Bent woodwork Tip

[Tenson]

Guys,

Not that I need to build anything right now, but how do you go about making a curved piece of woodwork? A curved cabinet for example.

I know the method of lots of slices all cut out and stacked but I'm thinking more along the lines of what was done here -

http://www.briangt.com/gallery/jason-towers

I saw those pics and it made me wonder. I saw the same board like that with all the strips when I went around a furniture makers. They were making a large reception table but I couldn't see how you 'set' the wood with all those strips to be stiff.

How is it done? Please share the secrete!

[Etacovda]

hes cut a series of bars of wood that travel vertically, used 3mm or so ply on the outside, gluded and stabled the outer material on.

The better way to do it would be with multiple layers of ply + bracing structure, but you cant see the inside of his speakers so it could be how he did it.

look up laminiating plywood curves in google, you should find something.

[xstephanx]

uhhh...ahte to rain on your parade, but to me it looks liek he did the old cuts in an mdf board.

ive seen it done sucessfully before, its not usually perfectly smooth, might require some bondo work.

if you really DONT understand what i mean, you sjtu cut a series of striaght cuts with a table saw 3/4" to 1" apart and use the little slats as spaces to bend it (leave about 3 or 4mm of material, you dont cut all the way through the board)

[Tenson]

mmm that sounds like the stuff I saw the furniture manufactures using, only it looked ready made all slatted.

I had a quick google and it mentioned using two sheets like that face to face and then to glue them. Will doing this really get them to hold their shape? I'd somehow have thought they would both want to return to being flat?

[xstephanx]

just wood glueing them to the other pannels will keep them holding their shape.

[DigitalJunkie]

I've heard that steaming the wood works really well for some types of (ply)wood..(don't try it with MDF,or fiber/chipboard stuff!)
I've also heard of people steaming and bending numerous thin sheets,and bonding them together afterwards,basically building up a curved piece of plywood one layer at a time.. Be sure to let the wood dry and/or "set" before glueing it. and leave it in the mold as it dries,so it doesn't get warped out of shape.

[bickeler]

I've seen what Digital Junkie is talking about in antique repair shops.Mainly with 1/8" plywood being steamed and then clamped and glued into shape.It did not look that hard to do with the proper clamps.

[lndm]

I agree. What you do is start with some somewhat thin plywood. You make curved formwork (kind of like you were making braces for the curved sheets). You clamp the plywood around them (gradually if necessary) and steam thoroughly and let dry. You would be advised to use the formwork as permanent bracing.

This is more difficult with thick pieces. If you are determined you may bend a second sheet and bond it to the first. You could also use other materials to build up the mass/thickness of the panel, or heavily brace and lead line it for example, if you wish.

[Etacovda]

Originally posted by xstephanx
uhhh...ahte to rain on your parade, but to me it looks liek he did the old cuts in an mdf board.

ive seen it done sucessfully before, its not usually perfectly smooth, might require some bondo work.

if you really DONT understand what i mean, you sjtu cut a series of striaght cuts with a table saw 3/4" to 1" apart and use the little slats as spaces to bend it (leave about 3 or 4mm of material, you dont cut all the way through the board)

Yeah, I did some store fitting work for a while, im pretty familiar with the process.
On closer inspection it looks like deep grooves in particle board, bent, then with a layer of flexible ply stapled + glued onto the outside.

http://www.briangt.com/gallery/jason-towers/IMG_1726

[lndm]

There is a commercial product like this called Kerfcore. Not sure how rigid it would be, but some have used it before.