Wood Plank Benders - Edge Bending

[MintGum]

Wood Plank Benders - Edge Bending

 

Are there any commercial jigs for edge bending planks?

 

Many use home-made versions similar to this: How to bend planks for a ship model

 

 

Edited December 29, 2025 by MintGum

[MintGum]

15 minutes ago, Ronald-V said:

With a traveller iron

 

https://youtu.be/atXqH0GWLL8?si=mHFoYjWDfEhqtKg6

 

I'm looking for a commercially made and marketed jig similar to the home-made ones that you and I have linked to.  I don't necessarily need to know how to do the bending.

[RolandR]

I don’t know if it is worth money

https://www.amazon.com/GAWEGM-Wooden-Ship-Model-Tools/dp/B09VD6JY3J/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2IZ7943QJ475E&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kRcUwgZ7l0Jbp-Y9tRdk62mksAv9zBUuele784PzuzQX35a0qAnusVjOpCmX405sPalVNxka0DucEXb1OtnV3YSAHjP69jGPPcMPNnMsIJvKyt2gfzp1mAqk0RRRue8Xd8KUf-n9K7ywLhPBTK3dudaVHV1LNRHGPkem-8EgfhoeSIHcic91FGEzxJnXZsVMt8Khwc0G8oR6XDto9WzNKv4EP0qEC_XpKGOlpVeTxvSzD14IaCEkY2tjmawiC7dwsnPFUq2vYHuvlXofZDeLTAqyDGSctJwVXTJLs4BMJ5I.G88T2M8Xr-q14ul4TDxPatvfq-csmaB4dUoZHGGFJ-Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=Wooden+ship+jig&qid=1767023489&sprefix=wooden+ship+jig%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-2

[MintGum]

1 hour ago, RolandR said:

I don’t know if it is worth money

https://www.amazon.com/GAWEGM-Wooden-Ship-Model-Tools/dp/B09VD6JY3J/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2IZ7943QJ475E&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kRcUwgZ7l0Jbp-Y9tRdk62mksAv9zBUuele784PzuzQX35a0qAnusVjOpCmX405sPalVNxka0DucEXb1OtnV3YSAHjP69jGPPcMPNnMsIJvKyt2gfzp1mAqk0RRRue8Xd8KUf-n9K7ywLhPBTK3dudaVHV1LNRHGPkem-8EgfhoeSIHcic91FGEzxJnXZsVMt8Khwc0G8oR6XDto9WzNKv4EP0qEC_XpKGOlpVeTxvSzD14IaCEkY2tjmawiC7dwsnPFUq2vYHuvlXofZDeLTAqyDGSctJwVXTJLs4BMJ5I.G88T2M8Xr-q14ul4TDxPatvfq-csmaB4dUoZHGGFJ-Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=Wooden+ship+jig&qid=1767023489&sprefix=wooden+ship+jig%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-2

 

Thank you for the Amazon link to this.  I listed it under the rounding plank benders but it also appears capable of edge bending with the addition of some weights.

Edited December 29, 2025 by MintGum

[Gregory]

I really do not think there is a commercial version out there.

 

The jig in the video you provided looks really good.  I'm going to explore that one.

 

This shot from one of Chuck's videos is about as simple and as good as it gets. 

 

I wonder If I could put three clamps and some scraps of wood in a box, call it an "Edge Bender" and sell it for $30 ?  😁

 

[Dziadeczek]

I keep posting here this video over and over - this is Gebhard Kammerlander, a German modelmaker and kit manufacturer, who many years ago wrote an article on bending woods in the now defunct magazine "Ships in Scale".

 

 

If you go down the video about 2/3rds length (or about 3 min. 15 sec), you will see what can be done bending woods sideways as well.

All this is done with a standard modelmaker hot bending iron available online, or a modified soldering iron with a special head fashioned from brass or aluminum.

I checked his technique - works like a charm! No special jigs required, no hot teakettles, no hot lightbulbs or hair curling irons, etc!

I also put together a heat control unit from an electrical dimmer (nondigital) I use with my soldering iron, since standard heat for soldering is a bit too hot and you might burn your wood accidentally.

