OT Busy day in the city today

Got in the shop by 6am today, as I needed to spray some laquer on some trim pieces. Laquer is nice, compared to polyurethane, because you can recoat in about 25 minutes. Finally got to the job site by 9-stone masons have MOVED into the kitchen, so I will not be working in there today. OK, that is why I finished those trim pieces-they needed to be installed and I could do them! So, later this afternoon, I am still not able to get in the kitchen. There is an open stair well which has a 7.5" radius baseboard and baseshoe. The boss hired a lumber yard to make the baseboard, but wanted me to bend the baseshoe to match. Tried the 'million saw kerf trick' on the back, but it broke before coming close! Thought I should try steam, but I DID not have a steamer set up in my shop-I do now! Here is how I made my 'poor mans lumber steamer'.

Turkey fryer for heat and pot, now that I know it works, I will be working on a proper lid for it LOL!:


3" pvc for tube-cap is NOT glued on, and I drilled a 1/4" hole to vent:


Set it up on a table, with a slope:


Here is the curved baseboard I am trying to match:


Here is my jig, with 4 1/8" alder strips glued and drying:


Got into the house at 8pm, tired but content. I hope to be able to round over my curved piece in the morning, so it matches the baseshoe! Greg

Another method I've had luck with is using household ammonia. The ammonia temporarily breaks down the lignin bonds in the wood, when the ammonia evaporates, new bonds are formed, giving a permanent set. I've only used it on materials up to 1/4 inch thick, but I don't see why it wouldn't scale to a typical base shoe thickness.

Your setup will work fine. I have seen it done with bigger tubing if you have multiples to make, but for one or two your set up is perfect.

Rick