Have you ever heard about wood can be bendable with the help of only water? Yes! Wood can be bent with the help of hot water or water. Now, I will teach you how to make wood bendable with hot water. That means, you would be able to profile your wood however you want. Before doing it, make sure you have a frame or a mold be ready.
- · At first, immerse (soak) the wood for bending in water (hot water may work best) for few minutes to few hours (It depends on the thickness of wood), or you may leave out in the rain. You may use a hose or a sponge to bend wood. Now, bend carefully while wood is still wet, and then, allow to dry. You can apply negligible direct heat also. Hold it with sufficient clamps.
- ·Then, bend the wet wood along the grain if the width of the wood is shorter and bend the wet wood across the grain if the width is larger.
- · Next, Score the wet wood with the help of knife. Create several and evenly spaced scores across the preferred bend of the wood with the help of a knife. You must make sure about the scores are inside the curve when wood is being bent. You can use a table saw to create even spaces also.
- · Think about using several thin strips of wood (say, wood veneer) rather than one thick plank of wood to bend. Use proper glue in between wood veneer or wood strips and bend it to the desired shape cautiously. Try to use a mold if possible. Keep in a place to dry them using a few sets of clamps/vices.
Keep in mind that the bigger and smoother the curve, the easier to bend. I hope you are very clear about this tricks to bend wood. You can definitely do it in your house or in your workshop where there is no steaming facility.
