# Steaming Shaping Wood



## the saw (Apr 20, 2008)

can anyone tell me how to shape wood to make a bass drum i would need to use maple wood or something of good quality with no knots in the wood.

i,m attempting to make a large bass drum with the grain going round the drum as opposed to head to head... what sort of tools would i need to use for this i work in a factory with lots of joinery tools saws routers etc all i really need is to get the shape correct and the join.then i can use various tools to finish it off. 

any advice/help would be great.


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## mdlbldrmatt135 (Dec 6, 2006)

you'd need a form of some kind and a Large steam chamber and supply source........


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## Jim Finn (May 13, 2008)

I have bent some 1/8" thick Oak around a form. I soak the wood in water a few days then bend it and clamp it to the form. Allow to dry on the form about 3 days. No steaming involved. This is using 4" wide stock to make these:


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## JMendez035 (May 14, 2008)

Jim Finn said:


> I have bent some 1/8" thick Oak around a form. I soak the wood in water a few days then bend it and clamp it to the form. Allow to dry on the form about 3 days. No steaming involved. This is using 4" wide stock to make these:


this conecpt works great for small simple bends... but the best way to get a more complex bend and tighter bend which might be what your looking for you def need to go with steam bending


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## frankp (Oct 29, 2007)

the saw: i haven't had great luck bending maple. I soaked it for a couple days, steamed it for several minutes and then tried to bend it but it often split. That said, I was trying to bend 3/8 inch thick by 1' wide strips. 

Some key things to consider are grain orientation, backing (supporting the "outside" of the bend with a wide strap of some sort) and not trying to bend it too aggressively. Patience is your friend when steam bending. I wouldn't go for anything much thicker than about 1/8". Make quarter panels and overlap them slightly to get the best performance. You can do the overlap with a scarf or a rabbit joint of some kind and then a couple holes drilled through them once they're overlapped for rivets or whatever. 

FrankP


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