Steam Bending Turnings

[John Hart]

A little background....

Ok...as a continuation of the Thread On Ammonia (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=142975) I've decided to build a steambox that will accomodate turnings. As I said in that other thread...my first objective is to make a Turned Water Pitcher...complete with spout and handle. At first, I thought that ammonia could be used to accomplish the bending required to create these features...but as discovered in the ammonia thread...it just might not work out for a variety of reasons.
Another facet discussed in that other thread, is the subject of green wood stabilization. It is an ongoing dilemma, that most of us struggle with...and I suppose, a dream scenario is the day when you can turn green wood...stabilize it....finish turn it...finish it...all in one day. Not a likely scenario...but it would be cool.
There is also the subjects of warpage and cracks, and how to control those pesky facts of life.

So, the question is...Can steaming our turnings accomplish anything?

So...it's time for an experiment. I hope to perform as many tasks as necessary to answer everyone's questions....and hopefully, in the end, we will all benefit....with just one person putting in the time for everyone else.
So...through my inevitable failures...and hopefully, successes...there will be something to gain from this.

The first step is to build a Steamer Box....then, I will turn the top of a wide-mouthed vase, steam it, and see how it behaves when I try to bend it into a spout. During that phase, I'll also bend a handle....but this is really a no-brainer, since it is done all the time.

After that...we will explore the question of green wood stabilization. I have some ideas of things to try...but will be eager to hear from everyone else. We need to find out as much as we can.

The Steamer Box

So.....I used to do a lot of flatwork and got into bending smallish piieces of oak and walnut for various things. This required that I build a steamer box using a 3" diameter, 5 foot long section of PVC pipe. I simply fitted up a Wagner Wallpaper Steamer to it...and it worked great.
With turnings, I need something bigger, so I figured that a box that would accomodate a single turning from my lathe, would have to be around 15X15X15 on the inside.
Luckily...I happened to have a 3X4 foot sheet of 1" thick plexiglass that has been collecting dust.
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I figured that this oughta be perfect.
So this morning I hauled it into the shop (IT'S HEAVY!!!) and decided to cut it up.

First, I needed a tablesaw...and I found one!! It was under a bunch of turnings and turning blanks
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Now...a tablesaw is something that flatworkers use to make big boards into little boards. I guess it is quite useful if you are into that sort of thing. And in this case...it was pretty convenient.

So I chopped up that big heavy thing into pieces that were more manageable.
And I finally found a purpose for the marking knife that I made years ago :)
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After getting it cut up...I pulled out some Lacquer Cleaner (which smells really good!!!) and cleaned up all my pieces.
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My next post is the building of this thing.

[John Hart]

Next step is hole drilling. I have these real nice self-tapping cabinet screws, that I figured would work out pretty good. They required a counterbore to reach through this thick stuff....So using my handy-dandy, custom made, osage orange, hand-ground marking knife, I scored a bunch of lines and X's and V's and stuff...and drilled my counterbores using a forstner bit I found on the ground. :)

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Then using a smaller bit...just slightly larger than the screw diameter...I finished each hole with a thru-hole. And I had a pile of flat things that could be turned into a box.
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Next...in order to achieve proper alignment, and compensate for my inability to measure properly...I just clamped the whole thing together so I could drill the receiving holes.
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Then I took a handful of screws and screwed it all together.
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Now...structurally...this is ok. But I really need to seal it to prevent steam from escaping...and allow the pressure to build a little. So I caulked all the corners with Clear Acrylic Caulk...and I slathered some on the top edge to act as a gasket for the top cover.
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[John Hart]

So anyway...the box is built....here it is with the steamer.
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I need to let the caulk cure a bit...and later on today, I'll drill the holes for the steamer fitting and drain plug. I also need to attach some clamping things on it so the top will be tight during the steaming process.

Anyway...that's tonight. This thing should be ready for an experiment tomorrow.

All tolled...it took 3 hours to build and it weighs 70 pounds. I didn't have to buy anything...so that's good.

