Technical steam bending wood

Looking for someone that does custom convertible top wood bow making in the southeast. Thx

 

Oak Bows
Chambersburg, PA
717-264-2602

 

My uncle built a wood bender from a couple pieces of scrap pipe and a hot water heater element

 

I bent some oak slats for the back of a chair once. Just put some borax in the water, it keeps the wood from getting black stains in it from the process.

 

I have never heard that before

 

Something like this

 

A wallpaper steamer is a good source of steam ... Use a fish pond pump to return the condensate to the steamer .

 

Good video to watch.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...14fee444f68ba51bcb5188a5de4e6713&action=click

 

He sure makes it look easy. I picked up a small Rockler steamer kit and have a small wood box almost finished to bend some strips. I will have to see how that goes in comparison

 

I constructed a long box out of scrap plywood and made a steam source out of a propane turkey fryer and a big stock pot from Goodwill. Connected the pot cover to the box with a pair of vacuum cleaner flex hoses to distribute the steam evenly. Worked good; just have a sturdy form and lots of clamps to handle the wood when ready. Other than the turkey heater the cost was minimal.

 

That video was the first time I'd seen the steam bending of wood, it looked like it was really lump and bent without a lot of effort. Guess all the time is spend on building all setup and press.

 

A quick web search on YouTube for "Engels Coach Shop", look for the video of how to steam bend wood, its very informative from a master of the craft.
Thanks from Dennis.

Here is the link.