Wood Bending

[herman]

Wood Bending canopy 92g corner BF

I need to bend wood into an arc for the doors of a canopy for a 92g corner bowfront.

So far I have tried force. Does not work. I also soaked a couple of pieces and heated in the oven and they warped and so far I managed to get two pieces right but I need two more.

Jhale if you are there...........

 

[inkblue]

can you bend one for me too... for my 72, whiLe you're at iT :thanks:

 

[herman]

What dimensions you need the canopy to be?. For the 72 bf its easier to bend the wood cause the angles are not as extreme. My 92 BF is a full quarter circle. Do you have any tools for putting the thing together? I can send you pics on the framing costruction.

 

[inkblue]

tooLs? what are th0se... i have miniMal tooLs... remember, am in advertising so I have a lot of Macs/PCs but they dont beNd wood :sigh1:

 

[jhale]

there are two ways to do this.

first the proper way, steam bending, a real pain in the ass if your not set up for it.

you need to create a chamber to force steam into that the plywood will fit in.
then you need a mold to clamp the steamed plywood to, this method was perfected by Eames back in the day.

the second way is to cut kerfs into the back of the wood that will allow you to bend the plywood into the shape you want. lets say your using 1/2" thick plywood. you would cut 1/4" kerfs every inch or so, then bend the wood slowly into the radius you need.

or you could just go and by wiggle board, it's plywood that's made to bend,
you can find it at manhattan laminates in the city. maybe I should have mentioned that first

 

[jhale]

with the wiggle board you need to glue two pieces together so it holds it shape.

you'll need to do this if you chose the kerf method as well, or steam method.

 

[herman]

Thanks J. I have a steamer so I will try the ghetto version of the proper version. I will let you know how it goes. If you dont see me on this board anymore it means that I whacked myself with a block of wood. :smoker:

 

[jhale]

use 1/4 thick ply to steam and laminate/glue at least two sheets.

make them extra long as you will need to trim the overlapping ends at an angle.

 

[aaron]

I didnt think you could steam plywood as it is already laminated. I thought you had to steam the individual layers then laminate them together.
But I deffer to your greater knowledge john.
A

 

[jhale]

you have a good point, I never steamed anything, I'm going with things I've read. I thought people used plywood, I might be wrong. I don't think the steaming would de-laminate the plywood, but it's possible.

I know people do bend solid wood and glue that together, I did not think they would do that for large panels. I'll have to go back and find the articles I've seen in the past.

 

[herman]

I am off to a antique furniture restorer. He will show me how to do this. Ill keep you posted.

 

[jhale]

some online info,

apparently you can steam plywood, but it is not easy, you need to precisely control the moisture and temperature and time, this out of the realm on the home wood shop.

http://www.valuecreatedreview.com/bentwood.htm

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cach...r94a.pdf+steaming+plywood&hl=en&client=safari

 

[aaron]

I would think that because the inside of the curve is slightly shorter than the outside the inside layer of plywood would need to be able to move against the outside but the glue of the plywood prevents this. Either way i'ts not worth thinking about, just go with the bendy ply / wobble board. it will save you a lot of head aches.

 

[jhale]

either that or spend a lot of ca$h on some extra wide boards then plane them down to 3/8" and start steaming

lets see what the antique restoration person has to recommend.

 

[jhale]

so Herman, what did you learn/ decide to do?

 

[herman]

I just came back from the the antique refurbishers. Man that was some experiance. I am definitely going back tomorrow. Quite fascinating. The guys let me be hands on so I can really learn something.

I had my sectional reupholstered by them. My request back then was that they instruct me how to do it and I did. I noticed that they fixed/corrected some stuff, but at least I can say I did it.

After today, I am scrapping the current canopy build and starting over. Tomorrow I can bend all the wood I need. I tried both the plywood but the regular wood just looks nicer. Hey they have the equipment.

 

[KuyaMark]

hey herman i'll need one also for my 72 bow i'll pay u to make my canopy for me
hehehehe

 

[herman]

I dont even know what the outcome will be like. I will post pics of the process once done. Then you can decide whether you want me to make one...

 

[jhale]

having the right equipment makes all the difference!

 

[herman]

wow, bending wood is tough! Did not quite turn out how I wanted. Back to the drawingboard. I think the easiest thing to do is to replicate the stand design for the canopy. John, you know the tank. Opinions please.

Funny thing, the guys at the restoration place said they would never hire me. Something about my thirst and using excessive force trying to bend the wood quicker......crack....can I have another.........

And I consider myself a patient man :tired: