"D" mold bending

[John]

G'day everyone,

How do I go about forming the "D" mold around the wheel arches and the profile of the van?



I've looked into steam bending and wouldn't mind giving it a go just for the sake of it, but any other suggestions?

Regards,

John

[Surf Tragic]

John,
if that moulding is a piece of wood timber, surely it'd have to be steam bent, here I am talking about something i have never done, only read about it,..... but have poured boiling water on ply to get it to bend. Let's know how you go.
St

[DC3Td]

Hi John. Steam bending is used for timber. Heat bending for metal/aluminium. However,heating aluminium to bend reduces its strength as ali has a low temperature thresh hold. Ah,now that i`ve got my reading specs on i see it is timber molding. cheers gordon

[John]

G'day Guys,

Yes ST it is wood!

Hence my question on steam bending!

This is "D" mold not "J" mold that most vans have on them.

It has a flat back and doesn't "wrap" around the surface like "J"mold does.

Regards,

John

[Franklin1]

G'day John,

Steam bending is nowhere near as difficult as people may think. This may sound like the "bleedin' obvious", but providing you have the right timber and the right set-up, the process is quite simple.

If you care to have a read through this thread: Franklin1...finally she begins! , and start from Reply #8, you'll see the home-made steamer I used to experiment on the Franklin.

The biggest challenge you'll have is finding a suitable species of timber for steaming, and more importantly, finding timber that has a suitable moisture content for steaming. Ideally, finding timber still in the 'green' state (unseasoned) will be your Holy Grail.

The company that still does steam bending in Victoria (they were in Daylesford, but Firefighter says they are now in Cheswick(?)) may be able to help you source some suitable timber, or they may even be able to do the whole job for you.

One other option to have in the back of your mind is using half-round cane, particularly if the timber is to be painted. As you may remember from your basket-weaving days at Primary School, cane becomes very flexible after a good soaking.

I found one website that lists half-round cane for sale. It's up in Qld but there may be others around. Click on this link and scroll down the page until you come to "Split Cane": Cane. You can also click on the "Prices" link for costs.

Some food for thought...

cheers,
Al.

[Surf Tragic]

just went & read about your steam bending Al, mighty interesting for me, no doubt I will have to do some on my 140 in the future.

Thanks. ST

[John]

G'day Al,

I remember watching you do the frames and thinking to myself " I must remember this post".

Thank you for reminding me!

Will start the search for some "green" timber!

Thanks again,

John