August 2008
Here's the steaming apparatus. The steam generator is a wallpaper stripper
I bought from Screwfix for £14.99 and the chamber a length
of 40mm water waste pipe. After the first piece of wood looked poorly steamed
I added some lagging around the pipe and things improved considerably.
What surprises me is the variability of flexibility in the steamed parts
and how quickly you have to work before they stiffen up again. The lack of a
British summer isn't helping here...
I also connected the outlet end of the steam chamber to a length of 40mm dust extraction
hose which I ran outside the workshop to keep the place dry and my tools rust free.
Once bend I use held each piece in place using staples at the ends and an
array of clamps and ratchet straps to try and hold the rest in place.
What really annoys me is the variability in the timber. Two pieces have broken at the bend.
The first piece was because I was too slow and the piece lost it's steam. The
sixth piece simply snapped, yet the seventh piece which was from the same steaming period
was fine.