Please Help: Making new seat frames

[n8dawg]

Hey guys. I'm redoing the seats in my boat, and everything is going good untill I tried to bend the wood for the backing of the front seats.
Does anyone know a little garage techniqe for bending wood, what size wood and what kind of wood should I use? I tried bending 1/4 in. plywood, with soaking it for about an hour...snapped it! I tried soaking and cutting notches into it....snapped it! :( PLEASE I NEED YOUR HELP!!!! :supp:

[victorfb]

a little more work but you can use 1/8" luan or other plywood and it will bend. if you need more strength you can bend two peices and glue them together with exterior wood glue. useing resin is the best to seal them but anything that helps seal the wood is good. just dont leave them raw. they wont last long at all.
if your set on useing 1/4" ply you can relief gut it with a table saw. set the blade to cut 1/8" deep and relief cut every 1/4" leaving a blade width cut and then about 1/8" space, then another blade width cut, and so on. the relief cuts will be on the inside of the bend.

[tahitijet]

I used 1/4" ply on mine. used a skill saw set 1/8 deep and made a vertical cut every 1/4-1/2" then tossed it in the swimming pool for about an hour.
The reliefs made the wood want to buckle as the radius was increased so i made a template to bend around and it worked out good.
I made 2 pieaces for each seat and glued them together for strength.
I'll try to find a picture if i can.

[olbiezer]

made some barrel back buckets for my boat last year. using 1/4 first seat back i made was not with the grain and it snaped as yours did. u have to go with the grain to get it to bend well. try it again bet it will bend that way.

[n8dawg]

:hammerhea With the grain, yeah that sounds like my problem! Well I have to buy a new piece of ply wood. Any suggestions? 1/4 or 1/8? And what about adding heat like a torch or something to it while I'm bending it? Does that work? Thanks.

[n8dawg]

That picture would help out alot. Thank you.

[olbiezer]

i used the bottom of the seat to bend it after wetting it for a few hours kinda like rolling it around the base it will fit to anyway, if u are with the grain it will bend beleave me. if not its goijng to be so stiff it wont bend much at all and break about halfway through.

[Dman]

If anyone can post some step by step instructions and pics or a link to the same it would be great as I have to go through the same process and would like to have the info before I start. With me a picture is worth a million words.

[victorfb]

sorry no pics. i gave up on wood frames and now make them out of aluminum. these tig welders are so bitchin. lol
if you plan to resin seal the seat frames anyway, dont worry too much about breaking the wood. it was common practice in the day to just cut the corners and piece them together with staples, glass and resin. once the glass and resin dries its strong and sealed. if your trying to make the backs of the front seats that are round then id go with the 1/8" doubled up and glued. its much easier.

[Brooski]

And what about adding heat like a torch or something to it while I'm bending it? Does that work? Thanks.
Hey Nate, Not to be too big of a smart*ss, but dont ya think that using a torch on the wood might cause a bigger problem than the wood breaking?
Good Luck. See ya at the Lake. By the way, got it to 71.

[olbiezer]

brooski, my thoughts exactly torches and wood dont combine even when drinking heavly! water males plywood bend! pass me another beer and a torch pleaase.

[n8dawg]

haha very funny guys! Yeah someone told me that if you soak the wood then put a little heat to it that it will bend with the steam. Anyways thanks for all the help.
Brooski- congrats on the 71! See you at the river!

[NELSON#109]

Nate, Ive Done A Bunch Of Seats. Ive Done Several Differant Styles Including The Bent Front Seat ( Like U Have In That Yellow Thang ). Remember Bro, Were Jus A Stones Throw Away (santa Paula). If U Want, I Can Hook U Up N Help U Knock Those Things Out. I Might Even Be Able To Talk U Into Changing The Design. Shoot Me A Pm, And We'll Work Somthin Out.

[hbhallett]

You should use a specialized plywood for this. It is called wiggle wood and the plywood layers are laminated with all of the grains orientated in the same direction. You can purchase this at specialty plywood outlets such as Austin Hardwoods in Santa Ana.
Once cut (I used my old seat pieces as templates) briefly soak the wood, bend, and install within the seat base "keys" which hold the shape of the curve at the seat base.
Good Luck

[AZKC]

My seats are flat pieces of plywood(I think 5 pieces) glassed together to form a barrel and the foam finished off the shape.

[Mighty Thor]

haha very funny guys! Yeah someone told me that if you soak the wood then put a little heat to it that it will bend with the steam. Anyways thanks for all the help.
Brooski- congrats on the 71! See you at the river!
Actually to do it right, as in bend the wood so it stays bent without pressure on it you wet the wood and then apply heat. Here is how I do it for Guitar, violin, mandolin etc.
1 soak the wood till flexible. Plywood may delaminate if it is not waterproof.
2. I use a steel tube of appropriate length and diameter and run heat from a torch down the middle of the tube.
3. Bend wood over hot tube, working gradually and resoaking if necessary. watch for hotspots and scorching.
4. when it is shape you want, block it that way for drying. Ratchet straps or a form or clamps or whatever, just keep it from moving as it dries.
5. doing it this way keeps it from trying to spring back to it's original flat shape and pull your gluejoint apart or your screws out.

[mgar_red]

Furniture makers have been using steam boxes to bend pieces of wood for years. It might not be worth the hassle to make one for just this project though. You could try the relief cut method and glue the kerfs together with a ratchet strap in the shape you're after.

[Mighty Thor]

Furniture makers have been using steam boxes to bend pieces of wood for years. It might not be worth the hassle to make one for just this project though. You could try the relief cut method and glue the kerfs together with a ratchet strap in the shape you're after.
Yep' this works too, and if you are gonna just cover the wood it may save both time and effort, for exposed wood I would do it the old fashioned way.

[lucky]

I have done two sets of seats - recently i did the interior in my cruiser - it was a 78 with radiused buckets into a side bench - typicla for that year -- I didn't like the rounded rear - I kept mine flat so when the kids where ski'n it would be more comfortable ! I build my seat frames square and foamed the insides and it gave it a new modern look and is stronger as i dat'oed and gluled and screwd them together with 3/4 marine - as i did not want to screw with seat frames anytime soon - you can check them out at havsudougs under "yard barge " it's an easier way to do it with limited tools - : e mail me if you have questions and i will see if i can help you - or if you would like to see what the frames looked like raw - chris

[n8dawg]

THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR HELP! These forms are awsome. Glad to see that the boating community is pretty tight group of people. All willing to help eachother out. Never find this with cars! Nobody wants to give up there speed secrets.
Thanks Again

[1979tarva]

I saw a thing on tv the other day where a guy was building an airplane and he built a block for the tires out of foam then glassed it it was really strong and you can shape the foam however you want to it may be easier but ive never tryed it

[n8dawg]

:D MY SEATS ARE F---IN DONE! i GOT A SHEET OF 1/8" LUANA WOOD, CUT OUT THE PIECES I NEEDED, SOAKED IN WARM WATER FOR BOUT AN HOUR THEN BENT AND STAPLED INTO PLACE. BENT WITH THE GRAIN THIS TIME! TODAY I WILL SEAL THE FRAMES AND TAKE THEM DOWN FOR UPOHLSTERY ON FRIDAY. I HAVE PICTURES FROM START TO END AND WHEN I FIGURE OUT HOW TO POST PICS UP ON THIS THING I WILL.
THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP GUYS!

[Tahiti350]

How about getting this put together for the "HOW TO" Forum. I will be building new seats over the summer and would like to see the step by step with pictures.

[likwidsukr]

Pics??