: I just made my first attempt at steam bending the coaming lip on my
: stripper. I spintered out my pieces at the front of the coaming
: trying to make the bend on two axis'. I steamed for about 30 min
: and one end seamed good but only up a few feet. Do I just need
: to wait longer? I was thinking of soaking in the bath tub for a
: little while then steaming??? How long should be enough
: steaming? I have set up a small electric burner with a tea
: kettle and a 10' x 1 1/2" PVC pipe.

: Thanks

Heat, mositure, time/patience and wood selection each play a role. I happen to have a steam shower available, and have had good luck just wetting the the ~1/8 inch thick strips and putting them next to the stream vent. I crank the steam shower heat up to about 120-125F, but the temp near the vent is probably quite a bit higher. The longer strips come out floppy, and need support to keep from bening over on themselves. I have used a mix of WRC, cherry and some stuff sold locally as "South American Mohogany". Work quickly, but apply clamps from the fixed end towards the open end. The articles suggest using a strap rather than individual clamps, but I have not tried that yet.

I friend was able to get some moderate bend for accent peices in a wine cellar using WRC by just running a very hot shower for about 10-15 minutes. That would probably not work for a coaming lip, unless you had fairly green hardwood with absolutley no knots.

bvs