Steam Bending

Steam bending is a woodworking process by which wood is reshaped with the use of heat and moisture. The heat and moisture makes the wood more pliable and therefore allows it to be moulded around a jig, former or mould.

The way heat and moisture makes wood pliable is throught the structure of the wood.
Woods are made up of many fibres looking very much like straws, these features allowed wood to transport water to the tops of the tree.

The problem with using moisture with wood is that too much moisture can cause the wood to swell and loose its rigidity. So the amount of moisture has to be controlled to ensure the wood does not defect during the moulding stage.

The second problem with steam bending is that not all wood can easily be shaped, this is because in hardwood the fiblres are much more compacted and threrfore harder to form. Also the thicker the piece of wood the harder it is to bend. If there is not enough moisture the wood will simply snap but too much would ruin the wood's structure and aesthetics