Bending With The New Steam Box

Today I used the new steam box to bend a board. But before I started I did some work to make the juggling of all those clamps and cauls easier to deal with. The spring clamps came with plastic tips on them to protect the wood. Plastic tips and very hot wood do not go well together, so I removed the tips.

Tip

The Clamps Have Plastic Tips

When I took off the plastic tips, I found the jagged jaws that the clamps have. To avoid denting the wood I had made some cauls out of my first bent board. They worked OK, but it is difficult to juggle them while I am bending the hot wood. So I have decided to make some cauls that will remain on the clamps.

Jagged

The Jaws of the Clamps are Jagged

I cut up some 1/2" plywood that I found lying around to make the cauls. I don't know how thick it really is because I didn't measure it, but I suspect that it isn't 1/2". I made them about 2 1/2" long.

Caul

I Made Some Small Cauls to Put On the Clamps

I sawed a slot for the clamp in each end.

Slot

Sawing a Slot

I cut the piece in half to make two cauls.

Cutting

Cut the Piece in Half

The slots are too wide to make a tight enough fit onto the end of the clamp, so I shimmed them with a piece of paper.

Paper

Shim the Cauls With Paper

There you go. Two cauls on the clamp. These will protect the wood and not melt under the heat.

Two Cauls

The Two Cauls Stay on the Ends of the Clamps

When the clamps are in use, they will be mostly open like this, so the cauls should be parallel to each other.

Parallel

When Clamped, the Cauls Will Be Parallel

I made three sets of cauls for three clamps. Here they are, ready to go.

Three

Three Clamps Have Stuck On Cauls

Enough of that. On to the wood bending. Here is how the board goes into the box.

Box

Open the Door and Insert the Board

Then I drop the gate latch hook into the matching eye to hold the door closed.

Latch

Latch the Door Shut Using the Gate Latch

We are ready to go. The form is clamped in the vise, and the spring clamps are inside the form for quick access.

Ready

The Form and Clamps Are Ready to Go

The steamer is cooking away. The drool is not coming out of the low end of the box into the drool bucket anymore. The steam is condensing and flowing down the hose onto the floor, so I put the Bundt pan under it to catch the drool on that end. Why a Bundt pan? That was all I could find in the panic of the moment.

Bundt

The Bundt Pan Catches the Drool

Here is a closeup of the new drool pan.

Bundt

Closeup of the Bundt Pan

While we wait, here is a closeup of the steamer that I use. This is a plain wallpaper steamer that I bought on-line. It cost about $50 (in 2012). It holds plenty of water to steam a board and simply plugs into a regular wall outlet. It takes about a half hour for it to work up enough steam to insert the board. I start it out with hot tap water to speed things up.

Steamer

The Steamer

Here are the details of how I steamed this board.

After the 30 minute steam I removed the board and wrapped it quickly around the form, clamping it as I went.

Done

The Wood Has Been Bent Around the Form

Here is another view.

Another View

Another View of the Bent Wood

Yet another view.

Yet Another View

Yet Another View

You may have noticed that I ran out of clamps. I had to throw in another spring clamp with a caul, plus I used the C clamps again because the board bowed out in some places and was not round. I tried to keep from over tightening the C clamps this time to avoid the flat spots I got last time. I don't know why I am getting bulges in the bent wood. We shall see what I got when I remove it from the form after 24 hours.





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Original post date January 15, 2012

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Last updated December 29, 2012