The Woodshop Shed

Steam Box

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


This steam box was built using 1×8 cedar for the box and 1/2 birch dowels to suspend the wood being steamed.
The steam generator is a propane fired turkey deep fryer. I added a water reservoir to replenish the deep fryer without removing the lid and the lid is held in place with spring clamps. I also tilted the steam box so that any condensate would drain back into the deep fryer.
The only wood I have steamed has been kiln dried 8/4 hard maple and cherry, with an hour and a quarter per inch of thickness. The results have been consistent and predictable with very few failures (less the one in twenty).
The video shows the bending sequence using a bending table, a Lee Valley compression strap and a boat winch to supply the force required to pull the wood into place. Its vital to get the wood into the compression strap ASAP and keep the compression on the wood until the wood cools which takes about an hour.
The end of the video shows the energy released when a 2×2 piece of hard maple snaps because of the bending load.https://youtu.be/mC7eEZQiauIThanks for browsing.

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