: Ok, I wrote in a couple of weeks ago about having trouble getting my strips
: to bend into shape at the bow and sterm of the one-oceans cape anne double
: I am building. I got back lots of good ideas and suggestions, one of which
: involved the use of a heat gun on the sections of strip with the most
: curvature. I went out and got a middle-of-the-line heat gun (high &
: low heat setting)to try this method out. I think I am doing something
: wrong, because this does not seem to be helping bend the strips a whole
: lot. Here is my method: 1) saturate a cloth in water and wrap it around
: the strip, squeezing the cloth as I move it along the portion of the strip
: I want to bend. This gets the entire outside of the strip saturated.

: 2) Turn the gun on high and move back and forth across the now wet strip. I
: stop when the water is almost all evaporated and try to bend the strip.

: 3) bend the strips. The wood is redwood. The heating doesn't seem to change
: the load I have to apply to get the strips to bend. Also, the strips
: spring back to an almost straight shape even after being un-clamped (If I
: don't apply glue)

: I do not have any experience with steaming wood, and I think that this method
: with the heat gun is an attempt to "steam" without using a
: chamber. Maybe I should just suck it up and build a small steam box. Here
: are my questions: - Do you have to SOAK the strip instead of just wiping
: with water?
: - How high of a heat and for how long?
: - When do you remove the heat? When the strip is damp? dry?
: - Do you glue the strip immediately after bending, or just clamp in place and
: let it dry in the bent shape? If the strip is still wet after bending,
: will regular titebond create a good joint? Same question for regulare
: steaming...do you glue when the wood is still wet?

: Thanks for the help....it is really appreciated

: ---Will

hi will,
i built a coaming that is a vertically laminated with basswood, and black walnut. it turned out looking great. i went to spidey's web page. he told me to use a heat gun, and like you, had little success. that walnut does not want to bend, and basically i broke alot of wood.
i decided i must do something different. i soaked the walnut overnight in my bath tub. i don't recommend this, it stained my white tub. it did make the wood bend much easier. i then thew together a steamer with left over junk in my garage. a shop vac hose, a metal gas can, and a old propane torch. i filed the can 1/4 full and boiled the water and stuffed the walnut into the shop vac hose over the nozzel of the gas can. i plugged the end of hose with mini-cell scraps, and let it "cook".
the walnut bent fairly easily after all of this...very hot, get a oven mit. i bent the wood into a jig i had made. presto...vertical laminated coaming.
i thought building a seamer would be a pain but it was fairly simple...
good luck and learn to enjoy the learning process...
build on
brett the hitman hart