Hi everyone,

I need to bend some oak for a project. I've done it before but it was a long time ago...

Two questions :

  1. my plan is to bend a 40x70 mm (1,5" x 2,75") section of oak to a 500mm (20") internal radius, is that realistic?

  2. do I have to steam the whole piece or can I build a smaller steam box to only accept the end that needs to be bent?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Edit: added measurements in inches for universal convenience

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 9 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Oak would be a good species to try and bend but other than that I can only say good luck!

If the curve is ultimately not manageable with steam bending consider taking a look at kerf cut bending. I've never attempted it but when using a tapered router bit the kerf cuts should almost disappear when the curve is glued.

https://www.blocklayer.com/kerf-spacingeng

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] [S] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Thanks, I'll try my best!

    Also thank you for the kerf cut idea, i'll keep it in mind as a backup solution.
    That website is going straight into my bookmarks!

    Cheers

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments