: Are you comfortable with your steam generation and steam box? Bending is more
: than wood thickness.
: Your box must generate at least 95 degrees C. I would suggest each piece for
: say 10 minutes. longer is not better. And once you get it out of the box,
: work as quick as hell! Have it all set up and ready to go.

: PS I found a babies warming thermometer in a cheap shop. It did the job well.
: Just poked it through a hole drilled in the box!.

: I also had to have TWO heat sources to get the required steam temperature. I
: used an electric fry pan with the controller set at max (10) as the water
: source and the lid to start the "Chimney" to the box, then I
: used a camping gas burner under the fry pan! You do this at your own risk.
: I know others who have done this infact that is how I got to know about it.

Hi Brian,
I've used the open flame water heating method before but with wet "steaming" ie. a pan of boiling water for bending coaming timbers. Kinda dodgy in the safett stakes. I haven't used it for steaming as I was losing too much heat between the boiler and steaming box.

A Wagner wallpaper steamer is a cheap, effective way to do steaming for ribs and coamings. The hose is kept coiled unless I actually need the length to keep my garage free of clouds. The coil is rested on an old wool blanket to keep it off the ground, the hose is thermally shielded already but every little bit helps. My steaming 'box' is a length of heavy PVC piping,(which will flatten if unsupported) in a bed of dry sand. The sand keeps the heat in fairly well and supports the 'box' to minimise the mentioned flattening.
A piece of squiggled wire keeps the timber off the bottom of the pipe.

One interesting advantage of the wagner is that I can spot heat timber if needed. Wrap the area to be spot heated in cloth with the end of the steam hose in the wrap. A 'wet' version of a heat gun.

Hope this helps,
Mike Savage
South West Cork