Help with bending wood

[Denie]

Hi yal

 

I need some help in bending wood over some ribbs.

 

Thank you

 

from Daniel

[Chris Hannover - Germany]

Hi Dan,

 

i´m no wood expert, but i should work if you fix the leading edge of the wood with little needles on the ribs, and then spray water onto the wood to make it soft for a better bending. Only a bit water, not too wet.

 

Hope that helps,

Regards

Chris

[Scotsman]

The standard approach to getting wood to conform to complex shapes is to steam it , in boat building the wood is placed in a large "kettle", with it immersed in steam for hours until it softens, and becomes flexible, without becoming waterlogged ...

 

I'm sure you could adopt this method using a normal kettle and simply holding the piece in the steam....

[t.valdez]

Scotsman has it right. If you can find a small steamer that usually sells to the travel crowd for de-wrinkling clothes, it will work. I myself used a espresso machine steamer tube to bend the ribs when I built the 1/8th scale Sopwith Camel. Another method is to soak the rib material in a tall glass of water and then bend it with the help of a hair dryer. good luck with your build. Don't worry if you break the rib material, you have plenty of extra material.

[D Bellis]

Amonia works the best for bending wood so it stays bent. It causes the cells in the wood to expand, then evaporates leaving the cells expanded (with water & steam methods, the cells will shrink during evaporation).

 

Apply the amonia to the surface of the wood on the outside of the curve, and bend it to shape.

 

HTH,

D

[Denie]

Hiyal

 

Thank you for your advise on bending wood.

 

What Dad and me have done is use your ideas and made a wooden block that is the shape of the ribs and used a hinge so it does not move when the wett wood is clamped Then it is dried in the oven

 

I will show some photos when I can.

I am buzy with school work at the moment and have done a little bit on the Triplane.

 

From Daniel