Hello,

I would like to have some additional insight/advice into something I’m making.
I will be laminating 8×4 sheets of 1/8″ Poplar (aka “wiggle board” aka bendable ply).
The striation of fibers is in the 4′ direction, because of the way I’m bending the pieces….

I will be laminating the sheets to make a total 1″ thick curved piece, and the curve will be a 3 dimensional curve (form-work is already done, it will work… this isn’t the issue…)

What I would like advice on is:

a) What glue should I use for the lamination? I’ve been told ‘regular’ woodglue will do, but then others have said that it isn’t as good as other adhesives… I will also be staining the final piece into a dark cherry tone… so this is an issue. The final piece will act as a bed, so that gives you some idea of what kind of pressures it will be under…. So far I’ve purchased Elmer’s “ProBond” glue, because I’ve known it to be better than the Tightbond (I or II) stuff…. what do you think?

b) When I’m doing the forming and laminating… I was originally thinking that I would first wet down a sheet of my 1/8″ popular and clamp it to the form so it dries into shape, and then the following night laminate it onto another already-shaped piece. However, the popular wood that i bought is not only very very sexy, but it’s very flexible as it is right now: getting to the curve I want isn’t too far off. I’ve been told that the best results in curving woods like this in laminate are done as a dry-curve, and should I wet it there’s a chance of wobbling, wiggling, etc:…. Thoughts?

(and no steam boxes, I don’t think it’s really necessary for this case and it would be way way too large)…

Please let me know as soon as possible, it would be appreciated….

-alex