Steam bending wood: turning straight into curved

Close-up of a curved component of a piece of furniture: a solid beech rod, 30mm in diameter, softened by steam and then bent into a near semicircle on a mold. The wood fibers on the outer side of the bend are stretched, and those on the inner side are compressed, so the growth ring spacing on the outer side is noticeably wider. There are no cuts or splices at the bend; it is a single continuous piece of wood. Several extremely fine longitudinal fiber ridges are visible on the surface, marks left during bending. The straight piece it connects to is joined with a simple round tenon. The color is light honey, finished only with wood oil. Side lighting emphasizes the continuity of the curve. Avoid: arc made of multiple short pieces spliced together, cuts appearing at the bend, using laminated wood bent by gluing, no change in growth ring stretching on the outer side.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一件家具的弧形構件近景:一根直徑 30mm 的實心山毛櫸經過蒸氣軟化後在模具上彎成接近半圓,木纖維在彎曲的外側被拉伸、內側被壓縮,因此外側的年輪間距明顯較寬。彎折處沒有任何切口或拼接,是一整根連續的木料。表面可以看到幾道極細的縱向纖維隆起,是彎曲時留下的痕跡。與它相接的直料以簡單的圓榫連接。顏色是淺蜜色,只上木油。側光強調曲線的連續。避免:弧形用多段短料拼接而成、彎曲處出現切口、使用膠合彎曲的層積材、外側年輪沒有拉伸的變化。