What type of wood(s) can I stain that will look like walnut.
houston_mitch
| Posted in General Discussion on
I need to bend 3/8 thikc * 1.25 wide walnut and am finding the walnut is too resistant to bend. I don’t have a steamer so I soak it in our heated spa. As an experiment I first tried soaking poplar and after just an hour of soaking (102 degrees) it bent to form quite easily but the walnut was much more resistant. Thinking I could just use poplar with a walnut stain I stained it and it looks terrible. Is there another wood I can try and bend that will stain to a walnut look?
Alternatively, any suggestions on how to bend the walnut. I’m thinking if I have to I’ll laminate it and then bend it. I know that should work
Replies
Make a steamer its not that big of a deal, you need the heat not the water to make the wood bend. Walnut bends just fine.
You are asking the question you already know the answer to.
I use a long pan the bend wood. It needs to be about 180 degrees. I use a couple of hot plates to heat the water -- the pan goes right on the hotcakes.
3/8 thick will take a while, soaking and heating up. You need both the heat and the moisture to bend something that thick.
Brian Boggs wrote that sweet gum bends easy. Jon Arno wrote that sweet gum can be stained to look like walnut or cherry. Here's the two articles I'm referencing:
https://www.finewoodworking.com/2021/05/11/the-best-woods-for-steam-bending
https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/22964/011142056.pdf
Consider a bent lamination rather than bending as a single piece. I have had good experiences with walnut laminations.
you plan to mix a wood and its look-alike in the same project, such as walnut and red gum, you should stain or dye both woods. If the look-alike wood is lighter in color, use two coats of color to darken it, but only one coat on the wood being imitated.
Upsers
Finishing a piece of pine with walnut stain does not make it look like walnut any more than staining a gravel driveway orange-red makes it look like brick. Even if you get the color perfect, the inherent differences in grain, pore structure and figure will give you away.
LiteBlue USPS
All good advice! I think I’ll go the lamination route. Thanks very much
It’s very easy to steam and wouldn’t take long for 3/8” thick.
Wallpaper steamer and some 2” PVC pipe.
I've done both steam bending and bent lamination. Which is best to use depends on how the piece will be used. Steam bending works well when the piece will be restrained/attached (trim on a curved wall or the back of a Windsor chair.) When the curve needs to be exact and the piece is unaided in keeping its shape, use bent laminations. (For example, the door frame of a curved front display cabinet, where the frame pieces need to fit the curved glass exactly.) With either method, you will get spring back (less with bent lamination.) You need to experiment to see how much tighter you need to make the curve of the form to get the result you want.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled