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[tigertiger]

I have some dowels that are not quiet straight.

Is there a method of straightening them?

[splodger]

I have some dowels that are not quiet straight.

Is there a method of straightening them?

Certainly, the last thing anyone would want is noisy dowels....

But more seriously, it isn't a problem I've had, though I'd be inclined to try knocking some pins in a length of wood so that the dowel would be held in position curved ever so slightly the other way, then direct a heat gun onto them. No idea how long lasting this 'cure' might be though.

[DickyD]

As a carpenter and joiner for most of my life I would very much doubt it.

[Captain Povey]

Hi, A bit more information required please like what sort of dowels are we talking about here. Solid or hollow and what mateial, metal, plastic, wood, composite? Cheers Graham

[malcolmfrary]

Steaming and "bending striaght" might be the immediate answer to get them as straight as they are going to get, but just how long it would last is anybody's guess, as is just how much of the original strength will remain.
What do you intend using them for?
Are they bent in just one direction?

[tigertiger]

They are softwood and seem to be twisted.

I will use them for masts and spars.

[malcolmfrary]

Looking for a length suitable for each part plus a bit for handling and just a one-direction bend would be favourite, then steam and progressive bend straight and try again would do it, but again, just how long the steamed and straightened part would retain its new shape is an unknown.
Full size practice for hull planks is to steam and bend to shape, and these planks are not known for returning to their original shape, so there is hope.

[Captain Povey]

Hi again, I tend to agree with others here in that even if they are steamed and straightened they will not stay that way for long if not restrained as in planking. Cheers Graham

[Bunkerbarge]

For a peice of wood to be deformed in the way you describe it is probably as a result of the original wood not being seasoned correctly before it was cut, leading to the seasoning process continuing afterwards, or it being subjected to moisture after it was seasoned and cut. 

Either way you are looking at a peice of wood that has corrected it's own moisture content and thereby deformed I this way.You can attempt to straighten it again by drying, steaming (adding moisture) or bending but at the end of the day, even if you are successfull in straightening the wood nature will play it's part and the wood will return to it's deformed state.

I would not even contemplate using this wood on a model as there is a very high likelyhood that it will deform after being fitted.  Even if it is restrained by frames or planking there is a very good chance it will deform again in the future.

There are no two ways about it, this wood cannot be straightened with any degree of reliability that it will remain straight.  I would never use such wood in a model as the expense of new stock is nothing compared to the cost of a model that you are unhappy with.

[anmo]

I agree with most of what Bunkerbarge says, but for what it's worth, I have found heat on its own to be a more effective and longer lasting method of curving or straightening timber than steaming the stuff. As BB says though, considering the small cost of a replacement length of wood, why bother?

[R2-D2]

anmo   You may well be right But look where  tigertiger  lives and the post by him and the other chap who posts from that area and you will see WHY he wants to straighten the dowel

Luke

[malcolmfrary]

I asked about intended use because even a warped dowel might have enough straight enough lengths to provide spars.  If a longer length is only warped in one direction, it can be successfully used as a working mast if the bend is forward-leaning, the bend being taken out by the backstay tension.
Obviously a nice pristine straight one is best, but on a working model where wear and tear will happen, using what is available, especially if new stock is not easily come by, might be the only viable option.  Agian, if the bend is in the manner of a corkscrew, the best fate for it is to be cut into short lengths and used to fasten other large lumps of wood together.

[tigertiger]

Thanks guys
It looks like the bin for some of it then.

I need to think of plan B now.

TT

[Colin Bishop]

I need to think of plan B now.

Bamboo?

[tigertiger]

I need to think of plan B now.

Bamboo?

Bonfire
 :-\ :'(

[R2-D2]

I take it its for a mast ?? do they not have carbon fiber fishing rods over there? Perch pole makes a nice mast..

Luke

[tigertiger]

I take it its for a mast ?? do they not have carbon fiber fishing rods over there? Perch pole makes a nice mast..

Luke

Hi Luke.
Thanks for the tip. Unfortunatley I do scale sail, so wood is best. Unless I can think of a way of fudging up the surface.
A friend of mine brought this stuff bak from the US for me so I kinda feel a bit dissapointed. :-[
not with my friend he brought back load of stuff. Very kind.
just dissapointed with the situation.
 ho humm

[R2-D2]

Scumble ... ask about on hear if anybody has built the Vigilant by MHB,  in the instructions there is info on a Paint effect for brass and cast resin and I'm shore Carbon fiber would be no problem . It just looks like wood and its not that difficult to do.

Luke

[Bryan Young]

I take it its for a mast ?? do they not have carbon fiber fishing rods over there? Perch pole makes a nice mast..

Luke

Knowing absolutely stuff all about rod fishing (apart from the fact that the line has a hook on one end and an angler on the other), could you please tell me about the taper on these rods (I am looking at going from 1/2" to 3/16" over a length of 17"). If that sort of thing is available then it would save many a tedious hour (or day). Ta. BY.