Some steam bending advice please

[bob blakeborough]

Hi all,

A buddy of mine wants me to make a mirror frame for something he is doing for his girlfriend and it requires steam bending, which I have never attempted, but it seems like a great excuse to start! Please check out the pics of the kind of look he is going for and let me know if I am approaching it in an effective simple way...

282702282703

Basically I figure a capped wide piece of PVC pipe will serve well for a steam box and just a kettle for the steam supply. As a form I was simply going to trace the mirror on 3/4 plywood, cut out and stack a few, screwed together onto a larger surface, and then drill in some pegs around the form to help hold the steamed wood in place, as well as clamps, until it stiffens.

Now I am a bit perplexed on how to best approach the joint of the oval and keep it looking decent. Would a pre-cut lap joint on the very top be the way to go? For the wood I was thinking some ash I already have might be a good option...

Any thoughts to help a rookie steam bender?

[Prashun Patel]

Get the penultimate issue of FWW. Michael Fortune does a great article on steam bending.
Rockler also sells an economical steam generator for under $100 (just the kettle; you still have to make the box).

Good luck. I am also starting out in steam bending and look forward to your results; please post.

[bob blakeborough]

Get the penultimate issue of FWW. Michael Fortune does a great article on steam bending.
Rockler also sells an economical steam generator for under $100 (just the kettle; you still have to make the box).

Good luck. I am also starting out in steam bending and look forward to your results; please post.I will for sure! Anyone else?

[Pat Barry]

Another possibility for you to consider would be bent lamination. I think that might make the joining process go better. What I'm thinking though would be to overlap each layer of the lamination so the joints don't all end in the same location. It seems you could use tapered ends for each piece (sanded tapers for example) - the same tapered joint would work with a steam bent piece (tapered scarf joint). Just thinking out loud. The more you look at this the more complicated it would seem to be. I'd sure like to see the process you use with some intermediate pictures. Good luck with this.

[Lee Schierer]

Forget the capped pvc pipe. PVC softens at about 140-150 degrees, you're going to want steam at 212 degrees. Make a plywood box instead. You'll need a steam inlet and outlet, with the outlet being slightly lower than the inlet and at opposite ends from each other and a way to suspend the wood inside the box so all sides see equal steam. Also steam bent wood begins to stiffen as soon as it comes out of the steam. You will have less than a minute to wrap it around your form. Steam bending thicker wood is going to be harder than bending thin wood. You may need to get green wood that has been split with a Froe so that the wood follows the grain exactly. Any place where the grain exits the side of the piece of wood is where it is likely to break. Certain types of wood like Ash will bend easier than others.

[Chris Fournier]

I wouldn't steam bend this, it would be a bent lamination.