Steaming cedar strips...swelling?

Builder's Forum
1

Ok all,

I've been steaming cedar strips for my Night Heron, and I need some imput from your expertise...

I cut, shape, and dry fit my cedar strips before steaming them, and they seem to fit really tight!

But then, whenever I put them on my forms to dry into shape they seem to be slightly longer than when they were dry.

Is it my imagination, or do some strips swell when the are steamed, and then return to their normal size when they dry?

I don't think I'm going nuts, but my family and neighbor may disagree as usual!

Chris F

2

Certainly possible, but it shouldn't be any different length if it's actually back to the same water content.  In fact it shouldn't be longer even wet, it would be wider/thicker, assuming your grain is aligned lengthwise.

For what it's worth, it shouldn't need that much steaming either way.  Many people just get the "tough areas" hot with a hair dryer and don't bother steaming the whole strip.

FrankP