I’ve tried two types of jigs/formers for my final model. The jig approach has been somewhat unsuccessful. It gives very unpredictable results that break, curve un uniformly and are simply not re creatable. This is where the former comes into play! This method has been very useful to make curves far more reliably and accurately! The only thing now is the constant waiting that comes with steam bending and working in a full workshop which is seriously getting to me and driving me up the wall as I feel like I’m only doing about an hours work in a whole day.
An issue I am having consistently no matter the mould, is to do with bounce back which is where the wood, once released from the former would expand a little again. I think this is going to be a constant issue.
Tom's Blog 