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kiefer
471 posts
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in over 10 years
in over 10 years
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Empress
This is a box I made a year ago and again a Japanese influence is certaily present in the design .
Made from white aspen with some faint but beautiful figure and walnut for contrasting accents .
The hinges are steam bent and my own design and made with a simple jig and the microwave steam bending process I previously blogged .
These are some pictures of the jig and the bending strap and also the final drying clamp .
A bit a trying process of patience and some failures the selection of the material is crucial it has to be very straight grain .
The finish is clear satin lacquer
If you like more info on this PM me .
8 Comments
This so sweet Kiefer!
Very different from anything I have seen before.
The last time I tried steam bending with the microwave I failed dramatically with a lot of breakage.
I was using small 1/8 strips to make an inlay on the sides of a side table. The radius of the turn was 1.5" I got the same results with 1/16…
From your experience which wood is more suitable to use with microwave steam binding?
Where do you buy your white aspen?
Abbas, Castro Valley, CA
my goodness — this is SO beautiful and then to see the “how to”, that’s crazy!!!
Toxins Out, Nature In - body/mind/spirit
Ian
Air dried wood is better then kiln dried wood but every batch of wood acts different and I found that it is a matter of trial and error .
Straight grain along the edge and face ,moisture content ,temperature ,strap tension etc all play into this .
On this bend I go slowly and back off a couple of times rather than force the wood around the form and also release some pressure on the strap as I get to the end when I clamp on the plywood block to form the reverse bend .
I have been told to put fabric softener in the water to soften the wood but have not tried that .
Ash is a good wood for bending but walnut in this case works just fine .
I get the white aspen from a small mill that makes high quality products from local woods .A great place and I like to visit there and get the good and interesting pieces that they set aside for me .
Here is a link http://www.forestnet.com/archives/Feb_05/small_sawmilling.htm
Thanks Debbie
This Was crazy fun to design and make .
Started with the bent wood hinge idea and when I got the beautiful wood with the knot just in the right place it all came together .
That is incredibly beautiful and creative. What are the dimensions? The hinge is just outrageously wild. Are you selling these things? If so where and how much, if you don’t mind me asking?
Losing fingers since 1969
Thanks for the extra info Kiefer! Much appreciated.
Abbas, Castro Valley, CA
Hey Brian
The DIM> are 14wx10dx5h
The hinges are steam bent .
No it’s not for sale I don’t make items for sale just gifts .
Your designs and builds blow me away Klaus,outstanding work.
woodworking classes, custom furniture maker
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