# Steam bending



## gman2431 (Apr 2, 2016)

Anyone here do it? 

Its one of the things I don't see much of on here and am surprised I don't. 

If anyone has any experience doing it I would love to pick your brain if willing! 

Either way i am building one here soon and will learn the hard way if no advise. Lol. 

Thanks!!


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## Tony (Apr 2, 2016)



Reactions: Agree 1


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## ripjack13 (Apr 2, 2016)




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## Jerry B (Apr 3, 2016)

I've done a bit in the past when I was making custom furniture, 
will answer any/all questions that I can, else I can refer you to sites with the info that I don't know

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## gman2431 (Apr 3, 2016)

Jerry B said:


> I've done a bit in the past when I was making custom furniture,
> will answer any/all questions that I can, else I can refer you to sites with the info that I don't know



Awesome! 

Pretty sure I have the steamer figured out. Pvc with holes in the top for flow and some standoffs in the bottom so the piece can be fully engulfed by the steam. 

I plan to make up jigs and go straight from the steamer to bending and clamping. 

I've read QS wood is the best to bend with less chance of breaking. With that said I'm interested to know how important MC is since I Will basically be introducing all kinds of it back into the wood. Let's say is EMC good enough? I don't see the point of having kiln dried wood but this is the part I don't know about. 

Also once clamped up and shapes made is there a certain timeframe to wait before glueing to let the wood dry out again ? 

Really appreciate it Jerry!


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## Mike1950 (Apr 3, 2016)

Done very little. I think air dried wood is better. I have done quite a bit of bend lams. and QS is much better and type of wood really makes a difference in success rate. What are you building


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## gman2431 (Apr 3, 2016)

Mike1950 said:


> Done very little. I think air dried wood is better. I have done quite a bit of bend lams. and QS is much better and type of wood really makes a difference in success rate. What are you building



Mine will be laminations also I shoulda mentioned that. 

My plan is to make some trout nets and also some long handled boat nets for steelhead. 

I'm thinking just maple and walnut for making the hoops but using some figured stuff/burly stuff for handles.


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## Mike1950 (Apr 3, 2016)

gman2431 said:


> Mine will be laminations also I shoulda mentioned that.
> 
> My plan is to make some trout nets and also some long handled boat nets for steelhead.
> 
> I'm thinking just maple and walnut for making the hoops but using some figured stuff/burly stuff for handles.



I have Great luck with white oak QS Good luck with mahogany- bad luck with maple cherry and walnut. Bend lams -no steam

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## Mike1950 (Apr 3, 2016)

Sorta like a fishnet

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## barry richardson (Apr 3, 2016)

I have done some, my first rig was a turkey roasting pan fitted with a radiator hose, on a hot plate, with a PVC chamber like yours. I tossed that when I moved cause I found a garment steamer on discount at a fabric store, haven't set that one up yet. As far as woods, air dried is preferable to kiln dried, ash, hickory, cherry, white oak, maple, bend well, and probably others I have never used. Most wood databases give the bending characteristics of wood. In general, exotics don't bend well. And much depends on the thickness of what you're bending. I found it was kind of trial and error on how long to steam, but as far as I know you can't oversteam, so be patient and give it plenty of time. You have to move fast once you take it out of the steamer,.. you have about a minute of plasticity at most, so jigs, clamps, etc need to be staged and ready to go.... You have probably already picked up most of this info from your research, but looks like some of us might be able to answer your questions... let us know how it goes. What are you bending? Secret stuff?

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Mike1950 (Apr 3, 2016)

next time I try cherry or maple- I guess I will steam- I had horrible luck with both.

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## Blueglass (Apr 3, 2016)

I have used the old propane torch style of bending like luthiers use. Took some practice for sure. When I first tried with my dad for violin making I did horrible with curly maple. Then recently I bent some mesquite. I had to learn the feel of the wood turning rubbery. After that it went pretty easy.

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## gman2431 (Apr 3, 2016)

Thanks Barry. You must have missed my other response but I will be building nets. 

My rig I plan to build is exactly like the one you threw away. Lol. 

My strips will be around a .25 inch thick. 

Good to know about not being able to oversteam. I have no problem waiting and can keep myself busy while it does it's thing. 

I already have people willing to buy so I figure it's something I should endevour in.

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## gman2431 (Apr 3, 2016)

Blueglass said:


> I have used the old propane torch style of bending like luthiers use. Took some practice for sure. When I first tried with my dad for violin making I did horrible with curly maple. Then recently I bent some mesquite. I had to learn the feel of the wood turning rubbery. After that it went pretty easy.



