Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Sep 19, 2010 08:04am | #1

   As you may know, Andrew, the grain of the piece along with its thickness will have a lot to do with how well it bends. Riven, or split, lumber usually gives you the best bending capability. You can split some pieces off a board with a hatchet.

2. 
   DonStephan | Sep 19, 2010 06:46pm | #2

   That sounds like an extremely tight radius if you are in fact trying to bend 1" thick material.  If steam bending won't work, you might experiment with resawing into strips and laminating with a rigid glue like epoxy or urea formaldehyde.  I like the longer open time of the latter, but the glue isn't clear like epoxy.  1/8" thick strip may have trouble with that radius, you'll have to experiment.

1. 
   atmartin23 | Sep 19, 2010 09:34pm | #3

   I first tried experimenting with some left over white oak i had from another project. It didn't work. The radius is too tight. After a little more research i found that most steam bending is done with green lumber. The yellowheart i have was most likely kiln dried. I ended up cutting 1/8" strips, steaming those strips, and laminating them together to make my radius. 1/8" strips of yellowheart are still too stiff to make that type of bend. After steaming the strips, I clamped them in my mold to take a set. I waited awhile, took them out, applied glue, then clamped them back in the mold. the glue lines are tight and almost un-noticeable. I can tell they're laminated, but i guess it's one of those things that only I will notice. I would still like a chart for minimum bend radii of different species of wood (for a given thickness) if something like that exists.