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Bending Walnut Hand Rails

nbloewen

nbloewen

Joined
Dec 12, 2022
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Hello all. I'm working on the Latina Harvey/1840 and have run into a snag that I hope you can help with. I'm at the point of installing the hand rails (walnut) and have to bend them to accommodate the prow shape. Latina even has a humorous account of how to do this (see photo), which lead me to believe that it was going to be tricky, and it is. I have tried soaking the walnut strips in water for two days, and tried an (old) steam iron, and they will not bend. I then thought that a guitar maker would have the facilities to bend the wood and found a lutier in town. His response is "you cannot bend wood in that direction - good luck!" My next step is to mill my own hand rails using a flat piece of wood, but thought I would see if anyone has come up with a solution.

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You can still try using a clothes pressing iron with steaming function. Load it with lots of water and set the mode to one which releases the most of steam. Take a wooden board as your base. Try curving the plank sideways by pressing the iron over the part of the plank and at same time applying a sideway pressure with your other hand to the other end of the plank. I managed to curve some planks in such a way. If the plank breaks then you should get 1.5 mm walnut sheet and cut out the curved rail from it with a jeweler's jigsaw. There is another more difficult way. You can get many 1 mm x 1.5 mm planks. Curve them as required and laminate them together into 1.5 x 5 profile with glue. Good luck!
 
...and you should get yourself an electrical wood plank bender. Something as this one. This is for curving simple planks.

www.sunwardhobbies.ca

Artesania Latina Electric Plank Bender 110V 27074

Artesania Latina Electric Plank Bender 110V 27074 Canada's largest selection of model paints, kits, hobby tools, airbrushing, and crafts with online shipping and up to date inventory.
www.sunwardhobbies.ca www.sunwardhobbies.ca
 
here’s my two cents worth. Give up trying to bend the rails and instead cut sections with a fairly acute angle from a bit wider stock and then sand down to final dimension.
crude drawing to explain…
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I’ve been bending hardwoods for decades using the following method. Bring a kettle of water to a boil then stick the wood you want to bend in the boiling water. Leave it for 30-40 seconds; pull it out and bend it. For thicker or harder woods leave it in the boiling water longer. You will need tweezers to handle the hot wood. I have a little “gizmo” attached to a small soldering iron that helps by running it along the inside of the curve. The secret is in the heat as the cellulose (wood fibres) soften at about the same temperature as boiling water. once shaped, tape the bent wood in place until it cools and dries. PhilIMG_0560.jpegIMG_0559.jpeg
 
nbloewen said:
Hello all. I'm working on the Latina Harvey/1840 and have run into a snag that I hope you can help with. I'm at the point of installing the hand rails (walnut) and have to bend them to accommodate the prow shape. Latina even has a humorous account of how to do this (see photo), which lead me to believe that it was going to be tricky, and it is. I have tried soaking the walnut strips in water for two days, and tried an (old) steam iron, and they will not bend. I then thought that a guitar maker would have the facilities to bend the wood and found a lutier in town. His response is "you cannot bend wood in that direction - good luck!" My next step is to mill my own hand rails using a flat piece of wood, but thought I would see if anyone has come up with a solution.

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Edge bending is necessary for the hull planks and, to a lesser degree, waterway planks. For the waterways it's better to build in sections with scarfed joints.
No plank bender, no matter how much you spend, will successfully edge bend.
Also walnut is a poor timber, it will split, particularly the appalling 0.6 veneer. Better to get a good timber for the job.
 
It is possible to glue not hurrying to every fram, step by step. For a confidence to fasten carnations. If will crack, to drive in on size and insert a wedge. then to cut, lick into a shape. I did so, turned out beautifully.
 
Bending walnut is not as easy as the instructions say. If your walnut strips have grain that is not parallel with the strip, but is diagonal to it, it could break no matter how long you soaked it. Whether or not the walnut is sap wood or heartwood could affect how hard and brittle the wood you have is. Age also makes walnut brittle, so if the kit is 30 years old, the wood won't like being bent... sort of like me.
 
The prototype would probably have been cut from a wide plank (very wasteful) or laminated.
 
Thanks for all your replies. Here's my solution - I split the walnut down the middle about 1/3 of the way, as the largest bend is at the prow. When I then tried to laminate the rail using my template there were no problems, no steaming or soaking necessary. It worked like a charm thanks to you guys. I was ready to put the boat away for another year, but now am enthusiastic about moving on the next steps.

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nbloewen said:
Hello all. I'm working on the Latina Harvey/1840 and have run into a snag that I hope you can help with. I'm at the point of installing the hand rails (walnut) and have to bend them to accommodate the prow shape. Latina even has a humorous account of how to do this (see photo), which lead me to believe that it was going to be tricky, and it is. I have tried soaking the walnut strips in water for two days, and tried an (old) steam iron, and they will not bend. I then thought that a guitar maker would have the facilities to bend the wood and found a lutier in town. His response is "you cannot bend wood in that direction - good luck!" My next step is to mill my own hand rails using a flat piece of wood, but thought I would see if anyone has come up with a solution.

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Hi Nbloewen
İn the attacment are the tools Which I use for bending even the wallnut railways.You can substitute the hairdryer with a hot air blower with higher temperaturethe pins have rills so they prevent turning andstabilize the flat laid railway while bending.after wet soaking you gently apply pressure under hot air and also using the welding head step by step till you reach the desired angle.I normally use 1 - 3 hours for bending depending upon thickness and sort of the wood.Patience ,feeling and no hurry is what you need .If you notice a breaking start , treat the point with CA glue and change the bending point a little bit.the wood may show Some burning darkness while you apply welding hard but you can sand it of.keep the railway wet all the time betw the pins until you reach the desired bending angle and let it dry between yhe pins.The pins are from amati to hold figures fix while coloring.rubber O rings are actually in the rills.The nail version from latina is theoretical ok but not aplicable in all cases, because the nails dont give a stable position for the railway.Hope this info solves your problem.
Kind Regards ;)Pirate Flag

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There's also steam bending. But that might be a little excessive for a model ship.
 
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