I need to bend some pine for the backs of dining room chairs. The
largest is the upper back approx. 1" thick by 12 by 4. I count 12
pieces total that need to be bent.

After doing some major looking through google the only thing I have
found is very large steamers using PVC or something similar for stuff
like 2x4s.


What if I put the piece in a large pot suspended over water and steam
it like a vegetable steamer?

Would something like this:

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1695552-AA.shtml

actually work on wood?

If so I think I have some old steel toolboxes that might hold water
that I can use.


Opinions welcome please.

Thanks,

Matt

Matt S wrote:
I need to bend some pine for the backs of dining room chairs. The
largest is the upper back approx. 1" thick by 12 by 4. I count 12
pieces total that need to be bent.

After doing some major looking through google the only thing I have
found is very large steamers using PVC or something similar for stuff
like 2x4s.


What if I put the piece in a large pot suspended over water and steam
it like a vegetable steamer?

Matt,
You have a number of options:
you can bend thin wood 1/4" or less by soaking & bending over a hot
pipe. (electric or propane torch heated)

You can make a bending jig & glue laminate thin dry pieces together-
depending on the radius, your laminations will have to be thinner for a
small radius.

you can steam the wood & put in a bending jig to dry. I did a quick
search on woodweb & found this: there a number of ways to make your own
steamer

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Bending_wood.html
Hope this helps
Phil

Matt S wrote:
I need to bend some pine for the backs of dining room chairs. The
largest is the upper back approx. 1" thick by 12 by 4. I count 12
pieces total that need to be bent.

What's the radius? If you laid the edges down on the table, how high
would the center be?

I'd just cut them out of thicker stock.

Phil,

Thanks for the link. That was one of the places I was looking, I read a
lot of the initial material there. I'm going to have to go back through
that site looked interesting enough to add to my links. (Just started
collecting woodworking site links)


Larry,

Including the thickness of the wood (3/4") about 1.25-1.5 inches. But I
only have Home Depot and Lowes at my disposal so that would leave me
with gluing two pieces and then cutting them on a band saw. I don't
think my band saw even has a 4" opening. But that is something to keep
in mind.

Thanks,

Matt

"Matt S" writes:


[...]

Larry,

Including the thickness of the wood (3/4") about 1.25-1.5 inches. But I
only have Home Depot and Lowes at my disposal so that would leave me
with gluing two pieces and then cutting them on a band saw. I don't
think my band saw even has a 4" opening. But that is something to keep
in mind.

.... as a bas idea, because of the short grain that such a sawing
operation generates, weakening the piece.

--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23

Matt S wrote:
I need to bend some pine for the backs of dining room chairs. The
largest is the upper back approx. 1" thick by 12 by 4. I count 12
pieces total that need to be bent.

After doing some major looking through google the only thing I have
found is very large steamers using PVC or something similar for stuff
like 2x4s.


What if I put the piece in a large pot suspended over water and steam
it like a vegetable steamer?

Would something like this:

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1695552-AA.shtml

actually work on wood?

If so I think I have some old steel toolboxes that might hold water
that I can use.


Opinions welcome please.

Thanks,

Matt

Search this newsgroups archive on "amonia freeze bend" (yes, it's
spelled wrong). There is a reference to another bending technique using
ammonia. I am not endorsing it, I just remember seeing recently.

Stove-top steaming will work, but I prefer the electric kettle from Lee
Valley, piped to a simple wood steam box. What kind of wood are you
using? Some kinds bend better than others.

Matt S wrote:

I need to bend some pine for the backs of dining room chairs. The
largest is the upper back approx. 1" thick by 12 by 4. I count 12
pieces total that need to be bent.

After doing some major looking through google the only thing I have
found is very large steamers using PVC or something similar for stuff
like 2x4s.


What if I put the piece in a large pot suspended over water and steam
it like a vegetable steamer?

Would something like this:

http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/1695552-AA.shtml

actually work on wood?

If so I think I have some old steel toolboxes that might hold water
that I can use.


Opinions welcome please.

Thanks,

Matt


Hi Matt,

A lot depends upon how much you need to bend them. At 12 inches long you
don't have much leverage. You will find the process easier if you bend the
pieces when they are a bit longer. Then cut them to size.

But otherwise boiling is a perfectly good way to do it.

Gregg

Matt S wrote:
I need to bend some pine for the backs of dining room chairs. The
largest is the upper back approx. 1" thick by 12 by 4. I count 12
pieces total that need to be bent.

Well, if they are just 12"x4" you could probably do it on the stove
using a big pan like a turkey is roasted in. Put the wood on a rack,
and cover with foil. Keep an eye on it to make sure all the water
doesn't boil off.

Mitch

Ok, in order:

... as a bas idea, because of the short grain that such a sawing
operation generates, weakening the piece.

Ok, your point taken. Thank you.

Search this newsgroups archive on "amonia freeze bend" (yes, it's
spelled wrong). There is a reference to another bending technique using
ammonia. I am not endorsing it, I just remember seeing recently.

Hmm, ok I'll check that out.

Stove-top steaming will work, but I prefer the electric kettle from Lee
Valley, piped to a simple wood steam box. What kind of wood are you
using? Some kinds bend better than others.

I would build something like that if I had a bigger project in mind,
and maybe someday I will. As for the wood it was going to be pine, but
then I switch to poplar, but in the end I might get oak. But it will be
either poplar or oak.

You will find the process easier if you bend the
pieces when they are a bit longer. Then cut them to size.

Gregg that's a damn good idea, I never thought of that. Thanks

Well, if they are just 12"x4" you could probably do it on the stove
using a big pan like a turkey is roasted in. Put the wood on a rack,
and cover with foil. Keep an eye on it to make sure all the water
doesn't boil off.

Mitch, yeah that's exactly what I was thinking. My father has a gas
stove so I will probably do it at his house (everyone knows cooking
with gas is better).




All that being said here are my thoughts so far. My brother owns some
property and I'm going to chop down a tree and stack the boards in the
upstairs of his barn. It's a small two story barn and gets hotter than
hell up there. I was thinking about doing the cutting in March/April
and then make my dining set (table/chairs) in August. We'll see if the
wood turns out to be crap. I'll be back to square one and buying from
Home Depot if it is. But it'll be a learning experience.

I have a lot more reading to do though on drying wood. I want to make
sure I know as much as possible before I do this and then the rest I'll
learn as I go (we all know some thing's have to be learned and not
taught).

-Matt