the steam bender

Is there a drain hole for the condenced water and what do you have for ends on the pipe?

-- I've been blessed with a father who liked to tinker in wood, and a wife who lets me tinker in wood. Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I’m making a box this week. How much water do you go through in an hour?

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Did you find that the hour and 15 minutes were enough and if so, was this accomplished by trial and error or do you have a formula that you use according to the thickness and type of wood? By your setup, I see that you can bar-B-que and steam bend at the same time. LOL. ;^)

-- Jesus is Lord!

This is very cool. I thought you were supposed to put the wood in a box and pipe steam in?

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3 http://www.portablesawmill.info

Can you use it as a still for making booze?lol

Seriously though, I’ve seen boat builders use that method. I look forward to trying something simuler.

Karson-there is no drain hole, but that’s not a bad idea. I do have a 1/4 inch hole on the end of the pipe for steam to escape.

Bob-I never had to refill the pressure cooker. Filled it up in the begining and went through about half a pot-a little more than half gallon I’d say. Good luck to you! The only problem I had was with a small ammount of twist in one of my shafts. Seems like hit or miss on that issue.

oscorner-I found some info on the net somewhere but don’t remember where. The hour and fifteen worked fine. It does depend on thickness and type of wood. Google it…you will see. I love bbq.

ron-I’ve heard of box method. With pvc I still had to make a tray out of wood b/c the pvc does start to flex when heated.

Blue Stingray Boots- never tried but sounds interesting!

-- Tim Nuanes

Nice setup.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

speaking of bbq I’m going to smoke my salmon this weekend, anyone wanting some send me your address.
this will keep, its cryo vact. or vacuum packed when I’m done. I’m doing it all at once because we’re selling our freezer and I have about 100 lbs of salmon I have to smoke. Nice steamer I made one similar to bend maple for a rocking chair. It worked great. jockmike

-- (You just have to please the man in the Mirror) Mike from Michigan -

Pressure cooker? Now there’s an idea… I guess I don’t need to get a big kettle afterall. Did you use a propane burner for the heat source? I’m going to be steaming a project in the coming weeks, but I don’t have an outside heat source, was thinking an electric burner style plate might work? Or I was looking for a larger electric kettle… until now, that is.

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Van Gogh -- http://blanchardcreative.etsy.com -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

I used a natural gas burner. Heat is what you need to get the water hot so however you come up with it that doesn’t really matter in the end. I think that electric might be safer in most situations. An electric kettle seems like a good idea if you can get a tight seal where the steam comes out. Also, that’s nice to have the heat and container all in one unit. Nice thing about the pressure cooker is that it only cost me $2 at the local thrift shop!

Good luck, however which way you go!

-- Tim Nuanes