Not bitter and now not twisted

 A few weeks back we reported that we had recovered the pair of 9"x3" oak sole plates for the final section of the carriage. These had been gently seasoning for 4-5 years in our workshop and whilst not expecting them to be perfectly straight (oak rarely is) one of the two was quite badly warped and twisted. One of the lessons learned from earlier sections was to ensure the scarfing joints between sections is manufactured prior to erecting the previous section. So we needed to attempt to straighten the timber to allow the joints to be made. Our previous experience steaming these big timbers has proven quite successful provided the process is given plenty of time. So out came our 12' steaming box originally designed for making roof hoops and the necessary steam supplies by way of 2 paint strippers plugged in and set in action. The offending piece of oak added and left for 5 hours to gently warm.

The above picture shows the extent of the twist
After 5 hours the twist had substantially reduced on the first end and it was time to move attention to the other end. As the steaming box is 'double ended' the timber was moved through and sealed in and steamed for a further 4 hours. The final result coming at about 7.30 pm when a close to straight timber emerged. Does it twist back once it has cooled you may ask? No is the answer. It appears that once the fibres of the timber have returned to their original position they remain there, or at least that's what has happened with the others we have done over the years. 

Tony moves the timber for attention to the second end. (above)
Second end twist prior to steaming (above)










The straightened first end (below)
Looking along the length after steaming the first end (above)
 


Comments

  1. James Faulkner10 July 2021 at 19:42

    The correct name for those pieces on the coach is "bottom side". As well as twisted, looks to have a great crack through the middle. better to just get a new piece that is straight in the first place.

    ReplyDelete

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