Brand newby

[kintuck8]

Well, I finally did it. I joined your forum and am excited about it. My passion is carving walking sticks and sold my first piece in December. My inspiration was my father. Unfortunately, he went blind before he could see any of my work. But, I'm sure he's looking down from heaven giving me h#!!.
I have a quick question... can someone tell me if you need green wood when bending using the steam method? I like working with drift wood but wasn't sure if it is possible to bend it.

[squbrigg]

Welcome aboard. This is a great place to talk carving and there are lots of stick carvers here to exchange ideas with.

As for bending wood, driftwood I would expect would be too dried out and brittle. Most woods will bend green, most will bend if naturally dried, but few will bend if kiln dried or very dried out. I would suspect that driftwood would be dried out too much.

Bob

[Ron Davidson]

Welcome aboard. I agree with Bob on the wood being too dry. Normally you can steam bend dry wood if it is not too dr. In building cabinets and furniture we used to steam bend kiln dried wood. It is a slow process and the biggest mistake people make is to try and bend it too fast. This is my opinion and I am sure there will be others.
Ron

[kintuck8]

Thanks so much guys. I appreciate the advise. Now I know not to waste my time.
Tracy