| Dave had an idea to construct a hydration chamber to try and put moisture back into the oak before we steam it. We had tried soaking it, but that didn't seem to help a whole lot. | Dave's theory was that that they can infuse pressure treated lumber with chemicals, so he should be able to infuse the white oak with moisture. |  |
| Going into the hydration chamber, the oak read 8% on the moisture meter. He charged the hydration chamber to 50 psi, and we let it sit for four days (five really, but he says the day it blew out the end doesn't count). |  |
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When
he brought me this cross-section cut, you could of wrung water out
of it and the moisture meter pegged off the scale. The oak steamed faster and was a lot more flexible. We also seemed to have more working time to get the frame pieces in and wedged down. |
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| Materials list: 4" x 10' heavy wall PVC pipe 4" cap drilled and tapped for 1û2" pipe 1/8" pipe thread on side 1/2" fill valve and hose connection 1/8" vent valve and pressure gauge connection 4" PVC coupling - cut off one end leaving 1" for backing bolts 4" expanding test plug |
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