Actually, I’m trying to get a twist in some small (3/8″ x3/8″) pieces of varied hardwoods. In an earlier thread someone suggested that something that small could be done by simply boiling the wood until it was soft enough to twist, but I’m having no luck. After 20 – 30 minutes the wood still wont twist very easily, and what has twisted seems to go almost all the way back once released. Maybe I need to clamp until completely dry?
I’ve tried this with maple, purple heart and bamboo, and I wish I could get them to be more elastic. Is there something I might add to the water? I tried salt (to raise the boiling point) and dish soap (thought it might help penetrate) and I know ammonia is used in steam bending, but it didn’t seem like a good thing to boil in my kitchen.
Anyone have any ideas? Thanks
Replies
Bamboo can be twisted with direct, dry heat. A heat gun is probably the best source. It has to be HOT so take care to avoid scorching.
Steam is the common method for wood bending. There have been several threads about steam bending here recently. And yes, you do need to keep the wood clamped until it is cool and dry. You will still likely get some springback.
My suggestion might be completely bonkers--BUT---I vaguely recall an experiment we tried as kids where we soaked pencils in vinegar and after a time they would start to get rubbery and bendable. It was a long time ago.
http://www.decorativecomponents.com/index-products.asp
Check out this site and the bendywood product. Ammonia is used for bending but only in a lab type setup using anhydrous ammonia in an auto-clave. Very dangerous to do in your kitchen. Grain type has a big influence on bending. Quarter sawn bends nice. Air dried wood is better for bending with steam or in general. Hot steam is preferred over boiling wood. Woodcraft has a good book on bending and I believe taunton has a book it recently published on bendind. Lee Valley has a "how to" on their website on steam bending. Otherwise laminate bending is pretty safe and simple. The bendywood stuff is out of this world. You can bend it cold and just twist it to shape. They sell the processed wood. It's not something the average person can do. The special equipment costs thousands of dollars. Basically they autoclave the wood with steam and compress the fibers lengthwise under many ton of pressure and it becomes like a limp noodle.
I've also heard of using fabric softener ("Sta-Puff") and soaking/boiling the wood in a dilute solution. It was claimed to make the wood very pliable -- clamp and let dry.
For bending small stock (like guitar purfling) I use a garment steamer, directing steam at the stock while bending: watch your fingers! You do have to clamp the stock - and you'll still experience some springback. Grain orientation is critical, as is selecting stock in which there's little or no grain run-out.
Over-boiling or steaming the wood can cook the lignin, turning it into the wood equivalent of limp, overcooked pasta.
I've had very good luck twisting glued-up laminations into all kinds of weird profiles that might seem far-fetched. With careful resawing and stock selection, the laminations can be rendered virtually invisible. You will have to clamp the work until the glue cures.
Additionally, when gluing-up thin laminations, there's little or no springback after the glue has cured IF you use a glue that doesn't creep, such as epoxy, Unibond-800, Weldwood Plastic Cement, etc.; white and yellow glues remain sufficiently elastic to allow the laminations to slide out of alignment with one another when severely twisted or bent.
Good luck,
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
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