Message-Id: <199601171915.OAA67581@acs-mail.bu.edu>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 14:17:21 -0400
To: baidarka@imagelan.com
From: bu.edu!landrus@imagelan.com (Larry Andrus)
Subject: Rib material?
Hail Bedarker types,
I've just started steam bending ribs for my Bedarker (swarthy
Massachussetts old salt pronunciation) and am having a lot of splits.
I'm using some 3/8" square white oak strips that I've milled from some 8
year old flooring strips I had laying around.
When the grain is straight the full length of the rib, it bends sweet
enough over a form. But if there's any angle to the grain, the fibers want
to separate around the curve.
I'm wondering about using ash or some other wood and am looking for
suggestions.
Also if anyone in the New England area knows where I can buy some stock
before its been kiln dried, that would be helpful.
Other thoughts include completely rounding off the rib stock to a 3/8"
diameter dowel which would provide a thinner rib (cross sectional
area-wise) to bend and probably better heat and moisture penetration of the
wood.
Also, Wolfgang Brinck, in his book suggests that excess breakage could be
due to the steam source not producing enough steam. Since I'm supporting
the ribs at the top of the steam box giving full contact with the steam for
the full length of the box, I'm having trouble imagining how a hotter
steamer could create anymore exposure to the steam, but what do I know?
Anyway, any suggestions, confirmations or corrections are enthusiastically
requested, so belly up to the bar mates and lets hear it from you steam
bending aficionados.
Larry Andrus
Ipswich, MA