have ordered some flat tubing. As soon as it arrives I'll pick up a steamer from Bunnings.

When you get the gear, John, like everything else, it is worth practicing. There is a learning curve, but not a hard one.

I just fold over the needs of the tube and staple it; a mate glues his. Some steam condenses in the bag, so keep it facing down hill so it drains - 5 degrees. Usually I bend, clamp, disconnect steam, wait for it to set - one hour - take it out of bag, re-clamp and leave it overnight to dry.

You can bend a little more and a little tighter than with a steam box. Remember, timber is basically cellulose tubes glued together with lignin - when we steam we are loosening and resetting the lignin. One little trick after you have steam softened your timber:

• By hand, bend the timber in the bag as far as you are comfortable,
• Then bend it in the opposite direction as far as feels comfortable,
• Then bend the other way,
• With each iteration you will be able to bend a little further and the timber becomes noticeably more flexible.

You can also use this technique to twist timber.

Warning: You are handling a bag of steam so be careful. I wear leather riggers gloves and am always aware of where the bag ends are and where steam leaks are likely to occur.

Graeme and John, and all the others reading this thread

John's immediate problem is how to flatten some approx 3mm thick shop sawn veneers that he has cut from a green log.

While a full steamer setup is not something I would ever wish to discourage, steaming is almost always reserved for bending wood to shape -- think chair rails, boat ribs, back slats, etc -- where the bending form provides the desired shape.

In John's immediate need I believe his real challenge will be getting his veneers flat enough that he can adhere them to the substrate (without the whole lot warping) and then put the whole structure through his desired finishing steps.

To do this, John made need to invest in some fairly serious steel UBs when stiffening his clamping -- flattening -- cauls.