Tuesday 7 October 2008

Steam Bending

Certain woods are suitable for bending over a shaped former when they are streamed and softened. This proves, which combines industrial techniques with traditional craft, is used to produce tight and multi-axis bends in solid wood.

Applications:
Steam bending is commonly used to produce furniture, boats and a range of musical instruments.

Related Processes:
CNC machining and wood laminating are commonly used to produce similar geometric outcomes, steam bending is used when the required aesthetic appeal and structural benefits of solid wood.

Quality:
The main attribute of bentwood is that the grain runs continually along the entire length. High quality timber is essential for steam bending. Splitting will occur when bending timber that has knots, rot or uneven grain.

Advantages:
The main advantage of bentwood is its strength; this allows parts to be lighter. It is also relatively simple to bendwood in a workshop on a small scale. This means that it is simple to explore design ideas quickly and cheaply.





















(Click for large image)