HOME CLINIC; 'COOKING' AND OTHER WAYS TO GIVE WOOD A CURVED SHAPE (Published 1983) (2024)

BENDING ordinary wood or plywood to a curved shape can enhance many home woodworking projects - for example, when building furniture with curved legs or cabinets with curved fronts, or when making curved railings, and even for building homemade sports equipment such as a toboggan or custom-made curved backpacking board.

For bending most solid lumber (except very thin strips that bend easily without cracking), there are two basic methods most often used by do-it-yourselfers:

1. Steaming or soaking the wood in boiling water to soften it. 2. Saw-kerfing or grooving the back of the wood so it will bend easily without danger of splitting or cracking.Steaming or soaking lumber can be accomplished in several ways. One method is to rig up a trough of some kind, using a length of rain gutter, for instance. Place the wood in this and fill with boiling water, then lay heavy strips of canvas or old blankets on top to keep the water hot and to hold the wood under the water. Keep pouring boiling water over the top every few minutes to keep it hot. Depending on the thickness of the wood, this should be kept up for anywhere from one to three hours to make the wood fully pliable.

Many find it simpler to steam the wood by wrapping it in heavy aluminum foil. Wrap the foil loosely around the wood, then crimp one end tightly closed so it will hold water. Pour water in from the open end, and then crimp this closed, too.

Now place the whole thing over a charcoal grill or hot plate of some kind and leave it there while the water on the inside boils and turns to steam. If the package is a long one, heating it along its full length is really not necessary. Tilt it, and heat just the lowest end. The water will boil and create steam that will work its way up through the full length.

Leave a small opening at the far end so steam can escape, and let this ''cook'' for about two to three hours. Be sure you add more water as needed to keep it steaming.

While the wood is steaming, a bending form or jig should be set up for actually bending the wood to the shape desired after it is removed. This can consist of blocks of scrap wood suitably nailed onto some type of backing or supporting board, and arranged so that when the steamed wood is bent around the blocks it will be formed to the shape desired.