Shop and bending wood

[genek]

Here is pictures of the shop and some bent wood

how many would like to cut things on the cnc then bend it with steam into items..

[JoeinWestMich]

You certainly do have a lot of ideas and techniques. Nice job.

[genek]

you certainly do have a lot of ideas and techniques. Nice job.
go to the project section look at the two video's i posted under home and hearth volume one... I do a lot of designs to make things from to sale to my customers. Wanting to get to the point i design and stop making things. So i allow my wife to see the u.s. Before she goes blind..
I grew up doing wood working.. My grandfather made furniture etc. Some of the patterns i have came from him.. I just drew them in the computer for the cnc.

[twelchPTM]

Every video or tv show I have ever seen about bending wood makes it look so easy, I built a steamer using a hot plate, metal bucket and pvc pipe, It looks good lots of steam wood seams to soften up real nice and then everything either cracks, stiffens back up to fast, or warps as soon as I release the jig. I'm not giving up, just looking for the next excuse to try it again but in the mean time much respect and admiration goes out to the guys who can do it because it is an artform in its own respect.

[Brady Watson]

Hey Tom,
I'm not sure if you've seen this, but it may help you: ℞ for Wood Bending (http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Rx_For_Bending_Wood.html)

-B

[genek]

The thicker the piece of wood is the longer it must be in the steamer. Normally i let my 3/4 inch strips stay in the steamer for 1.5 hours.. I want the wood at or near 200 degrees.. One thing i do
is i have a 10 inch pipe inside of a 12"pipe with the void filled in with foam insulation. There is a rack inside that the wood lays on.. The steam comes in on the side and there is a drain tube that goes into a can that has water in it... There is a small vent 1/2"on the far end where my door is... At the bottom. Wood to bend good must be hot.. Another thing i do is use a bending strap. (this is a piece of metal flashing that goes between my wood and the bending bar on the jig. This puts even pressure across the wood.
It helps stop splintering ... Thinner wood like what i use to make
shaker boxes i boil in water... They are about 1/8" i bend them around a form that i cut out on the band saw.. (now i would cut them out on the cnc... No sanding.) boiling wood can cause the ends to split.. But if you use a sealer on the woods ends before. It allows the wood to dry slower.. On real thick wood i use a 55 gallon drum laid on it side with a lid that i can attach. I do not use steam on these set up just heat.i build a fire under it. I keep it at 200 degree's for one hour. Then remove and bend.. No moisture, means not cracking or splitting on the ends..
What you are doing is heating up the wood to make it softer and for the cells to be able to give.. When the heat is gone so is the flexibility ... You have to work fast when bending wood.. To slow and it will crack or break.. To fast and it breaks...there is a fine line.. It takes practice. When i get home thursday will show you pictures of a set of shaker boxes i made for my wife last year.

[twelchPTM]

what i was trying to do before was create trim pieces that went straight then bend 90 degrees arounf at 2.5 inch radius straight for 6 inches and then 90 at 2.5" again. I used 4" Pvc with very thin wires through it to hold my 1/4" by 3" strips of pine and stemed them for about 3hours. I had a two piece jig made of plywood layered up to 3" and cut two match the shape. when I pulled the wood from the steamer I put it in the jig and pressed the two halves together then clmed them using the clamps to complete the bends.But the wood always twisted up out of the jig and it was a complete mess. I ended up cutting the shape out of several flat pieces and glueing them together. I will try again when the need presents itself...

[genek]

what i was trying to do before was create trim pieces that went straight then bend 90 degrees arounf at 2.5 inch radius straight for 6 inches and then 90 at 2.5" again. I used 4" pvc with very thin wires through it to hold my 1/4" by 3" strips of pine and stemed them for about 3hours. I had a two piece jig made of plywood layered up to 3" and cut two match the shape. When i pulled the wood from the steamer i put it in the jig and pressed the two halves together then clmed them using the clamps to complete the bends.but the wood always twisted up out of the jig and it was a complete mess. I ended up cutting the shape out of several flat pieces and glueing them together. I will try again when the need presents itself...
you can not bend a 90 degree bend in wood. It will break at the bend. Pine is one of the hardest to bend... You have to have
good quality wood. With pine... To soft most pine is unsuitable
for bending.

[twelchPTM]

you can not bend a 90 degree bend in wood. It will break at the bend. Pine is one of the hardest to bend... You have to have
good quality wood. With pine... To soft most pine is unsuitable
for bending.

not a hard 90 it was a 2.5" radius. i tried pine because i figured soft was good. Also tried aspen but it was the same.