Never heard of this. Gonna have to check it out for curiosity sake!


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## Blueglass (Apr 3, 2016)

I hope you grab some pics of your set up and how it works. I've been wanting to make a steam box as well but figured I'd go the way I knew because I had everything already.


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## gman2431 (Apr 3, 2016)

Blueglass said:


> I hope you grab some pics of your set up and how it works. I've been wanting to make a steam box as well but figured I'd go the way I knew because I had everything already.



Oh for sure, it will be a couple months probably before I really get serious and give it a run. Trying to figure out the details, materials and potential surprises first.


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## Blueglass (Apr 3, 2016)

Pretty much you get a fairly big steel pipe nipple, Light the torch and place inside and it heats the strip of wood. You kinda rock the wood back and forth and will feel it start to go floppy. I then use the drum shells I have for it as a mold. It takes a lot of effort to bend straight this way. I think the steam box and a mold will be much better for furniture and such. I have plans...

Similar to mine.

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## barry richardson (Apr 3, 2016)

1/4 thick shouldn't be a problem. About the quarter sawn vs flat sawn, I have never really noticed a difference, I have an antique white oak rocker which has some ( I assume) steam bent parts, they are flat sawn....

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## Kevin (Apr 3, 2016)

My limited 2-project experience with steam bending went off perfectly. I built the standard 4" PVC steamer from plans in a woodworking mad around '94 before I had internet. One project was a breadbox and the other a chair that I never finished because I couldn't get the seat scooped oout to my satisfaction. I could do it now but I didn't have the proper tools back then for seat shaping. Actually I did but I didn't know it - I had a 4" grinder I could have bought 60 grit paper for but I never thought of it.

Steam bending is not hard at all. The most important thing is making sure your jigs are perfect, then steam a test piece and test out your jigs for spring back. Use welding gloves and tongs - steam coming out of the tube is HOT.

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## Jerry B (Apr 3, 2016)

sorry for the late response ....... yessir, QS bends better with less chances for cracking/splitting
wet(ish) wood will take the steam better/quicker than dry woods, since dried woods will need the moisture to penetrate all the way to core of pieces
when building your jigs always make the bend greater (tighter) than desired finish shape, when you release the wood from the jig after drying, it will spring back a bit,
how much it springs back will be determined by the species (density of wood) and it's thickness/size
using the concept you have pictured, I'd make the bend greater/tighter by about 1" (1/2" each "leg").
As for amount of steam and time, general rule was a minimum 2 hours steaming for 1" thickness, and leaving longer doesn't hurt, and in fact could help.
Some pieces, depending on how tight the curve might need to be done in several sessions (steam/bend as much as possible/ dry/ and repeat until final shape is reached)
Drying time will also depend on the species you're using ...... denser more oily woods will bend easier but take longer to dry , and will also retain their shape more readily.

The box I used to use was 3 sided, front/back/bottom/top ..... the sides were left open (to accept longer pieces), using thick plastic sheeting to retain the steam in the box.
I had a 3" PVC pipe running across the bottom (about 1" up off the bottom) with 1/8" holes drilled for steam to escape.
Holes were drilled approximately every 1/4" in 3 staggered rows, you'll have to play with the number/spacing of holes until you get the desired amount of steam you want

Softer species woods will bend pretty easy & quicker, but will also spring back more than denser woods
I'll try and find some of my bookmarked links and post for more general help ....... there are also quite a few good tutorials on YouTube so you can visualize the process

*edit* I agree with Mike, if you can bend & glue up laminations it'll be easier and go quicker than trying to steam a solid piece, and also retain it's shape better

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## Strider (Apr 4, 2016)

Cool thread :D
I have a question about bending veneer. I tried boiling some, I've tried coocking it till the water goes beyond boiling, but the bastards always split. Is it because the wood doesn't want to bend, or because boiling it is faulty method? A friend of mine, doing bentwood rings, uses the same method, but only recently has he tried to microwave it, and it prooved to be far more effective. Why? Do you have any idea?
The wood I'm using is some nice larch wood veneer, the thinnes of the three. Other two are paper thin myrtle and thicker etimoe


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## gman2431 (Apr 4, 2016)

Hopefully one of these guys can help ya Loris.


