Steam Box - PVC 100mm pipe

Hey Noto,
Not too good huh…..but at least you tried.

-- I will just keep doing it till I get it right.

hi there notto! i have a pvc steam box myself which works well!! the trick is to buy a schedule 40 pvc! (its something to do with the plastic composite i believe). my steam box also uses a water kettle however it enters into one end of the pipe. the pipe sits at a slight angle so as to let the steam travel up the pipe and as it cools the water drips through a small hole back into the kettle! at the other end of the pipe i plug it only with a towel so as to relieve the pressure as steam builds up and it makes the placing and removing wood easy!
keep at it though aye! once it’s succesfull you will open a whole new world of ideas!!!
(check out http://www.matthias-studio.com/) for some inspiration!
regards…. Toby

you say “it caused so much pressure”, so I wonder if it was perfectly sealed by chance. As far as I know, it isn’t a good practice, the wood must be heated, but just what is needed, not overheated (when overheated, the wood starts losing its Lignina, that’s bad). Someone uses a simple floorcloth to close the opening of the box, and everything works all the same; it is much more important to insulate the box, I think.

-- Antonio --

There is solid core and there is foam core schedule 40 pvc. Which do you have, Toby? It should say on the info line printed on the side.

-- Father of two sons. Both Eagle Scouts.

Check my projects
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/9592

-- Fred.... Poconos, PA ---- Chairwright in the making ----

I thought it was an air canon at first. In wood steam boxes there is always some steam leaking and I agree they are set at an angle.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

I also use pvc and was a failure, since then use galvanized iron, namely an old traffic signal and it works pretty well

Firecaster: i believe off the top of my head it is foam core??? will check later on!
from my experience pressure is not as key to making a bendy bit as the amount of steam you can produce is!
like i said earlier a towel has been sufficient to keep the steam in and bend me some wood!

Ramon: that sounds like an interesting and industrial set up! where did you manage to pick up an old traffic light pole from? does the pipe get hot to the touch? i imagine iron would be heated up pretty easily? no burns i hope?

regards Toby

I have seen this setup work but they had a pressure release. You might think about adding a small hole to the bottom of the pipe on either end as a pressure release. also a bit more support along the length would help prevent some of the sagging. other wise it looks like a good setup. can’t wait to see ver.2

-- No matter how good or bad a day your having a smile always makes it better!

noto said no ,

that’s good enough for me !

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

A friend of mine pointed me to this blog because of this posting. NzToby posted a link to my work (http://www.matthias-studio.com). I’ve gone through so many steamer setups I’m happy to have finally landed at a very efficient yet powerful steamer. Typical PVC (white) won’t work period. Sewage PVC works pretty good (green) but schedule 40 PVC (gray) has a much higher temperature tolerance along with thicker walls. I use a Jiffysteamer for the source at the low end of the tube… the other end is inclined about 3-8 degrees. Right before the steam inlet hole is the water drainage hole that leads to a funnel and then to a bucket. I use the caps that they sell with the tube for the end that needs to be sealed, and the upper end which is the door to access the wood (a wood handle is fitted to that). Also, if you get a 6ft section, you can extend the tube using a coupler). Inside, you need to keep the wood toward the middle (up/down) of the tube to get the steam… so build a ladder that is as long as the tube and wide enough to support itself in the middle of the inner diameter. Last, you need to drill holes on the end of the tube with the door… just before the door. 3-6 holes 1/4” toward the bottom of the tube. This keeps the steam moving but forces it down under the wood.

-- Matthias Pliessnig, Philadelphia, www.matthias-studio.com

Matthias, you be steam-en. You have got to blog your steamer. hope

-- Ain't better or worse than any other woodpecker in the woods.

I’m in the process of moving studios right now… but I’ll blog my step by step process of setting it up in about two weeks.

-- Matthias Pliessnig, Philadelphia, www.matthias-studio.com