Now I have to go out and build the deck for a little while.:)

[Allen Neighbors]

That's a wonderful tutorial, John... very interesting, and it seems to be well-planned in advance. Two thumbs up for your attention to detail, and your willingness to put it all out here for the rest of us. :D
Do you think the heat might have a detrimental effect on that 1" Plexiglas, or will it not get that hot inside?
Steve's got a deck and back yard under his stairs? :)

[David E Keller]

That's cool... It looks a bit like the cage they used to hold Hannibal Lector in one of the Silence of the Lambs movies. I'm sure that had a strong influence on your design. That and the lacquer cleaner!:D

Sounds like a very interesting experiment. I'm excited to see what you learn.

[David DeCristoforo]

First of all I don't think that plexiglass is anywhere near thick enough. Also, I would like to know how that can of lacquer thinner figures into this whole thing (and don't try to sell that crap about cleaning!). Keep your heads down boys...

[John Keeton]

A "Sweat Lodge" for woodturnings!!! Gets the evil spirits out of 'em!!:D

Pretty neat build there Hart. I look forward to seeing what kind of creations come out of this thing!

[John Hart]

Thanks boys....
Well..My answer to the whole plexiglass heat thing is..."I don't know".

The fact is...when I used the PVC pipe for the steamer, it got pretty soft...and I had to mount it to a piece of plywood so that it had some rigidity.

It's just a wild guess, but I figured that plexiglass...having a crystaline structure, would be a bit stronger...plus, PVC is pretty thin...and 1" thick is pretty thick. So there is my non-technical guesswork at work.

also...steaming really doesn't take very long. I doubt that it'll be heated up for more than 45 minutes at a shot. Pressure isn't a concern...as it won't be much higher than atmosphere....just a little bit...probably not even 1psi.

And on the Lacquer Cleaner...I am shocked....absolutely shocked that anyone anywhere would suggest that I would use it for anything other than cleaning. You people should (hic...'cuse me:o) you people should be ashamed.!!

[David DeCristoforo]

"...you people should be ashamed..."

Oh... we are... we are. Nevertheless....

[Al Wasser]

I won't comment on your steam box setup. I will say that I am skeptical that you can bend turned wood to some preconceived shape. I am sure you can cause it to warp. My limited experience with wood bending was with straight grained red oak that I bent OK as long as the grain was straight. Any wood with wild or cross grain would crack. Most wood turnings that I can think of have cross grain if that is a good description of the multiple grains involved. Even straight grain one needs a jig to clamp the wood to the desired shape. However, nothing ventured - nothing gained. Try it -- see what happens.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

That's cool... It looks a bit like the cage they used to hold Hannibal Lector in one of the Silence of the Lambs movies. I'm sure that had a strong influence on your design. That and the lacquer cleaner!:D

Sounds like a very interesting experiment. I'm excited to see what you learn.

John interned under him.:D

[David DeCristoforo]

"...I am skeptical that you can bend turned wood to some preconceived shape..."

Killjoy....

[Roger Chandler]

Hi John,

That is a pretty nice concept you have there, but I am wondering if theory and execution will match up in the end. Let us know if it works out, as it might be something worth exploration and adaptation....

[David DeCristoforo]

No more telling the guy "it can't be done" or any variation of that. There's lots of things that have been done by people who didn't know they couldn't be done. This could be really good. Personally, I'm impressed by Hart's "cojones" to attempt something like this under public scrutiny...

[John Hart]

Hey guys...I have no trouble whatsoever with skepticism. I have lived my whole life trying things where there have always been throngs of people with their eyebrows raised....We're talkin' THRONGS.:eek:

But it doesn't matter. Because along the way there are cool lessons to learn...and not every lesson is a victory....and not every defeat is a deflation. And, ya know...some of those lessons aren't even related to the objective.

I have enjoyed my life...and it is replete with trial and error...and lots of surprises.....The spice of life in my humble opinion.