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## Strider (Apr 4, 2016)

Sure, I hope so, too! I could make some nice rings from them, should I master the technique


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## brown down (Apr 4, 2016)

I've built 3 nets in the past and my uncle has my steam chamber so I don't have any pics handy. I used an old propane tank. took the valve out and inserted threaded pipes and then used a gas line with a shut off to regulate the amount of steam released! .25 is a little thick IMO and would also make for a heavy net depending on how many layers you are going to go. I cut mine to around ⅛ and I think they were still to heavy. I steamed them for around 1 hour and like barry said make sure you have everything ready to go and have extra strips cut and in the steamer. I broke a few in the form!

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## gman2431 (Apr 4, 2016)

I'm thinking of finishing off around .75 on the hoop after build ups just for durability. Weight is Definetly something that I'm sure I'll learn as I go but durability scares me more than anything. 

Not looking to rip off those guys stuff but these are what has inspired myself and my friends bugging me to make some.

Reactions: Like 2 | EyeCandy! 2 | Way Cool 1


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## Mike1950 (Apr 4, 2016)

I used to sell curly walnut to some one who made nets. His and those do not look like 1/4" Lams. Look more like 1/8 to me. By no means and expert-barely a novice at bending but that is a tight curve for 1/4 inch. Looks 1/2" thick to me- all guess's. You will be very surprised at how strong it is once laminated. My guy used the dry method. At least that is what he said. I hope we will get a build thread on this.............

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## brown down (Apr 4, 2016)

we were actually talking about this yesterday on our way up to cabbalas! My buddy wants to build one and I have one net left over from when I bought them. they are a pain to find.. I just got mine out to snap some pics of it and noticed that the glue joints came apart from all of the years of abuse in the stream! So needless to say I will be building another one as well! I doubt I have time to build one before our fishing trip here in a few weeks but I did contact my uncle this morning and he does still have my steamer. I will get pictures of that when I get that back here for you! total cost for that if I remember right was around $20

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## brown down (Apr 4, 2016)

heres a shot of my net that has to be redone.. and I also dug the form out. they were a little heavier then ⅛ rips. this net is prob 10 years old and gets a lot of use. the next one will be a lot lighter as my net retractor doesn't have the strength to pull it up all the way out of the water.

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## Mike1950 (Apr 4, 2016)

Cool Net @brown down I made my forms out of MDF. Then used blue tape on inside surface to prevent glue from sticking.

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## brown down (Apr 4, 2016)

yea now that I look at it I think I made it a little harder on myself when bending the rips to the form! good point @Mike1950 I think I will redo to form and make it so the the pressure is pressing up against the inside of the form instead of rushing to get the million clamps in place.. which isn't the big deal when they come out of the steamer you really only need a few to get it to the shape you need but you do need a ton when you glue those strips together!!!


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## gman2431 (Apr 4, 2016)

What you guys think about using a thick plastic for a form? That was my thought so the glue won't stick and I can buzz out the pattern on a CNC at work easy enough.


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## Mike1950 (Apr 4, 2016)

brown down said:


> yea now that I look at it I think I made it a little harder on myself when bending the rips to the form! good point @Mike1950 I think I will redo to form and make it so the the pressure is pressing up against the inside of the form instead of rushing to get the million clamps in place.. which isn't the big deal when they come out of the steamer you really only need a few to get it to the shape you need but you do need a ton when you glue those strips together!!!


Using bent lams- I made my form in 2 half's made to clamp together.

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## Mike1950 (Apr 4, 2016)

gman2431 said:


> What you guys think about using a thick plastic for a form? That was my thought so the glue won't stick and I can buzz out the pattern on a CNC at work easy enough.



I can't see why plastic would not work. as long as heat would not hurt it.?? I used what is available.

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## brown down (Apr 5, 2016)

I will be picking up my steamer from my uncle tomorrow afternoon and will take some pics for you! I built a new jig today and milled some curly maple for some handles. have to pick up a new pulley for my table saw as the one on there almost blew apart lol If you want I can start a build thread for one of these??!!

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## gman2431 (Apr 5, 2016)

brown down said:


> I will be picking up my steamer from my uncle tomorrow afternoon and will take some pics for you! I built a new jig today and milled some curly maple for some handles. have to pick up a new pulley for my table saw as the one on there almost blew apart lol If you want I can start a build thread for one of these??!!



You don't have to but I won't stop ya!!! 

Do you do any sanding or just go straight off the saw to glueing? Didn't know if kerf would be a problem.


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## brown down (Apr 5, 2016)

I have a veneering blade I will use for something like this but I can't remember what I did when I built the last ones! I didn't have that blade when I built them and I do not own a drum sander.. If you get a good clean cut I can't see why it would be an issue. its not like you are jointing two stiff boards together that aren't going to give any. as long as there aren't any serious marks in the rips I don't think you should have an issue going from the saw to the steamer to the form! IF you have a drum sander I would run them through it tho I just don't have one!!!

