Can you put wet planks in the microwave to aid in bending?

[philo426]

Just wondering if you wet the mahogany planks and put them in the microwave for a minute would it make bending planks easier?

[mtaylor]

Soak them, the wrap in a wet (not dripping) paper towel. It will depend upon the power level of the microwave for the amount of time needed.   Test on some scrap if at all possible, first.   The basic problem though, is the length of the planks and I suggest using the turntable to evenly distribute the microwave energy.

 

Oh.. and get the Admiral's okie-dokie lest you be consigned to picking oakum and eating bread and water. 

[philo426]

Thanks guys!I will give it a try!

[mtaylor]

My personal favorite is an old curling iron..  soak the planks and bend it using the heat from the curling iron. 

 

Phil, do a search on this area using the keywords "bending" and "planks".  There's lots of methods.  I found 9 topics using those terms.. 

[philo426]

Turns out,just soaking the planks in warm water for 5 min works well!   

[Ulises Victoria]

The curling iron is my favorite method also, as noted above by Mark. This plank was bent this way dry. It was a soft wood mind you, so I guess soaking may be helpful on harder woods.

[philo426]

Wow!That is one extreme bend!We have 3 women in the house so curling irons are plentiful!

[cardensb]

^{Philo426 - this sounds like a disaster for one of those women!}

^{I have tried the microwave method with planks in paper towels and also in bowls of water.  My only problem is when trying to do a longer plank than will fit.  I have found tall, skinny vases filled with hot water from a tea pot of coffee maker work great.  Once soaked I clamp the plank into a wooden mold that came with a starter model ship tool kit.  I gave up on the plank bender that came with the kit.  I ended up just scorching the plank each time.}

Edited December 2, 2013 by cardensb

[philo426]

Well I have the lid of one of my clear storage containers that have shallow channels that are perfect for soaking long planks.I fill the channels with water and use plastic clamps to keep the plank submerged.

[mtaylor]

Phil,

 

As has been said many times before.... go buy your own curling iron.  The Admirals don't appreciate us messing with their "tools".  Better yet, find the one of the Admiral's you want and go buy her the new one and swap.  Small price to pay for "peace in our time". 

 

Ulises is correct.  For hardwoods, they need soaking.  Exceptionally hardwoods like ebony will need repeated soakings and bendings.

[philo426]

Tell you what!I used a plank bending tool that came with the Swift and it worked very well on the Mahogany planks!Did not even have to wet them!    

[philo426]

[Nirvana]

Curling irons works with 1.5mm thick walnut strips, the strips needs to be soaked before applying heat.

Some care and not overheat has worked fine for me.

[Nirvana]

Secondly, buy your own curling iron, they are not expensive and comes with different diameters. I have got two for less than 30 dollars which I can regulate the heat on.

The latest style but much more expensive is the steaming curling iron.

Edited December 19, 2013 by Nirvana

[twintrow]

I agree with Mark. curling iron is the way to go.  

1. You can control to ultimate shape easier,

2. Much quicker than using microwave or plank bender,

3. Much easier to correct an incorrect bend.

 

Main thing to remember is to slowly close the curler on tight bends so the wood won't splinter.

[philo426]

I tell you what,guys;Most of the time only 2 to 3 inches have to make the extreme bend.So I heated a coffee cup full of water in the microwave and in conjunc

tion with the plank bender had successful results.    

Edited December 19, 2013 by philo426

[mtaylor]

Phil,

 

Whatever works for you is good.  It might depend on the type and age of wood, but it looks like you have a good system.

[philo426]

i am open to the curling iron idea and will use it if the other methods prove to be ineffective on a particular plank. Now would be the best time to purchase one without getting odd looks.

[geoff]

very impressive! But would it work with the type of wood we use? Also, you would need a big microwave to accommodate 24"+ timber! When (if)! I start my Endeavour, I am going to try the Admirals steam cleaner Ssshh!  no that's not the sound of escaping steam !

Edited November 18, 2014 by geoff

[captainbob]

I do the same thing for bending.  Soak a paper towel and wrap it around the wood and heat.  It’s that simple.

 

Bob

[figuerres]

3 or 4 inch pvc pipe at a 24" length can be used really well, make a stand and use a clean out plug to make a top you can close.

 

the top can push the strips down into the water and a good hot water soak for 10 minutes will work great. I will try and run a small batch just enough strips to do a bit and then I take a break while I start the next batch.

for less than 24" strips a large drink pitcher like you put tea or cool aide in can also work great.   with that I have taken butter knives and rubber bands as a way to pull the strips down into the water to soak them. 

[catopower]

This is an old topic, but I would just add a word of caution. Make sure that when microwaving wood that the towel wrapping is wet and that you monitor the process very closely if you're not familiar with it.

 

I know of a guy in a ship model club I belong to tried this method, kept at it, because the wood wasn't flexible. He let the towel dry out, the wood dried out, the microwave oven caught fire and was destroyed in the process. Cost him a few hundred dollars.

 

Now, this is clearly user error and nothing really to do with heating the wood really. But, just something to be aware of.

[Jaager]

I have an old Aeropiccola Torino plank bender -  it works well on thin Maple.

I do not see that a curling iron is any different in technology.  I would give a dry heat curved surface and then a damp version of the same a long intense effort before devolving to something meant for full size like a steam chamber,  ..... or a microwave - which has a good possibility of doing serious harm to the unseen interior. 

With the plank bender, I learned that wearing a pair of cotton or Kevlar carving gloves will save on blisters and unwanted notification that fingers not holding the wood are where they should not be.

 

The real keys to success are probably:

using the correct species of wood to begin with  -  most if not all of the species provided with mass market kits are probably species that resist bending.

the thickness

if the stock is thin and wide - bending across the thick dimension is never going to go well,

 

 

 

[Nirvana]

I built the longboat from MS using a heat gun forming the planks. Worked as a charm, no messing around with water.

[Dingo67511]

On 12/2/2013 at 2:10 PM, mtaylor said:

My personal favorite is an old curling iron..  soak the planks and bend it using the heat from the curling iron. 

 

Phil, do a search on this area using the keywords "bending" and "planks".  There's lots of methods.  I found 9 topics using those terms.. 

Great idea mate only thing is my wife does not use one so I am going to look a bit funny walking into a shop asking for a curling iron😁

Do you wet the planks before you do them with the curling iron. 

[Jaager]

3 hours ago, Dingo67511 said:

Do you wet the planks before you do them with the curling iron. 

Amazon for a wide variety of options. 

 

I found a Hobby King site - US and OZ  - selling covering irons - something that may better suit.

 

Wood is not water soluble.  The lignin binder that holds wood fibers together is not water soluble either. 

Heat does loosen lignin bonding.

Water plus heat = steam ( which transfers heat more efficiently than air ) is useful if the wood needing bending is so thick that the surface begins to char before the interior heats up enough.   For planks, most are probably thin enough  not to need a steam assist, dry heat should be sufficient.

If it is edge bending, give serious thought to spilling instead.

Edited December 19, 2022 by Jaager

[Nirvana]

I have been dry heating my planks, with an heat gun. Don't put your fingers in front of the nozzle!

[mtaylor]

21 hours ago, Dingo67511 said:

Great idea mate only thing is my wife does not use one so I am going to look a bit funny walking into a shop asking for a curling iron😁

Do you wet the planks before you do them with the curling iron. 

See Jaager' and Nirvana's comments.   Many ways to get planks bent.

 

As for buying one, lots of places carry them and no ones ever made any comments about buying them.