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A Steam-Free Way to Bend Wood: The Hot Pipe Method

This low-tech method is best for pieces up to 3/8" in thickness

By Rain Noe - May 7, 2015

in Materials

Scotty Lewis describes bending wood as "one of the most exciting and magical things a woodworker will ever experience," and the lure is easy to see: The ability to shape Mother Nature's product to our design indicates a mastery of material and allows for unusual shapes.

We've looked at plenty of ways to bend wood before, from the Curvomatic to a grand-piano-sized jig, from steaming it within a plastic bag to using a laser. Now we'll look at a fifth method, this one ideal for smaller-sized pieces. Lewis has a step-by-step tutorial on how he makes his bentwood salad tongs using a propane torch, a piece of metal pipe and some simple jigs.

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While Lewis' tutorial is the best and most detailed we've seen, going in depth on getting the correct temperature (and measuring it accurately with a stovepipe thermometer), wood thicknesses and what types of wood will and won't bend best, we realize some of you will want to see the process in video. For that we turn to Garret Glaser demonstrating how he uses the hot pipe method to make wooden strapping:

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Brett Burdick

8 years ago

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As was noted on YouTube, heating zinc can give off toxic and dangerous vapors. Better to use a non-galvanized pipe.

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Juan Cano

9 years ago

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Nice! It's just like bending the sides of an acoustic guitar, if you've ever visited a guitar factory, like the Martin Guitar one. Although on YouTube a guy uses some kind of electric blanket to heat up the wood and fit into a jig. Different.

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