Now...if you'll excuse me...I'm going to go eat some raw meat and look at all my Jodie Foster posters.;)

[David DeCristoforo]

Spoken like a true lacquer sniffing iconoclast...

[Bernie Weishapl]

And on the Lacquer Cleaner...I am shocked....absolutely shocked that anyone anywhere would suggest that I would use it for anything other than cleaning. You people should (hic...'cuse me:o) you people should be ashamed.!!

John, John, John, are you sniffing the lacquer again?:eek::rolleyes:;) Sitting here looking down shaking my head.:cool:

[Steve Schlumpf]

John - interesting project for sure - but I just cringed when I saw you were using 1" thick plexi! Do you know how many finials you sacrificed for your steamer system? Man, I won't be able to sleep tonight.....right away, anyway.

Looking forward to finally getting the answers to all those green wood/steamer questions I have always had floating around!

[John Hart]

.... Sitting here looking down shaking my head.:cool:

I hear Lacquer Cleaner can fix that for ya Bernie!;):)


...Do you know how many finials you sacrificed for your steamer system? Man, I won't be able to sleep tonight.....right away, anyway.

Tell ya what Steve...You can have all the scrap pieces. There's gotta be 30 or 40 finials and pens right there. ;)

[Allen Neighbors]

I love this forum!! Some of you people are nuts, and my belly hurts from laughing so much, but I sure love this forum!!:D:D :D

[John Beaver]

Hey John, I for one, love what you're doing, and I can't wait to see the results.

I do agree that steaming a turning, for bending part of it, will cause some warpage on the main body. Not seeing your design, maybe you can figure a way to leave the body thick and turn it thin after bending the spout.

Now that you've spent all that time building your box, did you ever think of wrapping the spout and handle in a couple of wet paper towels and then use a microwave to heat them up. I have a microwave in my shop that fits bowls perfectly. Bought it for $25.00 on craigslist.

[John Hart]

...I do agree that steaming a turning, for bending part of it, will cause some warpage on the main body. Not seeing your design, maybe you can figure a way to leave the body thick and turn it thin after bending the spout....

Hey John..thanks...
Here's a piece I did not long ago that is an example of the configuration of the vase that will be used to make the Water Pitcher
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I make this as a three part process. I do the main body..fully hollowed and complete..then cut the mortise on the top and bottom to receive the base and the mouth. Then I rough turn the base and the mouth...then assemble the whole thing on the lathe with epoxy...then finish turn it.

So..for this first experiment, I'll just be turning the mouth section...maybe two or three in different grain orientations. That will leave the main body out of the equation. I figure we can address those larger masses later in this exploration.


...Now that you've spent all that time building your box, did you ever think of wrapping the spout and handle in a couple of wet paper towels and then use a microwave to heat them up. I have a microwave in my shop that fits bowls perfectly. Bought it for $25.00 on craigslist.

Then we are one in the same John.(great names think alike):) I have a microwave in my shop too....just for the purpose you stated. I'm glad you brought it up...because it never occurred to me to try that with the spout...even though, I have noticed some elasticity in the wood when I've microwaved in the past. We'll have to include that in this series of experiments for sure.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for posting! I am finding this thread very entertaining if not informative!:)
I thought of the microwave and wet paper towels as well but have never tried it on anything other than fairly thin straight grained stuff.
I am looking forward to the entertaining, err...informative test results!

[philip labre]

Any wood with wild or cross grain would crack.
I make trout landing nets and bend curly and birdseye maple strips up to 1/4" thick, but I soak it in HOT water, not steam. One thing I do recommend is to use something as a backer when bending wild grain because that will help lessen the cracking.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I make trout landing nets and bend curly and birdseye maple strips up to 1/4" thick, but I soak it in HOT water, not steam. One thing I do recommend is to use something as a backer when bending wild grain because that will help lessen the cracking.

Phillip,

A couple of questions. I have wanted to make a landing net for personal use for some time now.

What do you use for the backer you mentioned?

What do you use for a finish on your landing nets?

