Will need
In addition to the wooden planks that we are going to bend, we need to find or purchase the following materials and devices:
- steel round pipe;
- metal corner;
- steel plate and strips;
- container with water;
- strong tape;
- curved part (template).
To bend wooden planks efficiently, we will need: a carpenter's vice, a gas torch and several clamps. We should also wear gloves on our hands and safety glasses on our eyes, since we will have to deal with a pipe heated to a high temperature and drops of hot water and steam.
Plank bending process
Let's put together a simple tool with which we will bend wooden planks. It is a piece of round pipe laid in an equal angle corner and welded to the angle in several places.
We apply the corner with its apex to the end of the steel plate and connect them together by welding. We securely clamp the lower part of the plate into a carpenter's vice, ensuring that the steel pipe is horizontal.
We weld two plates with a downward slope to the shelves of the corner with the pipe, which are connected to each other by another plate. We tie a gas burner cartridge to the inclined structure using a strong tape so that its nozzle fits slightly inside the pipe.
Soak the wooden pieces prepared for bending in water. We heat the pipe with a gas burner until drops of water falling on its surface instantly evaporate with a hiss and turn into steam.
For safety and process control, the plate should be slightly longer than necessary. We take it by the ends and begin to move it along the top of the hot pipe from side to side, slightly bending it with our hands. If the force is excessive, the bar may break.
From a certain moment we will feel how the bar with a characteristic hiss begins to bend almost effortlessly. Now, without hesitation, before the wood loses its flexibility, you need to attach the plank to the template and press it for a while with the help of clamps to the forming profile.
After maintaining the required time period, for example, one night, we remove the clamps and make sure that the wooden plank has acquired the required shape and is not inclined to change it even in a free state.
