"Steaming and Bending Basswood or very thin Plywood" Topic

I'm thinking about doing a little woodworking, and would like to know a bit more about steaming and bending either thin basswood, or very thin plywood. For both, I'm thinking about 1/16th – 1/32nd of an inch thick, and needing to go from a gradual bend at first, to around a 90 degree bend at the end, in the space of 2 – 4 inches, or so.

Note, the 90 degree bend isn't a right angle bend, but just the relative position of the end of the piece compared to the middle of it. The overall strips will be about 8 – 10" long, and an inch wide.

Do you need to steam the wood for a long time to get it to bend easily, or can it be done shortly after starting?

What's the best way to steam 1" wide strips, e.g. over a pot of boiling water, or by using a steam iron?

How long do they need to steam?

Any tips on holding the strips in place, while gluing? I'm thinking of either pinning it, or using a vice or clamp.

Also, how does steamed wood, and wood glue mix? Does the dampness retard the drying time of the glue, or negate it altogether?

A very long time ago, I made a scutum from hardboard by doing something like this:

Wet the board and bend it as much as possible without breaking, then clamp in position between two blocks that you're sure won't be moved by kids, animals or wind, especially after a curry.

Allow to dry.

Repeat incrementally until you have the bend you want; this shield only took me two applications. Then paint/apply glue or whatever. If it's thoroughly dry before application, there should be no problems.

I suppose steaming it would work too, but I found in practice that cold wet water did the job. Admittedly, this was quite a broad but thin piece, so not as narrow as the strips you're using. There could also be a point of no return, ie the stress gets to the point where the wood breaks regardless of what you try.

One other thought; does it have to be wood? You might be able to buy what you need relatively cheaply from a DIY supplier that carries coving/architectural mouldings and that sort of thing. If you can get it already shaped, why do it yourself!?

Hope this makes sense; do let us know how it goes.

Cheers
Paul

Rather than hold the wood over an open boiling saucepan (risk assesment – scalded fingers) how about using the domestic steamer? Your wood would fit and the container could be removed from the water/steam. Only practice can tell you how long. It is advisable, once the wood is out of the heat, to get it bent as quickly as possible, so have all templates, cranmps, rubber bands, etc. ready close at hand. Again remember, steam is very hot, wear thick gloves if possible.

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I put the piece of wood into a dish of water for about an hour and then clamp it in place to dry in the shape I want. After it has dried (usually leave it overnight) then I glue. I use rubber bands when I can. Binder clips are nice and handy, too.

A technique I've seen but never used is to lay out a piece of bubble-wrap or some other plastic sheeting, soak towels in water and microwave them until they begin to steam, quickly wrap the wood in the steaming towels and then in the bubble-wrap, and wait for a couple of minutes. It can turn a pine 1x2 into spaghetti so it would probably work with basswood as well.

LT

Soak em.

Steaming is for lumber not for twigs.

Just get a big crab pot and start it boiling. Once it gets to a good roil, toss in your twigs.

Let them cook for a minute or three to become fully saturated and then pull them out. Use good gloves (they will be hot) and bend the wood past the angle you want the final version to be (you might want to build a jig if the curves are specific or complicated) and clamp them.

Leave them be for a day or so. Once the wood has cooled and dried, remove the clamps…they might bounce back slightly (which is why you bend slightly past the angle you want the final to be).

If fully dry, glue with wood glue. If they are still damp…wait or use a urethane glue (Gorilla Glue for example).

For holding irregular shapes that will not be load bearing (i.e. – anything made of 1/32-1/16" stripwood) – rubber bands, wire, string, your wife ("Here…hold this for a second"). You don't have too much to worry about there. You can wrap a rubber band around it. Wrap wire around and twist tight. Tie string around it with a wedge shim (coffee stirrer) in with the project wood. Once the knot is tied…push the stirrer into the loop, and it will tighten it.
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Wood steaming is practiced for a few different reasons. The first is a pot large enough to boil a banister for a staircase is impractical. Second, in order to bend the wood – you need to get deep – boiling works somewhat slowly in terms of penetration…a steam box actually had pressure to help force the hot moisture into the wood. Third is that wood needs to be dry before continuing to work with it (gluing, drilling, fastening) – since boiling will eventually make the wood wetter, steam is preferred.

Anywho – with little bits of strip wood…none of those issues apply, other than waiting for it to dry. However, it takes about as long for steamed strip wood to dry out as it does for boiled strip wood – so it is a wash.

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That forming jig is awesome, especially since it could also be used to stabilize odd-shaped model parts for detail work.

The crimping pliers is expensive enough, I can't help but wonder if I could adapt a regular pliers to do that. Start with a regular slip joint pliers to give open jaws. On one jaw attach a wood block, possibly angled, for the flat face. On the other a perpedicular piece of sheet metal for the crimper.

Thanks for the tip suggestions.

Shall try the cool water method first, to avoid burns.