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ZEKE'S WEB SITE
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Date: 10-7-2009
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Number of Hours: 2.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Bending Cap Strips
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Pre-bending cap strips is a big help when makiing ribs. It relieves tension on the parts while they're drying in the jig. This is the second part of reducing my frustration with building compression ribs. By pre-bending the capstrips, their desire to sproing the rib apart when removed from the jig is greatly reduced. Once again, it's never just one thing.
To bend wood, it helps to soak it. Water is OK but amonia is better. The difference is that water just softens the wood but it will try to return to its prior state after it dries. Amonia actually causes the intra-cellular goop that holds wood wells together to soften, then when the amonia dries, the goop resets in the new position. The piece is more likely to hold its new position.
To make a cap strip bending device you need: a length of PVC tubing (2" dia in my case), a cap for one end that's glued in place, and a removable plug for the other end. And amonia. This all required a trip to Lowe's. I made my tube 49" long. See photo 1. Then I used regular amonia 1:4 with tap water per Bill's suggestion. The cap strips will soak for 24 hours. Photo 2 shows the (floating) cap strips in the tube before the plug is fixed in place.
The second item is a fixture to hold the cap strips in the desired position while they dry. Actually, we overbend them a little so when removed from the fixture and release their tension, their final shape is the correct curve.
I used a rib to figure out the bend, then layed everything out on a sacrificial piece of 3/4" ply. 2x4s were used to get the final curve. When the cap strips are removed from the tube, a weight will be placed near the second piece of cross wood. The rib in photo 3 shows the orientation of the cap strips on the bending board.
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The latest shopping trip to Lowe's
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Floating capstrips, about to be sealed away.
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A rib over the board used to bend the cap strips.
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