Q:

I’m building Adrian Ferrazzutti’s coopered table from “Star Burst Coffee Table,” FWW #225. For the bent-laminated staves, I’m using three layers of ash, with a walnut outer layer, all 1/8 in. thick. After bending, I had issues with springback. Any advice? Would using a softer wood for the inner strips help?

Al Donato, NJ

A:

For the laminated staves in my table base, I used four plies, each 1/8 in. thick. I used Titebond II and a form made of chipboard as well as a stack of 1/8-in. strips as cauls. When you get down to thicknesses of 1/8 in. and under, the species of wood is not really a factor—everything will bend at that dimension.

When you glue up, use a lot of clamps and leave the laminations clamped up for 12 hours. After you take the parts off the forms, put them into a holding jig that keeps all the parts trapped between two fixed points. This will let the glue continue to cure without opening up or springing back, and free up your forms to make more parts.

If you’re still having issues, try making thinner plies and using more of them.

Kelly J. Dunton

Kelly J. Dunton

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