calling experienced steam benders

[fobos8]

Hi all

I'm really excited about making a this chair.
http://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j37 ... chair6.jpg

As you can see the back leg is curved. At its widest point (at seat level) it is 38mm x 38mm and it tapers 2 ways at the bottom of the leg to 25mm by 25mm and tapers one way at the top of the leg to 38mm x 25mm. The top of the leg is bent back 60mm.

Because of the tapers I don't want to laminate it as I will be cutting through the veneers.

So I either cut it from a pice of 4x2 and hope the short grain doesn't break when I sit on it or I do the job properly and steam bend it. If I steam bend it I'd use oversize timber say 50mm x 50mm and then use a template to router both legs to the exact dimensions I need.

I have no steam bending experience but have read quite a lot about it.

My timber choices are either Euro Oak, US Ash or US Black Walnut as I have some of these in the garage.

Thing is I've read that bending Kiln dried is a nightmare because the lignum in the wood gets set in the kiln.

Please offer me some thoughts to accelerate my learning curve.

Would Ash be a better choice if I'm using kiln dried?
Can I use Kiln dried if I stick the timber in the bath for a week or so prior to steaming?
Should I be getting some air dried to use instead - just for the back legs?
Should I forget about bending and just band saw it from a piece of 4x2 (in the Jeff Miller chair book I have this is what he does)

Thanks in advance, Andrew

 

[OPJ]

Hi Andrew,

My first reaction is that you should be looking to cut this leg from a solid lump of timber. Laminating is a good skill to learn but, on something like this, you can be very careful with your grain selection and how you cut each layer but, the simple fact that it is laminated can stand out from a mile away.

All I can tell you about steam bending is that ash is generally regarded as one of the best timbers to use. How effective it would actually be in your situation though, I couldn't say. There's always a tendency for the wood to spring back after being bent and, as you wouldn't be asking it to do 'too much', I wonder whether it might be more inclined to reform to its original shape (straight)?

Will you be selecting your own timber for this? I guess that largely depends on whether your local supplier lets people go through their stock... If you were able to sort the boards yourself, you could look for a length with grain that closely (or, loosely) follows the curve of your leg design (take an MDF, ply or hardboard template with you). At the very least, you should be able to find something that won't leave you with very short grain in all the wrong areas. But, I wouldn't worry about that too much as there aren't any small radii or sharp corners here, from what I can see.

 

[fobos8]

Hi Olly

You make a really good point. I just put my template on some of the 2" oak I have and yes I can find some grain that fairly closely matches the curves of the leg. Actually out of the wood I have I would struggle to find anything with straight enough grain for steaming anyway.

Many thanks, Andrew

 

[adidat]

+1 for solid, steaming would not hold that shape. although after doing some lamination work with Tom Kealy the finished result was pretty sweet, very hard to tell the difference from solid, this was euro oak.

adidat