I was wondering if there's a way to make your own bag to steam gunwales with. My steamer box is 5' long.. I have a roll of vapor barrier plastic I was thinking I could make into a bag that could be as long as needed...I would just have to find a way to glue the bag. Contact cement maybe?
Steam in a bag?
- Thread starter Wrothgar
- Start date
MGC
Scrapmaker
I've use 2 inch corrugated black plastic drain pipe that you can buy at Lowes/etc. for a steam tube. I had some sitting around left over from a home repair and tried it more or less on a lark. It works well for steaming rails and since it's flexible I was able to use it re-steam some outside stems that didn't have the shape I needed. Don't use your shopvac hose...it won't take the heat.
The bags I use are polyethylene and are made for manufacturers to custom make their own bags. Uline has the bags on a roll for example.
https://www.uline.com/Grp_43/Poly-Tubing
https://www.uline.com/Grp_43/Poly-Tubing
Gary
Canoe Grampa
Walmart sells rolls of plastic which are intended to be used in the vacuum seal machines. The one I buy is 8" wide by 20' long, two rolls to a box for about $15 Canadian. I cut them to the length I need, then with two flat pieces of wood and a small clamp seal one end. I run my steam hose in the other end stuff a rag in, and have the clamped end slightly raised to ensure the whole bag gets hot. They can be re-used multiple times. Here is a picture of one in action. Cheap and works great for steaming and clamping in place.
Attachments
johnmetts
Enthusiastic about Wooden Canoes
I tried the bags that Gary referred to above. I had good luck with them as well and you can keep them steaming while you bend them. Here is a video. https://www.google.com/search?q=ste...me&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_JREXX5LGLZPX-gShq7ewDA30
Greg Nolan
enthusiast
Not likely to work -- even old, well-cured contact cement readily softens when heat is applied.
If you haven't seen it, take a look at
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?12999-STEAM-BENDING-IN-A-POLYETHYLENE-TUBE-part-1
Bruce Whittington
Curious about Wooden Canoes
When I did mine I used poly bags that come in a roll. We have a picture framing shop and the material is often shipped in about ten-foot lengths in these long slim bags, various widths from about 1 1/4" (flattened) to 3 - 4" wide. I had to join two pieces in the middle, and seal a few holes, then hooked up a steamer to it. If you have a picture framer nearby see if they will give you a few. It worked pretty well. Bruce W.
Rod Tait (Orca Boats)
Designer/Builder
Try going to your local lumber supplier as they may give you some plastic tubing as they use this for customers that purchase lengths of molding.
Aravenguide
Maine Guide
If you want something rugged and functional, I would try making it out of tincloth. I took some leftover canvas from my covering and made a paddle sock using a traditional tincloth recipe.
Dave Wermuth
Who hid my paddle?
cconsider a camper's sewer hose. You can do an entire inwale. You cam do outwales right on the boat and accordian the hose back as you work toward the end
MGC
Scrapmaker
Presumably you clean it first?
That's actually a good idea...I have a section that has never been used. I might try that next time.. the corrugated black plastic drain pipe I use does not collapse down for storage.
Bruce Whittington
Curious about Wooden Canoes
I like Gary's suggestion of using the plastic designed for food packaging (we use it for packaging salmon we've smoked). It's long enough without having to splice it and won't have any pre-existing holes, and I think it might be heavier weight, too, than the "lay-flat" poly tubing I referred to earlier.
