Bending 1X stock

[Walt Pater]

I need to bend some 1X6 poplar around a 16" radius. I've done radius work before, but on a bigger scale, where I could kerf the stock and caul clamp the whole shebang, but this is on a smaller scale. I do not own a steaming cabinet (though I could probably make one), and have heard about using ammonia to aid the bending process. It's for paint-grade baseboard, and if it were easier, I could use pine. Anyone with experience with ammonia? Thanks, Walt.

[Todd Burch]

Walt, no experience with ammonia here, but if it were me, and it was paint grade baseboard, I would rip (qty=6) 1/8" or (qty=4) 3/16" tall strips of poplar (bandsaw) and glue and nail them in place.

[Michael Ballent]

I need to bend some 1X6 poplar around a 16" radius. I've done radius work before, but on a bigger scale, where I could kerf the stock and caul clamp the whole shebang, but this is on a smaller scale. I do not own a steaming cabinet (though I could probably make one), and have heard about using ammonia to aid the bending process. It's for paint-grade baseboard, and if it were easier, I could use pine. Anyone with experience with ammonia? Thanks, Walt.

What I would do is a bent lamination, resaw the wood 1/8" or thinner. Run the pieces through a drum sander or planer to smooth them up. Glue the the faces with the glue of your choice, I prefer something that has a long open time. Bend the slices around a form with plenty of clamps and wait for the glue to set. When you are done run one side over the jointer, place it through the planer to get final "width" 6" in your case. Cut the ends as you wish. HTH :D It should not be too tough, heck I've done it ;)

-Michael

[David Rose]

Walt, I've been steam bending some 3/4 X 2" cedar to an 18" radius. I have the caul assembly clamped to my setup table which is a solid core door clamped to saw horses. With that relatively thin and narrow wood, I have to apply enough pressure to the band assembly to slide the table about two feet. That is with my wife holding the table to slow the movement. With male and female cauls you could clamp the whole affair and avoid the physical pressure, but 1 x 6" pieces would take a lot of clamping pressure. Even though clamps have considerable pressure, I cannot apply enough pressure with clamps alone to pull these smaller pieces down. Surprisingly (to me at least) I can apply more pressure by hand. There is a 2' lever attached to the end of the band assembly so I do have some advantage there. I doubt cedar is tougher to bend than a hardwood, but don't really know yet. All this to say, I think it would take a *lot* for force even after steaming to move that much wood. I think I would go with the laminations. If you try steaming it, or find another method *please* post back about results. I and others would love to know how it comes out.

David

[Todd Burch]

Actually, the more I've been thinking about this baseboard application, the more I'm thinking on the practicality of all this. When was the last time you saw a trim carpenter with a steam box, ammonia setup or even a bandsaw on a jobsite?

Call your local well-stocked building supply house (not a big box) and order some Ultraflex in 1X6. It's rubber, but so what - it's getting painted!

See http://www.ultraflexmoulding.com/pdf/S4S_moulding.pdf

Todd