Hello,
Just thought I would share my experiences with bending Blackheart Sassafras and ask a couple questions.
Setup:
- Fox style bender with silicon blanket and steel slats.
- BHS thickness to ~2mm
- Bending temp ~150c
- Bending time ~10mins
- Water - Just a light mist on each side. The wood soaked up the water very quickly.
I followed my normal bending procedure which is waist, lower then upper. I start with the waist and have the caul just putting enough pressure on the sandwich to hold it in place. I then turn 1/2 turn on the press screw every thirty seconds until the waist is almost down. Then do the lower bout using a similar approach. I slide the caul about an inch at a time every thirty seconds until bent. I go a bit slower in the areas where the bend is greatest. Then the upper, pretty much the same process. An inch every thirty seconds, slower in the tighter radius area. Next, I finish off the waist. I usually finish the bend in 10 - 11 mins.
Results:
The sides bent easily with very little spring back.
The sides clamped into the form nicely:
As you can see in the pics there is some scorching on the sides. I'm afraid this may not sand away.
Question: Do you think 150 was too high? Any guesses on if this will sand out?
Overall they bent nicely and were less stressful than my last build. Maybe I'm getting better with practice.
Thanks!
Brad
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