Bending Timber

[cqvillas]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone can give me some advice on bending timber.

I want to (if possible) bend a piece of timber, say Black Wattle or Camphor Laurel, that is 25mm wide x 2 or 3mm thick and 150 mm long (with the grain running the length of the piece) into an 'L' shape that has an internal radius of about 15mm or so.

I've been told in the past about wetting the timber then using the microwave but I don't know the process in detail i.e. how much soaking time in water or how long in the microwave & what power setting to use.

Has anyone had success bending timber this way?

I could just turn up a bowl as I have done in the past & then cut the piece out I want on the bandsaw, but this is a terrible waste of timber.

Any comments are appreciated.

Cheers

[tea lady]

Well...... that size would fit in a pot. Put it in a steamer over some water, (Maybe a bit longer, just to have some wiggle room.) Steam till its soft and clamp between a former. Either two bits of wood the right shape, or a wood form and a metal band. A test or two might be needed to see if there is spring back. Get "the Wood Benders Handbook" from the library. Lots of tips in there.:)

[cqvillas]

Shall give that a go.
Thanks Anne-Maria.

[NeilS]

Jake Darvall ( apricotripper (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/member.php?u=6445)<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_746724", true); </SCRIPT> ) has also been doing some steam bending and lives in camphor laurel country, so can probably advise you about that timber and his methods.

Neil

[Paul39]

Google "steam bending wood", lots comes up, among them this:

http://www.wcha.org/tidbits/steamfaq.html

[RufflyRustic]

You could also try cold-soaking the timber overnight or about 8 hours. The Shakers have done this successfully in making their Oval boxes.

Cheers
Wendy

[Groggy]

Have a look at the latest Fine Woodworking magazine. Inside that is a pipe bender that should be just about perfect for what you describe.

[cqvillas]

Thanks for all your comments.

I tried the steam bending approach but I guess I wasn't patient enough & it was a failure so I decided to cut the 'L' shaped piece from a solid block & using a dremel was able to shape it to the desired dimensions.

This piece is part of a wooden side cast fishing reel that I'm currently making for the Cooroy competition coming up in May. Will post photos etc when I finally complete the article.

Cheers
cqvillas

[tea lady]

Might I humbly suggest that you laminate wood to get your shape. I ended up doing that with my teapot handles cos i reasoned that the teapot might steam UNbend the handle. The same might happen with a fishing rod that is gonna spend a bit of time round water. :shrug:

[hughie]

with steaming you need to have the timber hot and wet right through its entire thickness. It always pays to have a test piece if you have not tried steaming the particular timber. Not all timbers will bend the same under steaming, in fact some are quite resistant to this method and other you can tie a knot in them.

As to strength, as suggested laminations would be the way to go.

[contrebasse]

YouTube - Bending linings

Above I am bending 4mm x 25mm silky oak

the iron needs to be too hot to touch. The wood needs to be damp. You can use an upturned clothes iron on HOT

place the wood on the iron till it gets hot all the way through, too hot to touch, both sides. THEN start your bend slowly. Not hard once you get to the right temperature. Water is only to protect from scorches, really. But it helps.

[Hickory]

Reading these posts I got the thinking you may have tried to bend too sharp a turn. Wood bending (steamming or boiling or laminating) is done in Arcs and sweeps not "L" shaped. If you want to bend tight corners then you have to soak in Liquid Anhydrous Ammonia. The the wood becomes like rubber untill the Ammonia dries up.

We experimented with this process when I was in school back in the 60s, trying to find an ecconomical way to shape wood w/o waste (even then we were thinking "Green" it is not a new phenomina) Didn't pan out because of the Toxic Death Factor, Safety issues, Expense of the Ammonia and now days because of the Meth problems Drug Dummys are stealing it from farmers to make Meth.

[contrebasse]

Ah but you CAN bend even thick timber around a 1" radius or less. It's important to use airdried timber and keep the wood in longitudinal compression with a steel strap. if the outer edge of the bend is allowed to stretch, the bend will fail. Thin wood bending, as described above is even easier. guitar and violinmakers do it all the time. No ammonia needed.