Bent Laminate Wood

Before the glue sets clamp the laminated strip in the bending form.

Bent laminate wood.

Curved hardwood nosing on a countertop can really make your project stand out. Bent laminations do more than give your project a graceful look. Some curves would require a piece of stock so thick that it would not only be incredibly wasteful but you aren t likely to find the wood in the first place. If the edge is not perfectly square then you.

Woodworkers use bent wood laminations for everything from chair rockers to drawer handles. Here s how to make a 3 4 in. There are several ways to tackle this tough chore but bending wood and laminating several thin strips to create. To cold bend wood first resaw your stock into thin strips and plane it so the thickness is even.

When you unclamp your dried part it is going to spring back a little bit from the stresses in the bent wood. The thickness of the strips depends to a large extent on the radius of the curve. When used as a structural element such as a table leg they are actually stronger than if the piece were cut from a single block of wood. You may need to over bend your parts to account for this.

Make sure the edge is square. Glue lines often visible cut from solid wood no form or. Layers laminates and lamination we re all familiar with laminates. Bent wood is durable and typically regarded as stronger than solid wood which can crack or split along grain lines.

The process is surprisingly simple and once you ve made your first bent lamination you ll want to include curves in all your future projects. There is no formula. Locate individual layers of wood on curves to recognize laminated bent wood. If you ve ever glued two pieces of wood together face to face you ve essentially created a laminate.

Check this by ensuring that the horizontal surface edge and vertical edge come together perfectly with a t square. A note on form design here. In order to stop any gaps bubbles or distorting of the laminate you need to make sure that the vertical edge around which the laminate will bend is perfectly square with the top surface of the counter. Let the glue set up for its full clamp time.

Thin strips of wood typically no thicker than 1 16 inch are glued together to form circles waves or just about any shape for specialized designs. When it comes to cutting curves the easiest way to get the job done is to simply cut the curve from a piece of solid wood. The tighter the radius the thinner the strips. A few thick laminations will tend to spring more than many thin pieces.