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## barry richardson (Apr 5, 2016)

So you're going to steam bend the layers, let them dry, then laminate them together? Seems like a lot of investment in time if you're making them to sell. But maybe that's what you got to do to get the desired design. From a practical standpoint I would just do dry lamination using thinner strips, and urea formaldehyde glue.

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## Mike1950 (Apr 5, 2016)

barry richardson said:


> So you're going to steam bend the layers, let them dry, then laminate them together? Seems like a lot of investment in time if you're making them to sell. But maybe that's what you got to do to get the desired design. From a practical standpoint I would just do dry lamination using thinner strips, and urea formaldehyde glue.



I agree with Barry, Just rip the strips- make a 2 piece form and go for it.- It is easier. Very little spring back and with a net- there would be none because it would all glue up at once.... PS- I used titebond- use Barry's recommendation- it works better

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## gman2431 (Apr 5, 2016)

barry richardson said:


> So you're going to steam bend the layers, let them dry, then laminate them together? Seems like a lot of investment in time if you're making them to sell. But maybe that's what you got to do to get the desired design. From a practical standpoint I would just do dry lamination using thinner strips, and urea formaldehyde glue.



Once I make the form I will try dry. I have not seen people make nets that way tho so I can only go by what I've seen in YouTube and so forth. Those are all steamed. 

Like I said tho I have plenty of other stuff to work on at the same time. Why they are steaming I can be turning or doing something else then just pop out the door real quick and grab it out. 

I will rip some strips sometime this week and see if I can get them to go in the shape of some nets I already have.


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## gman2431 (Apr 5, 2016)

I should also add that if you haven't seen the price the of these nets you might be surprised... The ones I pictured start at 200. I know guys who have bought long handled boat nets and they start at 400. One guy I know spent 6 bills on his.

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## barry richardson (Apr 5, 2016)

This reminds me of a segment i saw a while ago, very little relevance maybe, except they do some steam bending, and it's kinda cool....

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## frankp (Apr 6, 2016)

Late to the party but my limited experience with Walnut says it's more difficult to bend than oak or maple (and maple's harder than oak in my experience). I've only used flat-sawn woods, rather than QS so that may make a difference. I'd go thinner lams for the walnut layers and take your time. You have to be "quick" but that's relative to the thickness of your pieces and amount of time in the steamer. A few minutes of working time was always sufficient for my needs and I never had to rush anything. 

My home-made steamer was just a long box made of closed-cell insulation foam duct-taped at the seams. Left one end with a "hinged" lid that I could put things in and pull them out from. My steamer was just a tea kettle with a tube of Pex tubing (or something similar) that went into the steam box. I didn't see any need for "flow holes" or whatever you want to call them, but PVC may be different in that respect.

And don't bother trying to bend any of the curly stuff, just in case you had that in mind. It will be a nightmare of cracks and breaks. Save the curly woods for the handle pieces.

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## Kevin (Apr 6, 2016)

I'm going to try dry as well. I will make my forms using HDPE I have if by the sheet so no glue worries for me. I have wanted to make one of these since before I was on the internet when my only source for info and ideas was mags ... the good 'ol days. 

Yes I will take pictures. Unless it turns into a fiasco I don't want to show. :-/

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## brown down (Apr 6, 2016)

I am willing to see what the outcome of not steaming the wood will produce... I took a pice I ripped today and barely got it close to what the form was and it snapped. I think It may be possible for larger nets but for smaller nets like a trout net, its just not going to happen. remember for a net like mine you are going to have to bend that at a 11.5 diameter bend to get that form!

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## Strider (Apr 7, 2016)

Yup, the curls are not for burls...
Post them pictures! :)
I saw a nice longbow making video, rare historical recurved nobody thought existed. They found some linen drawings with them depicted.
They used a preshaped trunks that formed a dye when closed.


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## Mauser (Apr 7, 2016)

Back in college we got to play around with ammonia for bending wood. After a day of soaking in a tank at 125 psi you could tie a piece of 1/2" walnut in a knot.

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## brown down (Apr 7, 2016)

My uncle upgraded the steam chamber to some metal duct he got off a job site and added a thermometer on the end which was a nice touch! this is what she looks like.

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## gman2431 (Apr 11, 2016)

Wow that's a neat rig! 

Pretty excited to start this and it looks like the weather is finally turning so I might get a chance.


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