Thanks!

[David Epperson]

Your plexi may very well get softer at temperature, but if the pressure is low, I'm not sure I would worry about it.
As for whether it will work, I'd guess that it probably will, straighter grain turnings might be better, but the real high dollar custom fit shotguns are known for having stocks bent to fit the owner, so bending shaped wood is not entirely new.

[philip labre]

Phillip,

A couple of questions. I have wanted to make a landing net for personal use for some time now.

What do you use for the backer you mentioned?

What do you use for a finish on your landing nets?

Thanks!
I use 3 strips with the center being cherry (because its free) and use that for the backer when bending. If it cracks you can make a glue sandwich with it. I put a coat of seal a cell or BLO to bring up the figure then I use Tru-oil, rubbed on with satin from old bridesmaid dresses, 6-8 coats, steel wool between. Then buff and wax. I like the look better than spar urethane which looks plastic IMHO.

[Thom Sturgill]

Don't know if this will help, but here goes:

I've bent guitar and violin sides. We soaked the violin sides and then bent on a hot form. A metal backing strap can be used, especially for the tighter center bout. I remember dad baking the pieces in a pan with water in the kitchen stove when he worked at home before he built a commercial shop. That was very curly maple.
At my brother's guitar shop, we a had an automatic bender that had been bought from another shop that went under. It used hydraulic rams to force shut a two-sided, heated aluminum form. The form was in sections so it bent the middle bout, then the ends. We bent maple, rosewood, and mahogany, and only had problems if the wood had not soaked long enough or was not warm enough. The soak water was heated.

Good thread John, keep it up!

[Nathan Hawkes]

Next step is hole drilling. I have these real nice self-tapping cabinet screws, that I figured would work out pretty good. They required a counterbore to reach through this thick stuff....So using my handy-dandy, custom made, osage orange, hand-ground marking knife, I scored a bunch of lines and X's and V's and stuff...and drilled my counterbores using a forstner bit I found on the ground. :)

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Then using a smaller bit...just slightly larger than the screw diameter...I finished each hole with a thru-hole. And I had a pile of flat things that could be turned into a box.
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Next...in order to achieve proper alignment, and compensate for my inability to measure properly...I just clamped the whole thing together so I could drill the receiving holes.
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Then I took a handful of screws and screwed it all together.
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Now...structurally...this is ok. But I really need to seal it to prevent steam from escaping...and allow the pressure to build a little. So I caulked all the corners with Clear Acrylic Caulk...and I slathered some on the top edge to act as a gasket for the top cover.
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Nice work!! I've done a fair amount of plexiglass fabricating of large aquarium filters. You do pretty good work! I used weld-on methylene chloride solvent to glue the edges, but for 1" stock, you have to use angled cuts and 2-part epoxy monomer to get good joints. The set screws also allow you to take it apart if you need to--with a lot of elbow grease to scrape caulk of course. Thick plexi is EXPENSIVE! I'm guessing you acquired it for cheap, or free? I have a bunch of 1.25" that I got for free--9lbs/ft2. If you haven't already, don't polish the edges--heat and any exposure to solvents will create little micro-cracks called "crazing". Very nice work!! I'm looking forward to seeing some action shots.

[Kevin Stanbary]

Interesting project... will be watching to see what happens.

Out of curiosity I went and looked up temp ratings of acrylic sheets, what I found was this for Acrylite sheet goods:

It can take temperatures from -40° F to 180° F (intermittent to 200° F)... ...The forming temp is 350° F.

The thickness of your acrylic will certainly help; more thermal mass. I'd certainly keep a close eye on things the first few times you use it.

[John Hart]

I make trout landing nets and bend curly and birdseye maple strips up to 1/4" thick, but I soak it in HOT water, not steam. One thing I do recommend is to use something as a backer when bending wild grain because that will help lessen the cracking.

Philip...your backer tip was extremely helpful. In a few minutes...I'll show my work to address your advice. Thank you.


