All You Need To Know About Steam Bending Wood

[@thomasswenddal772]

Very informative and refreshing to my old thoughts of projects I'd had of bending wood veneers for doorway jambs, transom,, sidelite frames and the likes in Northern California during my 20's and 30's. I'd also like to say that you are one fine craftsman and I appreciated watching your adventures growing with each test and reason as your skills would build and refine with your tooling and final reveal, quite satisfying to my eye and experience. I can tell for those who will be using and living with your productions for the next 100 years, oh the sense of the love for the maker who put so much into them! Thank you sir!

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thank you so much for the message, I really appreciate the kinds words coming from someone with so much experience

[@Tommysbuilds]

Came to watch you bend wood. stayed for the table and you now got an other fellow builder following you !

[@dainermade]

Beauty! I’m at work! I’ll fire up all the browsers 😂🎉 happy new year

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks mate!

[@johnwells1724]

Quite nice Robin! I steam bent all the planks for my tug boat hull repairs. It was just as much of an adventure. 3" thick Douglas Fir planks. Had to have a 16 foot box. Fortunately air dried planks. No laminations. Can't remember exactly how many hours in the box, but I presoaked the wood in salt water first. Had to keep water on the boil to replenish the water in the steam box without temperature loss. Worked great though. Love steam bent projects, lots of personality! Keep up the good video content. I just found you tonight and will be watching more.

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Pre soaking was the missing piece in the puzzle. Hadn’t thought of boiling the water before adding to the steamer, that’s a good idea. Thanks for stopping by!

[@barberspaddockwoodworking]

What a journey from start to finish. From those initial tests to the final products, what a result. 👏👏👏

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks!

[@anthonyseiver7000]

Alternative title: Bend it like Robin Enjoyed the journey, its ups and downs, the wins and heartaches

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Haha 😂 thanks

[@barretmcdermid1840]

Mate, that's a great video. You have come a long way from that concrete worktop you made a few years back. Well done, 2024 awaits 🤙

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks mate, appreciate that

[@kz.irudimen]

That chair is stunning, beautiful design and execution. Well done :)

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thank you, really appreciate that

[@OhioBikeRider]

It needs something like a flexible Steel to compress the fibers on the back side while you are bending it and then you will avoid the cracks. It is very important to compress them to avoid cracks. And to keep it from cracking later.

[@resinatewoodco832]

Nice work Robin, I know where I will be coming back to when I venture into a bit of bendy business 🤘🏼

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks mate, it's good fun

[@charitiekbyrd1]

Also, the table looks really cool too, it's a bit different from what I've seen others do and it turned out beautifully! Great work and keep doing you! 💯😁

[@moneymakingmikeg.9555]

Yoooo Robin!!! Been a minute & apologies for not getting to your videos as quickly as I used too. Excited to get caught up on some of them. Both projects were cool to watch. Blessings for 2024 Bud, Dirty Jersey out!!

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks mate, always appreciate it!

[@johnasinmelb]

Well done Robin. I’m chuffed to come across your channel. I’m a fellow woodie in Vic, with your accent! I’m currently building my 10th woodwork shop - hopefully the last one. You are very well suited to what you do, the perfect match of maker, transparency, and entertainer. Well done.

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks man, really appreciate that! That’s a lot of workshops!

[@fredrevolution6617]

Thanks VERY much for producing this video Robin, amazing work 😃😃 See you in the next video!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@coolabahwoodworking]

That was fantastic. One day I have to try steam bending

[@woodfather]

very cool, I hadn't seen any of your steam bending work. How much fun did you have at 20:55 ? That must have felt slick as! 😆

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Ha, so funny you pointed that out! I remember thinking at the time, "wow that worked better than expected!" 😂

[@charitiekbyrd1]

Love the chair and great content too! I'm a woodworker and fixing to be on KZbin as well. On the chair, you could put a small round over so it's not sharp across the legs but you do you. It was merely a suggestion, just trying to help. Beautiful chair though, seriously! Keep up the great work and stay safe, Happy Building 😁

[@creatureofhabit6741]

Looks awesome. Jonesy NW Arizona

[@Skipperau]

Hi from Brisbane Robin. Australian timbers need much more steaming because they are denser and more hydrophobic than US and European timbers. I like the idea of using Tas Oak (VIC Ash) for furniture projects too.

[@diattedesigns]

Any experience bending slabs or kiln dried lumber?

[@fdort3971]

@RobinLewisMakes thanks for the lesson

[@FixitFingers]

It might not be a super-cut but it's a great video and should find its own audience regardless! A great one to add to your new full time push. The only thing I am disappointed it YT didn't push this to my Subs feed, I only saw it when you mentioned it in chat :(

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks mate. Cross fingers it finds its way to tv 🤞

[@FixitFingers]

@@RobinLewisMakes Might be tough being so 'short' :P But who knows! I think it'll do well just on search and 'regular' woody viewers instead. ;)

[@rthavi4166]

Thanks for showing the whole process. This one really helped me round out some technical matters I wasn't convinced on yet!

[@liquidrockaquatics3900]

34:13 when you’re building the second steam box, when you chose plywood I’m wondering if you were to coat the inside with some sort of rubberized or high temperature finish if it would stop any distortion or is plywood enough since it’s not solid wood? If you had a can of flex seal sitting around, would that be beneficial to spray the interior where water will accumulate so it can run to a drain hole instead of soaking in?

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Something I discovered after this video is “formply” (not sure if it’s an Australian thing). It’s plywood with a hard waterproof coating, similar to what you’re describing. The next box I make I’m going to try that.

[@andreasmeerkamp8627]

Thanks for all the good information. When I steam the wood I put a lot of moisture into the wood. How long should I let it dry before gluing?

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thanks. I waited at least 24 hours before gluing

[@TheHavyxon]

All you need to know is that you should use a metal strap to take the tension from the wood.

[@CMCraftsman]

That is key for sure

[@samrustan]

Very cool. Nice work!

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Thank you

[@SitkaHowlz]

Hi, used to build traditional wooden bows. I think on technique you are missing is “working” the wood into shape. Flexing the wood back and forth around the shape allows the fibers to compress. We work bows where the wood “learns” to flex without steam or heat. With steam that process goes faster.

[@RobinLewisMakes]

That’s interesting! I haven’t heard that yet, I’ll give it a go the next time I do any steaming. Thanks

[@dobbsguitar]

Tip: add heat (heat gun) to the wood while bending to avoid cracking in the bend.

[@RainbowChickenWood]

The light pink slat in the middle is not a mistake, its a racing stripe! ;-)

[@halthammerzeit]

Coating inside with water glass could help, cheap and 2 or 3 coatings should do the job with moisture.

[@liquidrockaquatics3900]

Dwv PVC has an extruded foam core while pressure rated PVC is solid

[@fredrevolution6617]

How long would you recommend soaking the wood in water for?

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Depends on the the thickness of the timber, but at least 24 hours. If you can just put it in water well before you need it, so it’s ready to go for the steam (instead of trying to time it)

[@walter5401]

Could it be that box itself sucked up some of the moisture?

[@RobinLewisMakes]

Very possible

[@94040]

Nice!😅

[@johnadams5586]

💚🤍❤💯💯💯💚🤍❤