Hi everyone,
I need to bend some oak for a project. I've done it before but it was a long time ago...
Two questions :
-
my plan is to bend a 40x70 mm (1,5" x 2,75") section of oak to a 500mm (20") internal radius, is that realistic?
-
do I have to steam the whole piece or can I build a smaller steam box to only accept the end that needs to be bent?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Edit: added measurements in inches for universal convenience
Oak would be a good species to try and bend but other than that I can only say good luck!
If the curve is ultimately not manageable with steam bending consider taking a look at kerf cut bending. I've never attempted it but when using a tapered router bit the kerf cuts should almost disappear when the curve is glued.
https://www.blocklayer.com/kerf-spacingeng
Block layer is the absolute tits
Thanks, I'll try my best!
Also thank you for the kerf cut idea, i'll keep it in mind as a backup solution.
That website is going straight into my bookmarks!
Cheers
BluGill gave advice on only steaming the bend portion. My only comment would be steam slightly past what you consider the bend start/stop because the material on the other side of that line still has to compress or stretch a bit also.
Good point, noted. Thanks!