How to bend wood like this - Outdoor furniture project

[Alan Lightstone]

Watch Darren Oatts on the 'Tube for the bending techniques.

Funny, a quick search for "Darren Oatts" on YouTube gives you lots of Hall and Oates videos.

[Jim Becker]

Funny, a quick search for "Darren Oatts" on YouTube gives you lots of Hall and Oates videos.

LOL I fat-fingered the spelling

https://www.youtube.com/@darrenoatesfinefurniture3648

[Alan Lightstone]

LOL I fat-fingered the spelling

https://www.youtube.com/@darrenoatesfinefurniture3648

Thanks, Jim. LOL.

Very impressive setup for steam bending wood. Best I've ever seen.

Now next question then. What are good outdoor woods that are also good for steam bending?
And how in the world to get springback to stay the same in each piece. Leave them bent in the form for a long time?

[Mel Fulks]

Alan, that should have been “to my esteamed Friend”.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks, Jim. LOL.

Very impressive setup for steam bending wood. Best I've ever seen.

Now next question then. What are good outdoor woods that are also good for steam bending?
And how in the world to get springback to stay the same in each piece. Leave them bent in the form for a long time?

White oak (preferably air dried), Mahogany, etc. You do the bend for the layers twice; with steam first and left to dry in the form and then glued and clamped in the form to final. You need to do this as a bent lamination, not full thickness.

[Alan Lightstone]

White oak (preferably air dried), Mahogany, etc. You do the bend for the layers twice; with steam first and left to dry in the form and then glued and clamped in the form to final. You need to do this as a bent lamination, not full thickness.

That's a great idea, Jim. Never seen that described before in any articles/posts on bending. Definitely going to try that approach.

[Jim Becker]

That's a great idea, Jim. Never seen that described before in any articles/posts on bending. Definitely going to try that approach.

That's the method that is shown in many of the videos on the YouTube channel I referred you too. Almost all of Darren's projects involved bent lamination.

[Alan Lightstone]

That's the method that is shown in many of the videos on the YouTube channel I referred you too. Almost all of Darren's projects involved bent lamination.

I've seen bent lamination. But never a combination of steam bending and bent lamination. Seems to correct a number of issues with just doing steam bending (especially springback).

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Some big manufacturers use ammonia gasification for things like that.
Lets talk about Ammonia [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

Steam bending Pryor to lamination works well and is used in making banjo rims and boat ribs. These chair back legs are done that way too.

IMG_0595.jpg IMG_20160813_201356426(1).jpg IMG_0895.jpg

[Steve Demuth]

Steam bending and then gluing the laminations is a great technique where you need small radius bends relative to the mass of the final form. I use it to create rims for basket construction.

PXL_20240229_141532453.jpgPXL_20240229_141540189.jpground basket (2).jpg

The radius on the trug rims is only an inch and a half or so on the inside of the curves. Wood choice also matters, of course. These are made from 1/8" lams of red elm - elm is stringy, fibrous wood that takes heat bending extremely well. Not suitable for outdoor furniture, but brilliant for stuff like this.

[Warren Lake]

Where do you get lifting straps? I use chains on the machines and they are great as you can lock on any place and adjust lengths and more. Only negative is the weight of a number of 3/8" chains.

Excellent you tube, very interesting how they jigged up for different operations.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I used boat winches with seatbelt style webbing. Even with two 2 inch straps and a ton of pull on each, clamps and cauls were still required to flatten the layers.

https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment....6&d=1711847387

[Alan Lightstone]

I used boat winches with seatbelt style webbing. Even with two 2 inch straps and a ton of pull on each, clamps and cauls were still required to flatten the layers.

https://sawmillcreek.org/attachment....6&d=1711847387

I'm coming to that realization. This bending stuff - not easy to do.

My next test will be with two 3" straps and clamps. Then I'll make some cauls for the straight parts. If that doesn't work.....

[Jerry Bruette]

Where do you get lifting straps? I use chains on the machines and they are great as you can lock on any place and adjust lengths and more. Only negative is the weight of a number of 3/8" chains.

Excellent you tube, very interesting how they jigged up for different operations.

You can get lifting slings here. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/slings/slings~/

[Alan Lightstone]

OK. Some steps forward, some steps back.

1.) Clearly the cauls on the straight part of the jig work very well. Clearly make the gaps disappear or get very small.

2.) I opened up the Amazon package and took out the 3" wide ratchet straps. OMG are they heavy and the metal ratchet is way too wide. No way I can use two of these at the same time (could use two straps, but don't know a way to keep the ratchets from getting in each other's way. Kinda looks way too heavy duty for the task, but that may just be by virtue of them being 3" wide straps.
Ratchet Strap on Jig.jpg
Now the strap did do a very good job tightening the laminates against the jig, at least on the curved part. The straight part clearly needs cauls added to the outside and clamped. That's easy.

But trying to use the winch (which is great for pulling the laminates around the jig), at least how I have it attached with eye bolts gets in the way of the ratchet straps.

So kinda stuck thinking of a game plan going forward.