Heat sealing iron question

[bigcreekdad]

I was going through T Warris' Corsair build log (really nice build so far) this morning. He was using a sealing iron to quickset his hull planking. I was wondering if anyone has ever used this tool for blank bending. Chuck's method of using a hair dryer to bend planks works very good, but might you be able to do the same thing a bit quicker with a sealing iron?

Edited December 10, 2017 by bigcreekdad
spelling

[Bob Blarney]

Perhaps you might consider a hair straightener iron.  I modified one for the purpose of removing acoustic guitar bridges.  It would heat wood from both sides, and many if not most straighteners have at least  a rudimentary heat control on them, or you could use an ordinary incandescent lamp dimmer.

[Jim Rogers]

I steam bend. Instead of using screws to form a hull jig I cut a solid one out on my jig saw and epoxy it to a chunk of wood. Then you clamp it to the front of the jig, hit it with steam and wrap,it around the curve and clamp the back. Let it set for a couple of hours. I can do ten sticks at a time. I have a “travel” jig that I can clamp five pieces to in order to keep the strain on the form. You can also do lateral bends for top rails with this method . For a lateral bend I lay the wood next to the form and use a nail to hold it tight against the form, steam the hell out of it start the bend nail, a little more nail etc. you may need a clamp to keep the work piece held down. Works great. The steamer is a clothes/cleaning steamer available online for about $30. You can also speed dry using a heat gun.