Your plexi may very well get softer at temperature, but if the pressure is low, I'm not sure I would worry about it.
As for whether it will work, I'd guess that it probably will, straighter grain turnings might be better, but the real high dollar custom fit shotguns are known for having stocks bent to fit the owner, so bending shaped wood is not entirely new.
Thanks David, for the reassurance on the plexiglass. That's kinda what I thought...and hoped for. The proof is in the puddin'....but at least you've given me some confidence that it'll work out ok.

I've selected some pretty straight-grained cherry for my first go-'round. Hopefully it'll work...but if not...we'll have to figure something else out.;)


Phillip,

A couple of questions. I have wanted to make a landing net for personal use for some time now.

What do you use for the backer you mentioned?

What do you use for a finish on your landing nets?

Thanks!

This is proof that this kind of thread can yield answers to questions that are unrelated to the project. I'm very pleased. :)


Don't know if this will help, but here goes:

I've bent guitar and violin sides. We soaked the violin sides and then bent on a hot form. A metal backing strap can be used, especially for the tighter center bout. I remember dad baking the pieces in a pan with water in the kitchen stove when he worked at home before he built a commercial shop. That was very curly maple.
At my brother's guitar shop, we a had an automatic bender that had been bought from another shop that went under. It used hydraulic rams to force shut a two-sided, heated aluminum form. The form was in sections so it bent the middle bout, then the ends. We bent maple, rosewood, and mahogany, and only had problems if the wood had not soaked long enough or was not warm enough. The soak water was heated.

You're making me think that a pre-soak in hot water might be useful prior to the steaming operation. I definitely want to steam it to get the heat and pressure effect....but the pre-soak might help in guaranteeing success. Your thoughts?

[John Hart]

Ok...Here are the results of Day 2:

First off...I got the steam input fitting and the drain valve installed.
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And then decided to go ahead and turn the pitcher mouth prototype. I have a pile of cherry beams that I am using as railing posts for the deck I'm building.
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But I have more than enough...so I took one and cut off a turning blank.
So, here's the mouth. I gave it a tenon similar to how I would do it normally...and took it all the way to finished thickness at the rim. Then did a quick sanding. This is an end-grain turning so the grain is fairly straight coming up through the neck to the rim.
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[Nathan Hawkes]

Interesting project... will be watching to see what happens.

Out of curiosity I went and looked up temp ratings of acrylic sheets, what I found was this for Acrylite sheet goods:

It can take temperatures from -40° F to 180° F (intermittent to 200° F)... ...The forming temp is 350° F.

The thickness of your acrylic will certainly help; more thermal mass. I'd certainly keep a close eye on things the first few times you use it.



From having bent a little acrylic, I know, or rather I don't know, anyone that bends anything over 3/8" thick. It just takes too much force, and you have to get the temp up to the point that it almost bubbles to get the bend right. At 350 it'll bend, but at 375-380 it bends easily. I don't know what the "vicat softening point" is, but the thermal deflection I understand--264psi at 210F is a huge amount of pressure, but the threads on the screws might see this amount of force if it weren't sealed. Now I'm really curious--I'm going to guess that under normal steaming conditions--e.g. not much higher than a tea kettle, it will probably be fine, unless you're steaming for more than 30-45 minutes. I think the folks at Cyro (acrylite mfrs) will give you technical advice if you need it.

[John Hart]

Keeping with Philips suggestion for a backing...I decided on a piece of hard maple....trying to match the profile of the mouth...just slightly larger.
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Then I drew a spout...sorta what I envisioned as what would sorta work out.
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Then hogged it out with the dremel.
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Next step was to make a press form. I used a small block of cherry...matching the mouth profile (slightly larger)...then taped it up so it could receive some epoxy.
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Now...after the epoxy cures....I'll file it down a bit to create the spout form. After that...I'm ready to steam!!!:)

The only thing stopping the process is that the steamer box caulking isn't cured yet. I guess the humidity is really slowing that down.

But I have to put some time into the deck today...so I guess it works out.

