“Measure once, cut once”
Ever wonder what wood you’ll actually need to steam bend? Oh, you don’t even know what Steam Bending is? Let me explain….
So, there are different ways to create steam but I use a generator and a wooden box to keep the steam in.
Below is a digram and also the machine I use:
Once you have your machine to get the pieces steamed, you create a “Bending form” for the shape you need.
Below is an image of a “Bending form”
Now that you have an idea of what steam bending is, you can learn about what materials you’ll need to actually make something. When you steam your wood know that for every half inch thickness of wood add 30 minutes of steam time. When you take it out of the steamer note that you only have seconds to start bending it.
Grain check:
When you check your grains out you want vertical straight grains all the way down the board. You don’t want any knots, cracks, or bumps on the wood because it will cause it to break. Like the picture below:
You can notice the grains in the wood above are straight down the wood, and that’s good. But it had a knot in it where it was bent and caused it to break.
So now, before you steam bend remember to always check your grains. Make sure they are straight all the way down and no has no knots.
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