Steam bending wood using a clothing iron

I'm showing how to steam bend two oak planks (10x80mm) for a wall opening in my sister in law's kitchen.
My workshop isn't quite big enough for a steam box so I decided to use this method instead. It works very well for this application where it's a rather small part of the plank which needs to get bent.

The required tools are things I believe most people have at home or could easily source.
I try to explain the process in the CC.

Hope this was helpful,
tell me what you think and thanks for watching!

Instagram:

[AA-cxb]

No annoying music.
No annoying introduction.
No annoying narration.
Excellent. Skilled man. Brilliant thank you.

[ssoozee]

No chitty-chatting, just doing it. Perfection. Thank you!

[whydoihavetoify]

This has just given me an idea to use my heat press, especially as i can control the temperature and the time and it will heat both sides at the same time, thank you

[johnsanchez]

Awesome work dude. When it comes to building whatever, I too enjoy being minimal, simple yet EFFECTIVE. All these other peeps out there spending big bucks on fancy machines and never learning to do it the way our elders did in times past. Your build looks FANTASTIC my friend.

[jeremywalton]

Thank you so much, David, for posting this. For someone bending wood for the first time, it shows the essential elements needed to get the job done. I followed the steps for two strips of 2 mm width koa wood for the sides of a ukulele. 30 minutes was too long for that width. The koa was dried out and the linen touching it was barely damp. Before I cracked the wood I put that strip back in the water for another eight hours. I then ironed the 2nd strip for 15 minutes and placed the strip into the shape I needed while the wood was still wrapped in linen and foil. It worked. I had to BEND SLOWLY and let the wood ease into the bend. I let it cool and sit for eight hours before removing the linen and foil to let it air dry the rest of the way. So far, so good.

[jonathanvaldez]

Work like this deserves good payment. That's genuine skills and techniques.

[elguapo]

"Turned out alright"!!??? It turned out bloomin lovely!! 👍

[victorstalick]

A very good video using the tools that most people have.

[RaikenXion]

this seems like a nice, simple, cost-effective way of bending wood, i'm gonna try this method to make the sides for a guitar making project i'm working on with my brother. thanks 👍

[oneconsc]

Putting another thin cloth on top of the aluminum might be a good idea so the iron slides easier but this is a fantastic method. Thank you 🙏🏼💜🇨🇦

[pcpjames]

You’re a genius. Great job and thanks for sharing

[jeanjobin]

Simple and effective! Thank you for sharing!

[deryakef]

Great job.💯👌
Simply and clever and easy👌.
That's the right way⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[tcoiler]

Very nice and practical. Glad I found this one.

[nolanherbut]

Thank you very much for sharing the process for bending wood its awesome

[tejasgedam]

This video proved very helpful, Thank you very much

[leventultanur]

Hei David... This was a really lovely build :) First time I watched a tutorial by you and subscribed... I really liked your video. Your calm way of showing how you are doing things. Also like the idea of using CC to explain the process... I would have liked a bit more information personally. The wood type, thickness. How long it took you to heat it up with the iron. Maybe even how you did the joinery. But maybe thats another video :) Anyway i really like this and will be keeping an eye out for more. Keep up the great work :)

[earlyhours]

How hot should you have your iron for this? Newer irons don't get nearly as hot as the old ones, but I do have an old one that I can set to Wool. Is that what I should use? Thank you.

[francoisvillemaire]

perfect! inspiring thank you very much!

[Lostprovince]

Now when heat pressing how long would you let it stay in the jig mold for and then how long until you were confident they were permanently curved