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same way. Water and heat.
it will be harder to bend due to it's thickness, but it will bend. Just go slowly.
it will be harder to bend due to it's thickness, but it will bend. Just go slowly.
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- May 15, 2026
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Any tips on how to give a curvature? I have an Amati bender for the small little planks but the stern back its bigger , I tried to do vapour, even immerging in hot warter and place with a weight over and a bottle of water around to try to bend , but it dries fast, cools fast and doesn't bend :/ .
How much of a bend are you trying to make and/or can you post a photo of the area in question? I believe tilia is basswood so very soft (410 lbf) compared to species like Castello (1,810 lbf) which can be bent without much problem if soaked for a few hours or overnight and then bent around a form and dried with a hot air gun or iron.
Allan
Allan
Your Amati plank bender will have the heat dissipated too quickly by the large piece of wood. you will need something that has a larger metal "shoe" on it like a clothes iron.
Excellent point Jeff. Another reason to give a hot air gun a dry. Wet, bend around a form (or maybe temporarily on the model) dry with the gun, remove from the model or former then glue on model. A picture would really help.
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I am not much of a ship builder, just getting started, but I am a half way decent woodworker. Recently I got into making Shaker box's. The advice here is good, you need to boil the wood for 10 or 15 minutes then bend it around a form and hold it in place to let it dry, preferably overnight. I use a section of gutter and a hot plate for long pieces.
The piece of castello boxwood in the photo below is a little over 0.,125" thick. Broad bending is relatively easy, edge bending is the tough bend. I use a piece of capped plastic pipe filled with water and put in strips of planking. Once thoroughly soaked a strip is taken out of the water and is bent around a form that was cut to match the shape I need. Once clamped in place it is dried. The photo shows a soldering iron, but I found it to take too long and can scorch the wood so now use a hot air gun with a temperature control dial.
Allan
Allan
Interesting way to broad bend Bob, and yes, to be done when the boss is elsewhere. How do you edge bend? Good edge bending is the thing that needs to be done to avoid lifting. Spiling is the classic method rather than bending, but edge bending with forms, water and heat is not all that difficult.
Allan
How do you edge bend? Good edge bending is the thing that needs to be done to avoid lifting. Spiling is the classic method rather than bending, but edge bending with forms, water and heat is not all that difficult.Allan
Hello Naima. It seems you are trying to bend a large panel rather than a strip of wood. Is that solid wood or plywood? What is on the surface? Perhaps some sort of filler?
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Tila 3 mm compensate, I just applied a paper printed with the shape I had to cut for the stern . probably I did the mistake to carve the holes befor ebending .
Hmmm… bending composite/plywood can be very challenging. I’ve only managed it when bending perpendicular with the grain of the surface pieces. Moisture and clamping pressure over a form. Heat from a hot air gun helps.
Moisture is the key-You need to boil or steam wood to bend it because heat and moisture soften lignin, the natural glue that holds wood fibers together, allowing them to slip past each other. Steam works very well, do you have a clothes steamer? Plywood is going to be difficult.
I used to think hot water or steam was needed, but I have not heated the water or used steam in years. Room temperature water and then heat works beautifully in my experience including pear, and castello for both broad bends which is easy to do and edge bending which takes a bit of patience. The time to soak the wood of course varies with the thickness of the wood, If one wants to go really crazy, put the pieces of wood in a pressure cooker with the water.
Allan
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Why 3mm?
It looks like you will be covering that with other material.
Why not just use some 1 mm bass/lime/tilia.
I would even consider using some heavy card in a situation like that.
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Because this was the thickness of the original piece that was the back stern of the ship in the occre black swan , since I have completely redone that part cutting here and there I picked a 3 mm tilia compensate wood.
Btw its bending, I had to use stronger elastic bands. not sure if when I will remove the shape will stay
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I Bended it!!! ... using lots of elastic benda and Wellington soaking in hotel water and restino all night , after 3-4 days of attempts.
But a small problem I hotel to fix with sone glue and a clip...
Another problem is I bent too much ... but may be I should adapt the reat deck or try to unbend part of the stern ?
But a small problem I hotel to fix with sone glue and a clip...
Another problem is I bent too much ... but may be I should adapt the reat deck or try to unbend part of the stern ?