warping wood on purpose

[curtis rosche]

so obviously wood warps when it drys. but can it be made more dramatic? with out cracking of course. for the "different" bowl that i was asked to make i am going to turn it real thin and then let it warp. but can the wood be soaked in water to make it warp more? also, will a poly finish harden/strengthen it when done?

[Andrew Derhammer]

Wrapping it in a wet soaked towel, and nuking in the microwave until it's almost unbearable to hold, this plasticizes the fibers of the wood and allows you to clamp it around a form (quickly) to give it shape. Mike Hosaluk demonstrated this, he said it only works with green wood.

[Jason Clark2]

Chris Ramsey shapes his cowboy hats in a jig while they dry so they become oval and so the brim is turned up on both sides and slightly down in the front and back:

http://www.knot-head.com/making.htm

Jason

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Curtis they steam wood to bend it, if you can keep the wood wet and heat it without drying it you can bend it quite a lot, you will have to hold it till it is cooled off to keep it in that shape.
The lignin that keeps the wood-fibers together will become soft at boiling temps, but not before, HTH