Thanks for all the great feedback!! :)

[John Hart]

I just caught Nathan and Kevin's exchange....That's pretty interesting. I think my confidence level is still high on the integrity of the box. I will keep a close eye on it...Thanks! :)

By the way Nathan...Yes..the plastic was free. In fact, I had two of these large sheets, but I gave one away to an amish friend who wanted to make some cutting boards for his family. :)

[Leo Van Der Loo]

John, I've done a bit of bending lexan strips, and had to heat them over a flame very carefully right up to where the material would start to get bubbles inside in order to make the curves, much hotter than unpressurized steam.

One other thing, when bringing IN steam there should be a opening to let OUT the excess of air/water vapor, right ??

Choosing wood that has stronger fiber bonding, like Elm would help in preventing the splitting that can/will occur depending how/where you bend/distort the wood, also you have to keep the temp up, at the water boiling temp at least, to be able to get the fibers to slide by each other, as that's the temp for the lignin to become kind of fluid.

I'm interested in what you will be able to do with your setup, I know R. Raffan did a little wood distorting on thin bowls when using the microwave to dry and to shape the rims a little, using the natural distortion that occurs to help him, but nothing else that I know of.

Coming back here once more, one other thing to remember is that yes you can distort wood, but you can not make it longer.

Anyway, like I always say,
Have fun and take care !!

[Ernie Nyvall]

That's cool how you whipped up that steamer John. I was wondering if a certain profile of the turning might lend itself to more stable/less cracking than others. Just a thought.

Those who turn hats sure do a lot of bending. I don't know how many crack, but they do bend the wood in two different directions (with and across the grain) at the same time which is the same as you are doing, and many of them don't crack. I think they only use green wood though and turn it very thin. Maybe a combination of the two ideas like using your backing jig in the steamer with a little pressure on the spout, and increase the pressure every few minutes. That maybe what you are already thinking of though.

I like your projects. They seem to always promote a lot of thinking, and that's a good thing.

[John Hart]

John, I've done a bit of bending lexan strips, and had to heat them over a flame very carefully right up to where the material would start to get bubbles inside in order to make the curves, much hotter than unpressurized steam.

One other thing, when bringing IN steam there should be a opening to let OUT the excess of air/water vapor, right ??

Choosing wood that has stronger fiber bonding, like Elm would help in preventing the splitting that can/will occur depending how/where you bend/distort the wood, also you have to keep the temp up, at the water boiling temp at least, to be able to get the fibers to slide by each other, as that's the temp for the lignin to become kind of fluid.

I'm interested in what you will be able to do with your setup, I know R. Raffan did a little wood distorting on thin bowls when using the microwave to dry and to shape the rims a little, using the natural distortion that occurs to help him, but nothing else that I know of.

Coming back here once more, one other thing to remember is that yes you can distort wood, but you can not make it longer.

Anyway, like I always say,
Have fun and take care !!

Thanks Leo...good food for thought. On the spout, I am just trying to fold it over a bit...not make it longer. It's not much of a bend...just a little. I'm hoping that I can acheive that.

Also on the relief...Yes, I intend to keep the drain valve open to allow steam to escape. I'm going to keep a close eye on the pressure. I don't want too much or the force can be quite high over a 15x15 area.

[John Hart]

That's cool how you whipped up that steamer John. I was wondering if a certain profile of the turning might lend itself to more stable/less cracking than others. Just a thought.

Those who turn hats sure do a lot of bending. I don't know how many crack, but they do bend the wood in two different directions (with and across the grain) at the same time which is the same as you are doing, and many of them don't crack. I think they only use green wood though and turn it very thin. Maybe a combination of the two ideas like using your backing jig in the steamer with a little pressure on the spout, and increase the pressure every few minutes. That maybe what you are already thinking of though.

I like your projects. They seem to always promote a lot of thinking, and that's a good thing.

Thanks Ernie....I forgot about the hats!!! I wonder if Doug Thompson could lend a thought or two.
But, yep...not going as thin as the hats, this might be a different animal.

