How to Steam Bend Wood

Steam Bending Wood:

First of all add hot water to the wallpaper steamer. Two pieces of wood for bending are already inserted into the chamber of the steamer. They are made to raise from the base and each other by placing a few small pieces off wood between them. The steamer is connected to the chamber and turned on. You will need an hour of steaming per 2.5 cm of thickness. I am steaming two pieces of one meter long pine, which are 1 by 4 cm thick. I would estimate about 60 to 70 minutes. The chamber is sealed quite tightly however the steam does condense into water within it. By turning the the chamber towards the ground, the pressure from the steamer will force any water out. When your time has passed, in a quick and smooth action, open your chamber and place the wood on the former carefully bending it into shape. Make sure to wear leather builders gloves as the steam is hot!

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[minxel16]

what time would you recommend for steaming a 4cm piece of wood thick but 2cm wide in that i want to bend across the thickness not the width?

[miscpro]

@minxel16 I think 1h35m to 1h45m.

[minxel16]

@miscpro thanks -tried it and worked fine, little springback

[miscpro]

@minxel16 Have you tried laminating?

[ebolacereal]

what kind've of clamp/vice do you use when you first put the steamed wood into your jig??? it looks like some sort of a pressure clamp.. and seems to come in handy when bending wood is a wood man operation as in mine and your case.

[miscpro]

@ebolacereal Hi I had some circle offcuts which I drill an off-centre hole. I passed a bolt through that and drilled another hole on the side which I used to leaver them shut. Very effective.

[broadcastmydick]

What sort of wind chimes to you recommend to help capture the wind spirits within the wood during the bending process?

[Unbeloved1]

To help solve your water leakage problem, you could build a "U" shaped pipe to one of the ends, that way it collects and releases excess water while not allowing any steam to escape.

[Thekrega]

Steaming wood and laudry at the same time. Way to multi task.

But thanks for the vid, I'm trying to teach and this has been helpful.

[cobraman16]

what kind of wood do u recomend im making a drum set and the wood shells cost way to much for my buget

[Dyyor]

would this trick work on a 1 in diameter dowel?

[burmanmusic]

I'm disappointed. I wanted to know how the laundry turned out. Did you get rid of all the wrinkles?

[MrAMMiranda]

I already did that, thanks. Found where to order on from.

[toppertruthio]

@MrAMMiranda just google wallpaper steamer

[MrAMMiranda]

where do you get the steamer?

[MuckerInMotion]

Okay, love the help here but honestly - do we need to see 40 seconds of water filling the steamer? Please god edit this damn thing

[sttrubie]

how long do you leave the wood in the form. Does it have to be bone dry? I am laminating 1/8" stock, multiple layers. Do I steam and glue then bend it or do I bend first and glue later?

[Facu4815]

is this the correct method for steam bending wood for a CROSSBOW?