Fabric softener in steam bending water

[Steve Lansdowne]

One Melonseed builder tells on his web site how he put fabric softener in the water he heated for steam bending. I got the impression that this helped the process along in terms of more successful bending/fewer breaks. Has anybody else heard of or tried this? Perhaps he was joking, as he also mentioned the nice smell!

[Speedboy]

I did a lot of steaming when building my boat, and I did not need to add anything to the water. I would be concerned about contaminating the wood surface with the fabric softener, which I think contains soaplike materials. The key to the steaming was to bring the temperature up to 200 F (monitor with a meat thermometer or equivalent) and after reaching 200 F, hold the temperature for the required amount of time ( I think it was 1 hour for every inch thickness) so for 3/4" stock it would be 45 minutes. Then when you take it out of the steamer, quickly position it in it's final resting place.

Speedboy

Speedboy

[Concordia..41]

When they redid the website, the columns got all out of whack, but basically based on the theory of infusing chemicals into pressure treated lumber, Dave built a hydration chamber and soaked the wood (no fabric softner) prior to steaming.

The difference in working time was incredible.

Again, sorry for the poor web page. The trick is to read left to right.

Hydration Chamber (http://www.concordiayawl.com/proj13.html)

Feel free to e-mail with any questions.

- M

[Pernicious Atavist]

my understanding is that fabric softener is a wax that coats the fibers in fabrics; i'm sure your guy who said it helped experienced a placebo effect, assuming i'm right about it being a wax, thus, i don't see how it would help! soaking/steaming works on the cellular level....

[Mrleft8]

I don't know about steaming with fabric softener, but I've used it when soaking laminations for bending. It works. It does not seem to affect glue adhesion as long as you let the lams dry completely before glue up. I can see no reason not to try it with steam bending.

[Jay Greer]

I picked up a trick from an old boat builder that works very well for making steam penetrate more than without it. A few caps of "Kodak Photo Flow" in the boiler makes steam bending a snap!

[Ken Hutchins]

The bag, the bag, bend the wood in a plastic bag, keeps it hot and moist until bent then remove the bag.

[Mrleft8]

Originally posted by Ken Hutchins:
The bag, the bag, bend the wood in a plastic bag, keeps it hot and moist until bent then remove the bag.I tried this... Melted the bag...

[Ken Hutchins]

I tried this... Melted the bag... Obviously did something wrong, it does work, other forumites have seem me do it, I've even done it in front of a TV camera.

[nedL]

Back when wood was what boats were built of on the Jersey shore everyone had their 'secret formula', even the large production builders like Luhrs & Ulrichsen. I once heard some of what was in one formula but I don't remember any more. I've always just used water and haven't had problems. I suspect that some of the benefit comes in the fact that most of what you add to the water will raise the boiling point some & makes for hotter steam. I remember John Gardner talking about 'addatives' but saying he never found much use or need for them.

[ 08-22-2005, 12:24 PM: Message edited by: nedL ]

[Mike DeHart]

Years ago there was a knowlegeable character named MILLER, ROBERT who frequented this forum. I have seen him recommend adding a little ammonia, "OH IONS" in his own words, to the steam kettle. He claimed it made wood bend like cooked spaghetti. I think the Vikings used this method on their longboats, in the form of burying the planks under a manure pile.