Hello, I've been trying to bend some 1/16" square sticks to 90 degrees to make Davits for lifeboats. I got it done by steaming and boiling them in water then using a crimper but it seems there should be an easier way. Any suggestions?
Bending Wood
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you are doing right
Any suggestions?
what i found out soaking the wood in hot water and bending it does not produce steam and it is the stean that does the bending
here is my way of bending wood.
i have a wood burning stove and the pipe stack gets quite hot, so what i do is just wet the wood and bend it around the hot pipe it creates instant steam the moment the wet wood touches the hot pipe. i will rewet the wood and bend it again until i get the desired bend.
most people do not have a wood burning stove so heating up a metal pipe or can will work.
go here
Any suggestions?
what i found out soaking the wood in hot water and bending it does not produce steam and it is the stean that does the bending
here is my way of bending wood.
i have a wood burning stove and the pipe stack gets quite hot, so what i do is just wet the wood and bend it around the hot pipe it creates instant steam the moment the wet wood touches the hot pipe. i will rewet the wood and bend it again until i get the desired bend.
most people do not have a wood burning stove so heating up a metal pipe or can will work.
go here
bending wood
there is enough information scattered all over this and other forums about bending planks. I thought it might be a good idea to cover the subject all in one place. so starting with the PDF file there are a few basic rules 1 not all wood is bendable some bend easy while others no matter what you...
shipsofscale.com
If this is your chosen method for bending, consider a bending iron like thse used for guitar making.
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In such situations I use styrene plastic strips. Easy to bend, looks good, can be painted if white is not the preferred color, hard to perceive the difference to wood. I use styrene plastic shaped strips for many ship model applications…especially moldings and building stern quarter gallery structures.
Wish I’d had this tool when I built my first and only plank on frame boat. I definitely would have gotten it.
I use a heat gun with jigs, no water and it works fine
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+1 for the StewMac bending iron. I have one and it works great. Just remember to wear a glove
Hi
Thank you for responding, where would I buy styrene plastic strips?
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EVERGREEN SCALE MODELS
EVERGREEN SCALE MODELS IS THE FOREMOST PRODUCER OF POLYSTYRENE STRIPS AND SHAPES FOR MODEL MAKERS ARCHITECTS, AND ARTISANS AS WELL AS THE OEM MARKET.
evergreenscalemodels.com
AS FARAS BENDING I HAVE THAT TOOL SHOWN BY STW MAC. GOT MINE ON AMAZON $100.00 INCL SHIPPING DOES THE JOB WELL AND YEA IT WILL BURNN YOU VERY BADLY. I SET MY TEMP. AT 250DEG FOR THIN PIECES AND AT 350 DEG FOR THICKER ONES WISH I HAD IT A LONG TIME AGO. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE ALL DON
Dave at Lumberyard listed the best direct source for styrene plastics. Evergreen. Thanks Dave! What I did is ordered a dozen different size strips and I keep them handy along with left over wood to grab when building a model and I need to kit bash something. Evergreen stocks styrene shapes in scale so you can select in the scale (or very close) you need.
Many local hobby shops carry Evergreen. If you’re in a rush you might want to look there. The web might have better pricing options.EVERGREEN SCALE MODELS
EVERGREEN SCALE MODELS IS THE FOREMOST PRODUCER OF POLYSTYRENE STRIPS AND SHAPES FOR MODEL MAKERS ARCHITECTS, AND ARTISANS AS WELL AS THE OEM MARKET.
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Thank you I'll try my local place
I slipped a length of 3/4" copper tubing over the barrel of a soldering iron and use this as a heat source (the bare barrel gets too hot) to bend wood that has first been wetted by dipping in water. Lamination also works well for thick pieces. For example, with a 1/16" cross section, bend two 1/32" pieces around the same former and then glue them together.
I've been using a soldering iron with about a 3/8" diameter, it's hot but does work, thanks for responding.
Great idea, thanks for responding
Here's something no one else mentioned. Choose a softer, fine grain wood for bending. Linden wood, which is white, is soft and will bend like rubber if steamed, but then you have to stain it or paint it if you want to darken it. I've had limited success with cherry. Of course, if you can get pear, that would be great. Bending open grain woods like oak, walnut, or mahogany has limitations. Dave at the Ship's Lumberyard can suggest the best wood.
Thank you, that's very interesting