Bending decks

[Howie]

Anybody have any luck bending decks? I've got a Penn Yan Rainbow that came without them - luckily I have another so I know what the shape should be. Thing is, I've always carved my decks in the past out of a thick hunk of wood. But now I'm wondering how much of a job it is to bend them up. I can make a form & I've got C-clamps. Thing is I've got no good way to steam a 17"+ x 7" x 13/16" slab of wood. Anybody try it using a couple of tea kettles? I assume it'd take about an hour... Any idea how much 'over-bend' to build into the mold? And should the wood be cut roughly to shape (ie, a triangle) when seaming? or rectangular?

 

[jletsche]

View attachment 28595

I had luck bending 5/4 ash for decks for an 1944 Old Town HW. I used a wallpaper steamer and a wooden steam box. Steamed for about 1 hour 15 minutes. This was kiln dried ash, but it bent pretty easily, almost like wet cardboard. I used an old handsaw blade on the outside to keep the wood from splitting. The decks were rectangular when I bent them, and I cut them out later. It is a pretty cool experience, definitely worth a try. I used the same form for the in-wales and out-wales.

John.

 

[John Maderic]

I've only bent a few things so far, but as especially happy with the outside fryer I purchased from Walmart for $40. I just had to screw a couple scrap pieces of wood together to make a lid. It produces more than ample steam for even an 18' foot tube for gunnels, is adjustable, and best of all can be used for other things when not in use for bending. It comes with a 3 gallon pot and wire basket, so when not steaming,,,good for wings, sweet corn , clams, and we used it with a cast iron griddle at camping this week also. I'm one to try and not purchase things that get used once a yr for a specific job if at all possible. If I were in need of an odd shaped steam box, I would try using just a card board box lined with plastic

 

[smallboatshop]

Had good luck boiling ash in a turkey roasting pan with two small scraps of wood to keep the deck from laying on the bottom. Weighted it with a brick with another two scraps of wood between the brick and deck. Boiled for about an hour and then set it in a two part form and pressed it with a bottle jack. Used an old cider press to hold form and bottle jack. Left the deck in the press for a week.

 

[Howie]

Sun of a gun - I did it! Thanks for all ideas. I used the turkey pan idea. Although the wood os too big to fit in the pan - the Rainbow's decks are 17" long - I used tin foil under the lid to extend mhe steam area to over the tip. I also wrapped the wood in cloth to help keep the wood saturated with water - I've found that helps when steaming cedar siding. Steamed for 1.5 hours, clamped to a concave mold, and voila - a deck in the raw! And with no cracks!