Mohogany plank bending

[Bontie]

How long should I keep mohogany plank in boiling hot waterto bend propery?

[wefalck]

... until they become pliable 😁 ... It depends inter alia on their tickness.

 

[Bontie]

2mm thick?i

[barkeater]

I use room temperature water, but I would think 20 minutes should do it for 2mm. Mahogany tends to be a bit brittle. Don't overly force it. With a tight bend you may need to partially bend it and repeat your water bath before bending more. 

Rich

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Bontie, before you use boiling water you could  try using a heat gun set on Low and room temperature water.  I've been bending a fair bit of Alaskan Yellow Cedar lately so while I have everything set up I got out a strip of 2mm x 5mm mahogany and  clamped one end that had been sitting in a cup of water for a few minutes to an ABS coupling. The other end is weighted with mini clamps. Applied heat to the strip of wood while every so often brushing on more water. This result took about 5 minutes. If you are edge bending you can still use a heat gun and water but in a bending jig. Good luck with your project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wefalck]

In fact, the heat is the key aspect. Water is mainly used to prevent the wood from burning, when doing the bending over an open fire (as was done in the old days).

 

The steam in steam-chests serves mainly as a carrier for the heat - the heat-capacity of steam is much higher than that of air.

 

As we now have heat-guns readily available, this is probably the best option.