Steam Bending A Toboggan / Sled
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Here I primarily cover tips and techniques for steam bending lumber. In this case it happens to be for building a toboggan but the same guidelines apply for any application.
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this is an awesome project , it's now on the list for my 4 year old grandson... I recently steam bent a handrail for a deck 20' long. I used a 4" suction hose for a mud pump and plumbed it to a lid I made for my turkey fryer as my steamer....
used IPE wood ,what a pain even with the steam I had to bend it in 3/4" thick strips.
great video....
Thank you! I am just about done with our toboggan--all the pieces have been steamed and bent, just need to put it together. I referred to your video a LOT before steam bending (during, too). I used a PVC pipe with pencils skewering it every 2 feet or so to keep the wood off the PVC, and small blocks to keep the slat perpendicular to the bottom for more uniform steaming.
Your video, and my copy of your form, made this go from a crazy idea (I'm no boatbuilder, never steamed wood before) to reality. Thanks again.
Awesome video that includes what works and what doesn't from past experiences. Very informative and fun to watch!
Thank you. After just now doing a big time "fail", I really understand a lot more.
I tried with a piece of kiln dried red oak and guess what-- "Fail".
Don't know if the "soak it overnight" woulda helped in my case, but I will certainly do it that way from now on.
After steaming for half an hour and having the big fail, it was pretty clear that the steam hadn't gotten more that 1/16" into the wood.
I have a LOT of air dried stuff around here, but I think I'll take some red oak logs that were cut just before winter and have 'em sawed, then right to the bender. On my sample piece, I had to plane a 3/4" piece down to 3/8, but since I am going to the mill, I'll have them saw to 1/2"+ for me.
I live in west central Wisconsin.
Thanks again. Very helpful.
+Frenchcreekvalley .frenchcreekvalley I suspect you're going to have much better results with the fresh cut lumber :-) Another thing that helps is to have it quartersawn so the grain is running vertical across the width of the boards (less tendency for splitting). Let me know how it goes! Good luck!!! You're probably just a few hours South of me ;-) I'm on Lake Superior
Hey Chris, With thicker stock I do use a strap but for this I decided not to because I was working with thin material (3/8") and the test bends that I did were 100% successful. It wasn't until I turned the camera on that I had a few that blew out on me :-) Straps are never a bad idea I just didn't do it this time..
When you finish yours please post some pics on my Facebook Page!! Would really like to see it :-)
Awesome Job on this video and project Andy!!
The stuff memories are made of, bootifully done.
Thank you! I now know what my Grandaughters Christmas gift is in 2020! Great Project! Subscribed!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I wish I had seen your video before I attempted to steam bend some parts for an antique car body! None of the other videos on UA-cam mention the use of green wood. I have been trying to bend kiln dried wood and the spring back is horrendous. I could not get a piece that would fit the required shape! If I can find some green wood, I will try again...
Again, thank you!
I didn't know that information about "quarter sawed" vice plain sawed. Good information, as I thought it would be just the other way around!! It was a total guess on my part. Actually, I've built only four Windsor Chairs, and it almost seemed like the "fails" were random. But I guess they weren't!!!
Anyway, I noticed you smiling after the "fails." Funny thing, the fails never bothered me either!! Rather, all fails were an opportunity to learn.
I loved your steamer, but your bending jig was a work of art!! Indexing!! As I found out the hard way, what is the good of a random bend.
Again. Good job.
Thanks Memphis!!
I suggest to use a thin steel band clamped to the outer side at both ends as long as the wood piece to be bent ist straight. This reduces the stress on the outer side of the wood during bending, as it forces the inner side to compress. With this nethod one can bend wood that is not perfect for bending, and you can reduce splintering. Just give it a try.
Great video! - Thx for all your content during 2012 Andy - Have a great New Year !
3:26 - doesn't that QS grain orientation make the slats more prone to splitting? I've always thought thin slats should be flat-sawn.
That FF part was funny! What a great gift. Happy New Year my friend!
Just found your channel- Your natural, excellent tips!!!!
Happy New Year Andy to you and your family !
Great Video Andy I love the Toboggan!
Great job, Andy. However, you can keep the snow..it's cold enough in Georgia without it!
Hi,
I really like your video. I am building a toboggan as well and I am in the steam bending process right now. I like the bending jig you made - super simple. Have you tried using a compression strap to prevent splitting during bending ? It is working for me.
Keep up the good work !
Ah man I love this project. So cool
Thank you....I have had my grain direction all wrong....I have been trying to bend Tasmanian Oak for a display stand and have wasted quiet a bit of wood (1/4 x 1 1/2" strips).
Very cool video. I'm trying to make a steam bent snare drum shell (14" dia x 5" deep x 3/8" thick) from white Oak. I'm guessing green quarter sawn boards would be a good starting point. I'm just not sure how long the green wood will take to reach about 8% moisture content after it has been formed!
Thank you for these tips, great work.
A belated Merry Christmas you you and yours! Thanks again for your vids, they're great. All the best in 2013!!!
Excellent video Andy. Any tips for bending balsa wood ?. I will be building an extension pod for my 18' Starcraft and thinking about using balsa for my outside radius to follow the contour of my hull.
I like the cursing bumble bees towards the end :)
Very Kewl. Thanks and Happy New Year to you and yours.
excellent work! Congratulations. I'm from Argentina, and I write from the google translator. My question is that wood is suitable to use for the assembly of the sled? thanks for your time. A big hug.
+Bernardo Regueira Typically oak and ash are good woods for bending, but unfortunately I'm not sure what species you have that are local. Some looking around on Google should help to figure out what would work :-) Good luck!
excellent video,good job !
Andy, just to let you know, your video is now up to date, Christmas 2013 has come and gone :-)
Love the video by the way !
Paul Hughes HaHa! I forgot about that :-) Happy New Year to you!
No! Really? R U sure? lol
hey, first of all awesome video,
I really want to start a tobaggan project,have couple questions,
what wood is best: oak, ash, mahogany etc.
plus my understanding is that green wood is best for bending, will the wood play a bit when it dries and is it safe to butt end the sleds or do you leave a lil space in between.
hope you answer my question.
thanks from canada
Hello, Mr. Miller. Thanks for the video, very good!! Also, do you know a good book about bending wood for furniture?
is there a reason you could not just boil a barrel full of water and bend the wood that way, obviously I would soak the wood overnight first?
Do you ever use a compression strap to keep the wood from splintering?
Occasionally.. Although I've found that if the wood is going to split, it's going to split with or without a strap. That said, it's still a good idea and practice :-)
how could you know the difference between air dried and kiln dried wood . Can you buy wood from home depot or lumber yard? I like your video
James Weissbach Pretty much anythig bought in a big box store is going to be kiln dried. About the only way to get air dried is from a saw mill or sawyer.. Check the yellow pages in your area to see if there are any options locally :-)
My two cents: I didn't have access to anything I knew would be air dried as opposed to kiln dried. I bought mine from my local lumber yard and just steamed it for a long time (at least 45 mins each piece) and was very careful with bending. None broke. I used oak.
LMAO, that was funny and creative!
Good stuff! Now to find some snow in Austin!
I'll never tell :-)
you use a pen? I'm an old time wood worker , is there an advantage?
What is "QS" grain?
Go Wisconsin!!!
indeed it was ! FAIL ! WIN !! :) subscribed
i'm trying to figure out what he says in his last fail ! stupid something ! hehe anyone ?
I wouldn't bother with all that steaming, I'd laminate with epoxy, easier, stronger, quicker.
but nowhere near as much fun lol!!
@@boatworkstoday You're obviously young and think life is short!