2012 at the Hammond Barn

[Bob Carriere]

Steam bending is the repro of choice. However not an easy task considering the thickness of the board to be bent.

Having done basketry with Joyce for 10 years while in Toronto and having bent black ash...... to be pronouced carefully and spelled accurately.... it is easy and difficult. I have done countless backet rims using 3/4 x 1 in. wood bent to 180 degrees...... some to 360 for basket rims.

Ideally you would need to cut a Black ash and work it while still green..... it is very pliable when steamed.

You would need to have a log about 8 feet long and 12 inches in diameter..... green it is a two strong man job to carry...... and usually grows well in poorly drained soil..... hint near a swamp !!!

It needs to be quarter sawn and you would use the 6 inch width from the outside to the heart as one piece. Why do you think I have that large bandsaw in the barn...? If you decided to pound your ash with a 2 pound hammer you would have splints to weave baskets.... which explains the Little Giant blacksmith mechanical hammer in the other corner of the barn.

Steam box is just a long box hinged at one end usually made from cedar. Can't use metal as it will react with the wood and make dark stains but plastic is good.

For the Oshawa folks...... near the Pickering Museum was the last operating apple basket factory that ran well into the mid 1950.... using black ash and hydraulic and screw presses. Joyce was trained by one of the Mic Ma' elders in Cap Breton island.....Irene Johnson....full blood blond air blue eyed lady....... !!!!

Board has to be steamed at least an hours maybe more if dried.... I used two flea market hot water kitchen steam kettles.

Wood that has dried can be soaked in water and a small quantity of Bounce fabric softerner for a few days before steaming..... using a plastic sewer pipe cut as a trough works nicely.

You would need a sturdy wooden mold or pattern to bend it around to the desired shape.

To properly guide the hot wood around the form ....one should use a strip / piece of sheet metal with some fasteners at the end so they can be pulled with great force with turn buckles. Industrial installations use hydraulic devices.

Bending a board of black ash one inch thick 360 degrees as to be done fast in one swoop and would require some muscle.... another option would be to wrap many layers of 1/4 thick wood and glue once dried.

Do-able..... hard to justify the set up just for one.

Once dried it will retain its shape.

By far easier to build up the circle in segments of the same wood..... white ash or black ash or even oak.... sandwich the segments using modern Gorilla or crazy glue ( works on green wood) used by wood workers...... cut ID and OD to size..... once fully dimensioned seal with POR paint including inside the bolt holes........ voila.

For a fine finish we could mount it outboard on my wood late and turn it perfectly round.

Will supply a per unit quote upon request..... hihihi always wanted to start a second career when I retire next year.

Boobee.