Best wood for bending. I would however avoid some species if this is your first attempt. Bent wood can add uniqueness and flair to a project. Shipwright louis sauzedde shows us more about how to use a plastic bag to steam wood so it can be bent in place while being steamed. And steam bending creates attractive curved parts.
What is the finished item used for. In this video a large piece of mahogany is being bent for the. Keep notes on species thickness bend radius and steaming time and always bend at least one more part than. How to bend wood.
Forest service has evaluated 25 hardwood species for relative bending quality. If you have access to back issues of woodenboat magazine see my article i like it hot in issue 88. There are several different methods that can be used each with its advantages and. If you can only get kiln dried stock prolonged soaking in salted water restores some but not all of the bending properties.
Those are species that have open short gr. It will be easy for you to decide which one is best for the job you need to do after reading our article. There are many woods that are good for bending steam heat thin lamination etc stock selection the us. Just about any wood can be successfully bent depending on how patient you are so there is no best.
In this article we will show you that there are several techniques for forming wood into curveswe will look at three methods such as microwave kerf cut and steam bending.