[John Hart]

But here on day three...my caulking is still not cured :(

It's been in the 80's...but the humidity is 2000%. The caulk is still partially white. Can't risk it. Gonna hafta wait. :rolleyes:

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

John,
Having spent the better part of my working life in the clothing manufacturing industry, I have lots of experience around steam. I am sure you have not built your box to become a pressure vessel. You actually want it to leak. Steam is 212 degrees until it becomes pressurized. Then the heat rises dramatically. You actually want to build a leaky box that the steam will pass through and pressure and temperature will not build out of control.
Be careful. I've unfortunately seen the results of skin damage from pressurized steam and the image will last with me forever. Build it loose and generate plenty of steam. Cut a drain hole i the box and tip the box down hill a bit to allow condensation to escape. Put the work piece on a shelf to keep condensate from touching it and staining. Good Luck.
fmr

[Neil Strong]

Cut a drain hole i the box and tip the box down hill a bit to allow condensation to escape. Put the work piece on a shelf to keep condensate from touching it and staining.

Those suggestions from Faust were the only additional ones that I would have made from watching Jake Darvall steam and bend his Windsor Chair spindles. Website here (http://www.darvallsmodernwindsors.com/)

If you have steamed flatware before you will know that you will have to sand again after steaming... it sure lifts the fibres.

....

[Allen Neighbors]

But here on day three...my caulking is still not cured :(

It's been in the 80's...but the humidity is 2000%. The caulk is still partially white. Can't risk it. Gonna hafta wait. :rolleyes:

Good. Don't you mess up now. My money's on you!! :D

[Tom Sherman]

Lots of interesting stuff here John, I am wondering if your backing being made of wood might need some sealing to prevent them from soaking up moisture. Just a thought and maybe not very important. Luck to you my friend

[Scott Lux]

but the humidity is 2000%

No kidding. I went fishing yesterday and had trouble figuring out where the river started and the air stopped.

[Ralph Lindberg]

Thanks boys....
....
The fact is...when I used the PVC pipe for the steamer, it got pretty soft...and I had to mount it to a piece of plywood so that it had some rigidity.....

Em.... there are commercial PVC heaters for bending it, we have also built steam boxes (plywood) to bend it

Wouldn't be my first choice for material for a steambox

[Ralph Lindberg]

I won't comment on your steam box setup. I will say that I am skeptical that you can bend turned wood to some preconceived shape. I am sure you can cause it to warp.....

I have, on purpose, bent green bowls. What I did was turn a wet/green bowl to finish, then using straps applied pressure (working with the grain) to bend it to more oval

[John Hart]

Thanks Faust...I promise...I'll be careful. I have a low tolerance for pain.:(

..unless I'm drunk...then I don't care.;)


Em.... there are commercial PVC heaters for bending it, we have also built steam boxes (plywood) to bend it

Wouldn't be my first choice for material for a steambox

Actually..it wasn't my choice Ralph. With your comment, I think you'd be amazed at the number of places on the internet that specify PVC Pipe for a steambox. Full design plans and everything. I built mine from those specifications....then regretted it later.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have used something else.


Lots of interesting stuff here John, I am wondering if your backing being made of wood might need some sealing to prevent them from soaking up moisture.
Thanks Tom...well...other than a whimisical thought here and there...I never really intended on the backing or the press to go in the steamer. It's my intent to steam the turned piece for 30-40 minutes...have the fixture set up in a press....pull the piece out of the steamer, then press it.

I think that's the right way to do it.:confused: But if not...I figure there's more wood somewhere that we can experiment on.;)

[John Hart]

Good. Don't you mess up now. My money's on you!! :D

Oh Sheesh! Allen's gonna lose all his money and it's gonna be my fault.:eek:

I can't take the pressure.

Where's my Lacquer?:)

[Tom Sherman]

John I don't know where my head was, wanna share that lacqer

[John Coloccia]

So did it blow up, or what? :)