Thread: Has anyone successfully steam bent Jarrah?

Ramps,as I understand it the best results are under controlled conditions by having the slats/laths in a container subject to steam for a period of time dependant on the timber thickness(I don't have the necessary details to hand)and then placed on a former with clamps to arrive at the desired shape/form.


Bootles "WOOD IN AUSTRALIA" recommends Jarrah as a timber suitable for bending but obviously that would be under controlled conditions.
quote"suitable for steam bending" unquote.

You have to make a former template of the desired shape you require with provision for clamping at numerous intervals ...the more clamps the better particularly where the stress's are implied.

Do a Google search on steam bending for a more defined explanation.THERE'S a heap of info out there ..more than I can try to help you with.

Cheers

Is it air dried or kiln dried?

Kiln dried isn't helping you, air dried will be easier.

If you can find some air dried white oak, you should be on the money, big time.

The oak bends wonderfully, is fine in water, plenty strong and is a medium brown as is, but can be easily chemically stained (steel wool/vinegar) to give you anything the light side of jet black. Maybe not quite as hard/tough as Jarrah, but I don't think you will find out how far short it is. I can't break a 10mm x 10mm stick, and I am not a weakling.


If you can find some pre-used wine/whisky barrels, then that's what you want. BTDT.

Ramps,

Jarrah is suitable for steam bending according to the old AS on timber for wooden boat building.

Steaming is easy to do and doesn't take much to set up. I used a length of 4" pvc pipe with store bought connectors to do some hard tas oak gunwales on a little dinghy a few years back. I used a new 5 litre petrol tin for a boiler and put a piece of 4"x2" under the pvc as it goes very soggy. Couple of pieces of dowel at regular intervals made a rack inside the pvc. Remember what ever you do do not have any pressure in the system as there aren't to many things more dangerous than steam under pressure.

I have graduated from my first box to a lovely 18 gallon stainless steel refreshment container with large gas ring and a custom extendable steam box from 3/4" ply. Put some lovely huon planks on yesterday that went from horizontal through a 90 degree twist to vertical over about 2' and they basically melted on to the boat. See pic of setup below.( note that the hose is shorter now so water doesn't sit in the lower part - it drains back in to the boiler)

Work on the rule of 1 hour per inch of thickness. If the timber is bone dry, soak it for a while in water(about a week) and then the moisture in the timber will help conduct the heat whilst being steamed. Steaming actually dries the timber alot so you should be able to steam them on and leave for a few days for the moisture content to drop down again if you are going to glue them on.

Another way is to wrap the timber in rags on top of a sheet of plastic and pour boiling water on it and really saturate the rags. Wrap the whole lot up and repeat the process until the timber is "soft" enough to take up your curve.

When the timber is hot enough it will bend around easily. Just remember that you have about 30 seconds from when you take it out of the steam box until the timber has started to cool and fight you. Be organised with all the clamps ready to go( and clamping pads as steamed timber will be dented easily by the clamps). Don't bend it too quickly, just nice easy convincing is what you want. If it is too hard to bend, don't fight it just put it back in the steambox for another 5 or 10 minutes.

Once the timber is on, let it cool for a while before you take it off. If there was a lot of fight in it leave it over night. It should hold it's shape no worries.

Hope this helps.

AD

Ramps I just re-read your post and missed something first time around.

I reckon the stem of a canoe is quite a tight radius to bend anything around - especially 6mm hardwood. Try reducing the thickness of the jarrah to 3mm and you might be surprised at how it goes.

regards,

AD

AD, that is an interesting set up.

What are the 2 bits of metal pipe sticking out of the keg?

Thanks for the help ... flash setup AD ... I'm curious too.

Yes I have read that Jarrah is "suitable" but have found no one that has been successful .. including myself.

I used the 2" pvc jobby strapped to a piece of 2x4 over the spout of a kettle type job as per Ted Moores Canoecraft book I'll post a pic tonight

Yes the stem is a rather tight curve and yes I have a dozen or so clamping points but haven't got anywhere near the second one yet. I'll post a pic of that as well tonight.

The Jarrah not kiln dried but in some ways might be equivalent ... does 50-70 years under a tiled roof equate to a kiln?

6.4mm eqautes to about 1/4" ... which equates to about 1/4 right ... I decided to trial it at about 25min for good measure ... no where near good enough

Just wondering if Karri might be better ... couldn't find any evidence re karri with steam-bending. Otherwise Sheoak (Casuarina Fraserana over this part of the world) is meant to be better for bending ... has anyone tred either of these?

Might try to thin it down to 3mm and have another go but wanted to know if anyone has tried and succeeded bending Jarrah or if I'm wasting my time!

Thanks again for your suggestions ... more welcome

I haven't tried Jarrah, but have steam-bent Spotted gum, and works very well too! There is very little work time though, going from supple to stiff in a minute. I wouldn't consider 1/4" too thick.
Regards the seasoning, just been reading through some info I sent another Forum member, and it mentioned that kiln dried timber can be difficult, as Clinton said. Maybe the roof dried stuff is much the same.:confused:

Good luck with it.

Heard my name called!

I've been thinking about this ... thinking only.
One of the questions I'll end up asking on my canoe questions thread is about bending the timber for the stem - so I'm watching with interest and waiting for the resident experts to weigh in.

Good question Ramps!

Cliff and Ramps,

Tall pipe is for filling. It goes down to about 1/2" off the bottom so no splashback when filling.

Second pipe is about 2" off the bottom with a steam whistle on it so the pot lets me know when it's time to refill.

And by the way, it is not a keg, it is a refreshment container I found.......

regards,

AD

Originally Posted by bloggs1968

...tall pipe is for filling. ..
Second pipe is ...a steam whistle ....

Cool that makes sense, where did you get the steam whistle?
Off an old kettle?

Originally Posted by bloggs1968

And by the way, it is not a keg, it is a refreshment container I found.......
..

What's the difference? :confused:

Yeah Cliff just a whistle off a kettle.

regarding the refreshment container - name only makes a difference to the manufacturer.

regards,

AD

Heres an FAQ about bending wood.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/woodworking/wood-bend/

Thanks Echidna
I managed to stumble upon this site but ...

"All of my steam bending has been with either Oak or Mahogany. I've
never tried any other wood as I do this work in my
boatbuilding/restoration. So I cannot comment authoritatively on
bending other woods like cedar, pine, poplar etc.

And if I haven't actually DONE it, I will not comment on it. I will
not state anything here that I have ONLY read out of a book and not
tried." hmmm ... Gregg Germain the author of that FAQ

I feel maybe that I should have started with a timber that is well proven to bend well then would know what meant to happen.

And Andy I have heard that spotted gum bends well but availabilty might well be limited over here. ... can you email some thru for me, there's a god fellow.

However if you read the FAQ fully it is about bending timber.
He states that KD timber can be bent.
He also lists various reasons for bending failures and workarounds.

As Jarrah is said to be bendable then the faq must have merit.