Wood Bending Steam Box: For a commissioned sculpture I needed to bend some lengths of pine in a 90 degree arc. To do that I researched both kerf bending and steam bending and ultimately settled on steam bending. Now I had to figure out how to make a box that could stand up   To do that I researched both kerf bending and steam bending and ultimately settled on steam bending. Now I had to figure out how to make a box that could stand up to a few weeks of solid use. After a few tutorials I settled on the following design. **Full disclosure -- I had fully made and used the steam box when a friend told me about the awesomeness that is www.- so I had to unassemble and photograph the process. Steam-bent from solid wood + Finished part has best appearance with continuous end-to-end grain + No glue-up with visible glue lines + Strong; no short cross-grain structural weakness – Bending and cooling forms required – Steam box and boiler required – Ultimate curve shape may be somewhat unpredictable.  Cut from solid wood + No form or clamps required, no apparatus to build, just apply a pattern or lay out part directly on workpiece – Board must be wide enough to accommodate the curve, often wasting material – Wood grain does not follow curve of part giving an unnatural appearance – Structural weakness where wood grain takes a short path across the part width (think broken. rocking chair rockers). Steam-bending science Tip!. Wood bending no longer has to be exclusively in the realm of the woodworking elite. Thanks to Rockler, just about anyone can start wood bending with the power of steam. Trust me, it’s a lot more convenient (and less wrinkle-inducing) than taking a really long, hot shower with your next woodworking project. The Rockler Steam Bending Kit (and plan for the steam box) will run you about $75, which is not bad for the power to literally bend mother nature’s raw materials to your whims. If you’re feeling the love for steam bending wood, you might also want to pick up a copy of Woodworker’s Guide to B. using the Veritas Steam-Bending System. Two rules of thumb are: 1. Exotic woods do not bend well. 2. Softwoods do not bend well and should be avoided. Some common domestic hardwoods will bend with great success. Based on air-dried 1" thick stock at 25% moisture content going into the steam box, the smallest bend radius you can achieve without risk of failure is shown in the table below. In our classes, we use two different styles of steam boxes. One style is a plywood box the other is a PVC tube. Our biggest steam box is a /2” x /2” x 73” plywood box. It is very simple – butt joints and screws. The work pieces are held up on dowels that run across the center of the box. The steam goes into the box via a hole drilled into the end of the box. The hole accomodates the hose from the steam File Size: KB. Jun 04,  · Steamed wood compresses considerably but stretches little. That’s why successful steam bending compresses the wood on the inside of the bend while restraining stretching along the outside. For tight bends (less than 4" radius), a steel tension strap with attached end blocks applied to the outside of the bend minimizes stretching [Drawing below]. Mild bends, with minimal stretching along the .
Mill uniform widths with your planer. I also recommend placing something under the tail end of the box so the condensation can drip out of the front rather than pooling inside. Here's a clip of Sauzedde steaming a different piece, this one right at a mold:. The general rule for steam bending wood is 1 hour for every 1 in 2. Let's do this!

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