Steam box

[LadyG]

Hi,

I am gradually replacing the interior trim with oak, how do I curve the oak skirting board? 

I was thinking making a pro-former with pegs in my ~plank~, then covering with an old duvet, then pouring on some kettles of hot water? Only two /three skirtings are slightly curved, most are straight

OR drill fixing holes in skirting, get the boards hot and wet and force them in to place?

jo

[WotEver]

2 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Only two /three skirtings are slightly curved...

No steaming required then. Simply fasten one end, brace with lengths of wood across the boat to form the curve then fasten to secure the end of the curve. Steaming requires a steam box - easy enough to fabricate but not so simple on a boat - and is used for severe curves. 

[Tracy D'arth]

Soak it in the cut for a week, leave it to dry bent over whatever you have to hand at the curve you want.

[NB Esk]

 

You could try making your own small scale steamer by wrapping wet rags around the plank and then 'ironing' with an old electric iron.

 

 

[Bee]

Tricky. Often people make a series of cuts across the grain on the back of the wood. Whenever I have done this it just looks a mess. Usually works better if you run it through a circular saw to sort of 'laminate' it. Definitely try steam first though. Edit. Ah, slightly curved, missed that bit, just force it round with wedges, levers, brute force.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Bee

[dmr]

 

Steaming looks easy, you could rig something up on the towpath.

 

y

[Tracy D'arth]

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

Steaming looks easy, you could rig something up on the towpath.

 

 

Ah the voice of one who has never done it!  It was not difficult with a good steam box but modern timbers are not amenable to bending like the old stuff that was seasoned well.

[dmr]

1 minute ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Ah the voice of one who has never done it!  It was not difficult with a good steam box but modern timbers are not amenable to bending like the old stuff that was seasoned well.

I was going to put a smiley at the end but felt it was obvious that this was not a serious post ?. I have watched a few steamings, though on a much smaller scale, but have never done it myself.

 

Lots of saw cuts in the back finished with a bit of wood filler as required is the modern way.

 

................Dave

 

[Tracy D'arth]

I went on a call years ago to a lighthouse that a builder was converting to residential. He was bending skirtings and dado rails etc. over barrels in the open air.

Keeping them wet for days produced lovely curves about 12 foot radius. I thought it a labour of love until he wanted all my pipework to follow the same curves!

Believe, curving 28mm copper tube is not easy!

[dmr]

9 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I went on a call years ago to a lighthouse that a builder was converting to residential. He was bending skirtings and dado rails etc. over barrels in the open air.

Keeping them wet for days produced lovely curves about 12 foot radius. I thought it a labour of love until he wanted all my pipework to follow the same curves!

Believe, curving 28mm copper tube is not easy!

Ive done a fair bit of 22mm but that's easy as long as you limit yourself to the radius supplied by the bender. Ive seen 28, or possibly 35, done. Sand, the correct amount of heat, and a fair bit of skill (or luck) appear to be the requirements. It took a couple of goes to get it right, tearing holes in the copper was the problem.

Can you get Hep2o in 28mm? plus some copper coloured paint ?

 

................Dave

[WotEver]

52 minutes ago, Bee said:

Often people make a series of cuts across the grain on the back of the wood.

Can’t do that with skirting as you’d see the cuts. 

53 minutes ago, Bee said:

Edit. Ah, slightly curved, missed that bit, just force it round with wedges, levers, brute force.

Yup. No need to soak, steam or anything similar. 

[Detling]

In olden days you could get timber with no or just small knots, not easy today, that steam and curve evenly. 

[pearley]

When I needed to put a trim around the base of the toilet on the boat I cut it slightly longer, tied it in a curve then put it in the dishwasher. Had to repeat it a few times but got it to a 12 inch circle eventually.

[Onewheeler]

If you buy your wood from B&Q it's all bent. Just need to select one with the right bend.

[dor]

It would be helpful to know how thick the wood is that is to be bent, and over what radius.

[OldGoat]

3 minutes ago, Onewheeler said:

If you buy your wood from B&Q it's all bent. Just need to select one with the right bend.

Somebody had to say that

or

YT video here

https://www.google.com/search?q=How+do+you+steam+wood+at+home%3F&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj-_OKd7YvrAhW1UhUIHRrUAtQQzmd6BAgLEDI&biw=1400&bih=733

 

or praps more paractical but no proper - and actually might be aceptable - you can get thin oak veneer strips from B&Q, at the  same time the top bit of electrical trunking. Bend this latter to shape and glue the veneer to it.

tahat could be a start to thinking around the problem??

[David Mack]

Steam not needed, just heat. You can do it with a hot air gun.

https://hvartial.kapsi.fi/bend/bend.htm