I have not done any steam-bending in over 20 years, because I started vacuum-bagging about then, and I adjusted my thinking to work with using that technique.
Since I now have a sawmill, and plenty green and air-dried lumber, I have recently been thinking about setting up a nice steam-box, and bending station.
I have not seen much lately where anyone was using steaming very creatively.
Does anyone have book recommendations or websites to direct me to. While I am after something to inspire my creativity, I would also like to avoid doing something that others are already doing.
I am not looking for “How-to Information”, Thanks in advance, Keith
Replies
My sense is that people making furniture of new design use bent lamination, and the only people left doing steam bending are the people doing reproduction of older designs, for instance Michael Dunbar doing Windsor chairs (http://www.thewindsorinstitute.com/)
Michael Fortune, from someplace near Toronto, uses steam bending on all of his chairs, which, by the way sell for an average of about $5,000 each. (And up to over $10,000). As they generally are dining room chairs, they sell by the half dozen.
He uses steam bending because (A) band-sawn shapes end up with short-grain, weak sections and (B) laminated sections, when shaped, show what can be ugly transitions from one lamination to the next. Also, laminations are weakened considerably in mortise and tenon joinery.
Lee Valley has an outstanding "how to" booklet and also has the convex-side, steel strap and attachments to prevent breakout when bending.
JF
I don't know if this is the type of thing you have in mind, Keith. Might start some juices flowing. Click on design and also try to follow some of the links, they're not easy if you don't speak Scandinavian languages and you'll have to have some special reader like Adobe golive4, but there are some unique things they can lead to. You should be looking around art and design sites. There are also a few hundred thousand Google images in sculpture, design, etc.
http://www.compwood.dk/
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I love fiddling around with steam bending.
A couple of years ago, I was watching someone put together one of those fake Xmas trees, and I thought doing some kind of abstract tree with steam bent wood might make a very interesting piece.
I haven't had time to do it, but it is still on my list.
If that idea tickles your fancy, it would be great to see what someone with your kind of skill and creativity would come up with......................
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"I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there."
-- Herb Caen (1916-1997)
Ha ha, No you missed me there. I don't do much in the way of decorating for the holliday season. I normally just cut some possum-haw branches and stick them in a nice crystal vase with black marbles in it to keep them arranged. This a small tree that is just covered with small red berries, so it comes already decorated for Christmas. I am going to just see how big and thick I can bend. I am thinking of table legs right now.
the xmas tree thing was the inspiration -- I was thinking more of an abstract tree, one that would sit over in the corner instead of potted tree, like a ficus.********************************************************
"I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there."
-- Herb Caen (1916-1997)
Well, I did a little practice run tonight that I guess went OK. I bent a 1 3/4" X 2 1/2" X 5' piece of air-dried walnut at 10% MC through 90* with a 9" radius.I steamed it for 2 hours since it was drier than I would have liked. I did not have any adjustments on my strap to ease off on the end-pressure, and started getting a little wrinkle on the inside half of the bend. I won't be surprised to find that this leads to springback, and was wondering if this could have been avoided if I could have eased off on the end-pressure as the bend progressed, or is it simply a factor of too much thickness?Are any of you doing any bending, and have anyhing you would care to share? I am wondering what the limiting thickness / radaii, ratio is.I was using a 5 gal pressure cooker on my gas-grill with only one side burning, for my steam source, and insulated copper tubing into the pipe/ chamber. I was a little uneasy about whether the fire was hot enough to produce enough steam or not. I know this has to be a factor. I only lost about 5 qts. of water in that time, and did not measure the temp in the chamber.Do any of you have any first-hand knowledge here?
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