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Today in the Shop "Building a steam box"

thunderbirdbat

How about using a metal duct for a liner in a wood box? It would allow for a tighter seal and having the wood around it would insulate the duct and prevent you from burning yourself on it.

JPG

Rectangular duct with an insulating shroud.

algale

Congrats. If it didn't work this time, I was going to suggest you needed a new thermometer -- one that read in wood species.

Dansmith

That's funny and clever, algale. :)

JPG

That may require some explaining! :D

Maybe too clever! ;)

masonsailor2

Ed the one I used in the boatyard was I think 8" pvc. It looked like it had been in use for quite a few years and although pretty dirty worked well. We were steaming Teak and it definitely did the job. The advantage of the pvc is that you could size it to the job. For the thin strips you could use 2" or 3" pvc which would be cheap and probably be quicker due to less space to heat.

Paul

reible

I've done some more reading and it was mentioned kiln-dry wood is not very good for this process. And of course that is what I've been using...... oh well.

I've also noted that soaking wood for while helps, some said at least over night others mentioned days, but I'd think thin wood like I'm using it should take too long.

The videos I posted on saw dust were the parts I've made for the next round of twisting and perhaps getting to the actually project. I still need to make a jig to hold the twisted pieces which might happen tomorrow if the weather is good for it.

At any rate the oak is soaking:

I'll let you know how this all turns out.

Hobbyman2

It cant hurt, how long do you think it will take to dry,,Small pieces can be slowly dried in a microwave or oven, those look pretty long for that.

Hobbyman2

Hobbyman2 wrote how long do you think it will take to dry,,Small pieces can be slowly dried in a microwave or oven, those look pretty long for that.

When we did the boat rails years ago we let it dry in place on the boat so it was a perfect fit with no stress.

reible

All the pieces are bent and now I have to let them dry for a week or two.... or longer. They will be painted so we will have to see how that goes.

Soaking might have been a help but not a lot and it added time to the process. I can't say they did any better or did it faster or anything but maybe that is due to the nature of what I was doing.

Well here is the picture showing it happened, so maybe this will be it for this thread. We have gone beyond the build into testing and how it to producing parts...... I think that is far enough for one thread.

masonsailor2

Perseverance is the hallmark of success. Well done Ed !

Paul

PS : Were they medium or well done ?

BuckeyeDennis

Looks like they turned out real good, Ed. Are you going to show us what you're building with them?

It turns out that I have most of a steam-bending kit myself, and never even realized it. Or at least I will when the wife is finished stripping the old wallpaper! 😃

nuhobby

Here's to the Wagner steam-generator! I have one, also.

For this project, though, I did my final bending with the primary instrument being an up-cycled Goodwill hot hair curling iron.

Anyway, sequence more or less as depicted.... for better or worse I've started making another guitar! Yeah, it's oak, and nobody buys oak guitars, but I like domestic woods:

JPG

1 down, one to go?

Looks damn good to me. Let us know how it sounds.

BuckeyeDennis

Yes, and please share the rest of the build as well! 😃

CreekWood

Reible, You might try lining your box with foam board insulation. I've cured archery bow glue-ups in an "oven" made from plywood lined with 1" foil-faced expanded polystyrene (EPS?). Four 100W incandescent bulbs got a 7' x 2' x 1' box and a hefty plywood form up to 400 degrees in about an hour in summer. Come winter, that was a challenge, so I threw a bunch of blankets and a tarp over the box--and quickly discovered an incredible amount of moisture condensing in the blankets.

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