1 Attachment(s)
Steam Bent Armrest Prototype
Happy New Year everyone :)
This unusually warm winter has been better for my geocaching stats than my progress on this project. However over the last few weeks I did find the time to steam bend the two halves of my prototype armrest, laminate them together, cut the curved board to its final shape, and give it a good sanding.
I see now why most people are not steam bending. While the second half bent more than the first, it was still not as much as I had hoped - even with spending 50% longer in the steam box than the 1-hour-per-inch rule of thumb. The lamination step took up most of the slack, but I still have about 1/2" of spring back on the finished piece. On the plus side the seam is virtually invisible.
Attachment 328420
At least now I know it *can* be done this way. I am not going to build a new form with a tighter bend to compensate, so my choice seems to be between under-bent or under-thickness armrests. I will consider this while I work on the legs.
Mike