Steam bending question

[Joe McMahon]

I am almost dome with my steam box. I just read Lee Valley booklet on steam bending and it says that you can't use kiln dried wood?? All I have is kiln dried wood.

I plan on bending 1/4" cherry into slats for ladder back chairs.

Any suggestions other than I should cut a cherry tree, slice & sticker for a few years .......

[Marty Studer]

Green wood will bend the best. Better if you split it from the log as opposed to sawing it. Airdried wood will bend better than kiln dried. But kiln dried wood will bend. The ladder back slats should bend just fine. Steam them longer, maybe for an hour with good steam and they should bend fine. Try to make sure you follow the wood fibers when you are taking them down to size, no power plaining, draw knife is best. If you can get a cherry tree, work it up and steam it green, dont saw it up and sticker it to dry before you bend it.

[Leo Graywacz]

Yep, what Marty said.

I've bent a bunch of wood and it is always kiln dried.

[Bob Glenn]

I have bent lots of kiln dried wood. I would caution however, about steaming too long, you can actually cook the wood. You need to get the wood just hot enough to soften the lignum that holds the fibers together. I wouldn't steam any longer than 20 minutes on 1/4 inch thick wood, especially if you're only going to bend the slight curve that a ladder back slat requires. If you should have problems with separation, a back strap of galvanized sheet metal will help. Also, be aware that bending wood is and art that requires the right touch, not too fast, not too slow. Additionally, some wood bends better than others even within the same species. Some just doesn't bend at all. Good luck.

[Greg Wease]

When I took a chairmaking class from Russ Filbeck he recommended that if you have to use dry wood, soak it in a 12:1 ratio of water with Downey fabric softener for two weeks before bending. If you have trouble bending your dry wood you might give this a try. This is more important when bending the rear legs than the slats.

[Jim Ritter]

Yes I've used the Downey fabric softener also. Forgot to mention it earlier.