steam bending technique

This is really not that new of a technique. I remember trying to find a source of the bags years ago because I had seen the technique mentioned somewhere. I never got around to trying it. Your post jogged my foggy noggin. I have a number of rails to bend this spring. I may give this a shot if I can find the bags. I will report back.

Folks here on our site have used clothes dryer hose etc. to steam and bend the gunwales in place as well.

Thanks for the heads up.

Fitz.
 
Hi Fitz –

I spent a few minutes googling this morning, and found these two sites that seem to sell to individuals -- there are probably more, and I don’t know anything about either of these except what appears on their sites. They seem to sell in units of a thousand feet or more, for something either side of $30.

http://systempkg.com/layFlatPolyTubing.html
part of http://systempkg.com/index-2.html
and

http://www.papermart.com/3-mil-polyethylene-tubing/id=4643#4643

I have seen posts about bending using clothes dryer hoses and the like – but this flat plastic tubing takes up a lot less space once you are finished with it (if you even bother to save it) – being chronically short of storage space, this appeals for that reason alone.

Jamestown Distributors sponsored the video – maybe they would know of a good source – but their site is not the easiest to navigate – I couldn’t even find this video on their site.

In any event, I’m keeping this in mind, because I have some gunwale bending coming up later this year.

Greg
 
I have bent many gunwales and never used any steam. If the wood isn't too old try this. I go up on a ladder and stuff a rag into the down spout of the rain gutter. Put the gunwale material into the gutter and fill the gutter about half full of water. let it soak for a day or two. It will bend with good clamps and I haven't broken any in about 30 trys. Good Luck. Don't forget to check the water level.
 
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