Easy does it!!!

[MintGum]

11 hours ago, Dziadeczek said:

I keep posting here this video over and over - this is Gebhard Kammerlander, a German modelmaker and kit manufacturer, who many years ago wrote an article on bending woods in the now defunct magazine "Ships in Scale".

 

 

If you go down the video about 2/3rds length (or about 3 min. 15 sec), you will see what can be done bending woods sideways as well.

All this is done with a standard modelmaker hot bending iron available online, or a modified soldering iron with a special head fashioned from brass or aluminum.

I checked his technique - works like a charm! No special jigs required, no hot teakettles, no hot lightbulbs or hair curling irons, etc!

I also put together a heat control unit from an electrical dimmer (nondigital) I use with my soldering iron, since standard heat for soldering is a bit too hot and you might burn your wood accidentally.

Easy does it!!!

 

It appears that he's using 3 or 4 nails in the work surface as the jig.

 

Edge bending jigs are used in many industries.  While nails, clamps and peg boards will suffice a well engineered jig may be appreciated by some.

[MintGum]

12 hours ago, Gregory said:

I really do not think there is a commercial version out there.

 

The jig in the video you provided looks really good.  I'm going to explore that one.

 

This shot from one of Chuck's videos is about as simple and as good as it gets. 

 

I wonder If I could put three clamps and some scraps of wood in a box, call it an "Edge Bender" and sell it for $30 ?  😁

 

 

I would agree that there are no commercial versions.

 

A nicely machined wood/aluminum version, of the style in the video I linked, optionally with screw clamps and x,y grooves for adjusting the center and outer formers, different size formers, etc... would be welcomed for those who don't own their own milling machine to make one.

 

A laser cut plywood version would probably work as well and be cheaper to manufacture.  One that used the four base parts and the end user's clamps might be made cheaply enough that several could be owned and employed at the same time.

 

A jig like this would also solve several issues for modelers who don't have a nice work surface to clamp onto. (i.e. They are not building on a workbench but on a folding table, etc...)

[palmerit]

I discovered I could use the metal base of my quad hands as a platform for edge pending. It’s raised so I can get clamps under it. It’s metal so a hot soldering iron won’t damage it. 

[MintGum]

12 minutes ago, palmerit said:

I discovered I could use the metal base of my quad hands as a platform for edge pending. It’s raised so I can get clamps under it. It’s metal so a hot soldering iron won’t damage it. 

 

Though not a purpose built jig, I've seen similar done with 1" x 6" x 8-12" pine boards,

 

The thin metal of your base seems to allow reasonable sized clamps to be employed.

 

Making the curve "flow" (i.e. not wavy) with this type of setup can sometimes be tricky.

[Gregory]

2 hours ago, MintGum said:

A nicely machined wood/aluminum version, of the style in the video I linked, optionally with screw clamps and x,y grooves for adjusting the center and outer formers, different size formers, etc... would be welcomed for those who don't own their own milling machine to make one.

 

A laser cut plywood version would probably work as well and be cheaper to manufacture.  One that used the four base parts and the end user's clamps might be made cheaply enough that several could be owned and employed at the same time.

While I like the idea of the one in the video,  without  applying heat in some way, the drying/curing time would be considerable, and I don't see a good bend being permanent  without springing back to some extent.

 

I still look forward to experimenting with the idea put forward in the video while allowing for heat to be utilized.

[MintGum]

9 minutes ago, Gregory said:

While I like the idea of the one in the video,  without  applying heat in some way, the drying/curing time would be considerable, and I don't see a good bend being permanent  without springing back to some extent.

 

I still look forward to experimenting with the idea put forward in the video while allowing for heat to be utilized.

 

Agreed.  Heat should be applied at some point - before, during and/or after bending.  At what stages is heat application most beneficial?  If the plank is wetted, jigged, dried, removed and heated would that cause warping or shrinking (as opposed to being heated in the jig)?  The answers are mostly that it depends on various factors, plank thickness, how the heat is being applied, what type of heat application device is being used, etc...  (i.e. Pressing the entire strip with an iron, running a plank bender along the strip, etc...)