Head off scratches with a light polish. Use clamps to secure the steam bending oak dowel 0.1 to the side of a workbench or other support. Use a slightly longer board than you need for your final part. Soak the wood you want to bend in water for at least a day before steaming. Straight stock runs through a planer or jointer easier than bent pieces, diwel do as much sawing, surfacing, or shaping as possible before bending. Steak a workpiece puts considerable stress on the form, so when in doubt, more form width beats less every time.

Oak is one of the best woods to bend using steam because it becomes plasticised when heated and exposed to steam. Both red and white oak are ideal species to bend. You can steam oak using a steam box. Select oak that is green or that has been air dried. Kiln-dried wood will not bend even if it is steamed because it has been heat set.

Wood in general needs to be steamed for one hour per 1 inch of thickness. Bending oak is a versatile skill to learn because it can be applied to make parts for furniture and other decorative parts. Insert the oak board onto the rack in the steam box.

The rack will allow steam to penetrate all sides of the wood while it is inside the steam box. Connect the heated water source to the steam box. Turn the heat on and allow the water to heat until it produces steam. There are lots of ways to bend wood. Good stuff. Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.

Very cool, thanks for sharing! Any tips on how to make a form to bend a piece on two axis? For example, I want to make a bar stool seat that bends up on the sides and on the back. With your recommendations it sounds easier and less expensive than I thought. I just need to find a portly stunt double of my own. By Christopher Schwarz.

Let the wood sit in the form for two days before releasing it. Chris is the former editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine.

He continues to blog and publish woodworking books at Lost Steam Bending Oak Dowel Effects Art Press. He's a hand-tool enthusiast though he uses power tools, too. Guaps March 4, Alex February 25, Do you need to treat the MDF form to protect it from moisture from the steamed wood? Christopher Schwarz February 25, Crest rails are easy.

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