I am building a geodesic Snowshoe 14. I am having a hard time finding
green ash or white oak for the ribs. Can I steambend and use the pine
I have left over from making the stringers?

I can get red oak. Would this be any better than pine for the ribs?

If these won't work, can anyone recommend an online source for the ash
or white oak that will not cost a fortune to ship?

wrote in message
oups.com...

[...]. Can I steambend and use the pine[...]

The structure of softwood is such that it simply does not steambend.

Tim W

"Tim W" ) writes:
wrote in message
oups.com...

[...]. Can I steambend and use the pine[...]

The structure of softwood is such that it simply does not steambend.

Ahem, cedar is a softwood and steam bends well. Used for ribs in native
canoes. Don't know about pine. Why not try steam bending it and see? With
these softer woods you'd want to make the ribs at least 10% thicker than
hadrwood ribs.

I wonder the OP does not consider spruce.
It's used in houses, is strong, and is in plentiful supply.
He'd have to pick through the pile at the lumberyard to get a piece with
mostly straight grain and free of big knots.
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"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...


Ahem, cedar is a softwood and steam bends well. Used for ribs in native
canoes. Don't know about pine. Why not try steam bending it and see? With
these softer woods you'd want to make the ribs at least 10% thicker than
hadrwood ribs.

I wonder the OP does not consider spruce.
It's used in houses, is strong, and is in plentiful supply.
He'd have to pick through the pile at the lumberyard to get a piece with
mostly straight grain and free of big knots.

I agree, when planking traditional lapstrake and having to fit into a tight
bend I steam Western red cedar with good results.
Probably the primary concern is whether the wood you are using is air dried
or kiln dried. I understand that in kiln dried wood the cells tend to
collapse. I know that kiln dried teak does not bend well, but air dried teak
does.

The OP should also be careful when steam bending to bend 'with the edge
grain'
like this ))))).

I wouldn't use spruce for frames due to the potential for rot. However....I
wonder how pressure treated softwood would take a steamed bend ?
As the cells are already forced open with the perservative this may
facillitate steam penetration or maybe inhibit it.
Anyone tried this ?

...Ken / Island Teak

"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

"Tim W" ) writes:
wrote in message
oups.com...

[...]. Can I steambend and use the pine[...]

The structure of softwood is such that it simply does not steambend.

Ahem, cedar is a softwood and steam bends well. [...]

I could have been wrong. I wonder what I meant to say.

Tim W

Tim W wrote:
"William R. Watt" wrote in message
...

"Tim W" ) writes:

wrote in message
egroups.com...

[...]. Can I steambend and use the pine[...]

The structure of softwood is such that it simply does not steambend.

Ahem, cedar is a softwood and steam bends well. [...]


I could have been wrong. I wonder what I meant to say.

I wouldn't say you're wrong. Some cedars bend OK when green or air
dried, but none of them bend as well as hardwoods like oak and ash. Kiln
dried cedar doesn't bend worth a damn.

wrote:
I am building a geodesic Snowshoe 14. I am having a hard time finding
green ash or white oak for the ribs. Can I steambend and use the pine
I have left over from making the stringers?

No, pine doesn't bend worth a damn and the moisture of steaming will
cause it to warp when it dries. Don't waste your time.

I can get red oak. Would this be any better than pine for the ribs?

Vastly superior. Red oak bends nicely, especially if it's green or air
dried. I've used it for ribs and coamings in a couple of kayaks.

Depending on what you have for shop equipement, you can pick up green
wood from firewood dealers for next to nothing and mill it yourself.
This gives you the advantage of controlling the grain orientation, which
is gritical to good bending. For best results, you want vertical grain
bending stock (it looks like ||||||||||||||||| on the ends) and the
grain should runs as straight down the stock as possible.

Your illustration represents slash sawn ? surely you meant quarter sawn ?

--
"A fine beer can be judged by one sip but it's better to be sure" Ian
Kentish in Bendigo 36:46:13 S 144:15:466 E


"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message
news:Q57df.299$Pa4.178@trndny01...
wrote:
I am building a geodesic Snowshoe 14. I am having a hard time finding
green ash or white oak for the ribs. Can I steambend and use the pine
I have left over from making the stringers?

No, pine doesn't bend worth a damn and the moisture of steaming will
cause it to warp when it dries. Don't waste your time.

I can get red oak. Would this be any better than pine for the ribs?

Vastly superior. Red oak bends nicely, especially if it's green or air
dried. I've used it for ribs and coamings in a couple of kayaks.

Depending on what you have for shop equipement, you can pick up green
wood from firewood dealers for next to nothing and mill it yourself.
This gives you the advantage of controlling the grain orientation, which
is gritical to good bending. For best results, you want vertical grain
bending stock (it looks like ||||||||||||||||| on the ends) and the
grain should runs as straight down the stock as possible.

ian .at.bendigo wrote:
Your illustration represents slash sawn ? surely you meant quarter sawn ?

Quartersawn wood has vertical grain, as I illustrated.

On 10 Nov 2005 20:08:38 -0800, wrote:

I am building a geodesic Snowshoe 14. I am having a hard time finding
green ash or white oak for the ribs. Can I steambend and use the pine
I have left over from making the stringers?

I can get red oak. Would this be any better than pine for the ribs?

If these won't work, can anyone recommend an online source for the ash
or white oak that will not cost a fortune to ship?


Hardwood - oak, ash is stronger and heavier than softwoods.
Substituting soft for hard is weakening. And a 10% size allowance
may not cut it.

But on the subject of wood bending - I should remind you that a soak
in water with ammonia renders wood into spaghetti.
Some folks feel it also robs wood of strength. But you could at least
try.

Brian Whatcott