Replies

1. 
   BG | Jul 09, 2003 10:19pm | #1

   Frenchy,

   Not sure your needs will be met, but have you read the "glue ' article on the home page here....great information on all the different combinations

1. 
   fdampier5 | Jul 10, 2003 06:09am | #7

   No darn it,  I will now though.. boy,   do I feel foolish..

2. 
   user-17340 | Jul 09, 2003 10:56pm | #2

   What is the radius ???

3. 
   johnhardy | Jul 10, 2003 12:44am | #3

   What'd be wrong with resawing the lumber into a thickness that would readily bend? I'm thinking of .5 inch or less. This would make for more labor, but I'm thinking the end result would be better. And if this is outside, I'd think epoxy.

   John

1. 
   fdampier5 | Jul 10, 2003 05:36am | #6

   John,  

     I was going to ask for 1/2 inch.. but I think asking cherry or black walnut to bend in that tight of a radius when it's dry is asking for trouble..

       As for the labor,, well I've promised myself a special rate upon completion so the cost shouldn't be too much of a problem.   (a nice German Ice wine if everything comes out nicely and an upstate New york Ice wine if I'm not terribly pleased.. )   that's the advantage of working for yourself,  no taxes to pay so you can afford these little luxurys...

4. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Jul 10, 2003 01:49am | #4

   Frenchy ---

       There's one more requirement on your glue:  it should be able to hold under the constant tension of bending.   Many common wood glues, for instance yellow carpenters glue, don't do this.

      The only wood glue that I know which will glue wet lumber is polyurethane.  It absorbs water to cure, and manufacturers often suggest wetting one surface before clamping.   The downside is that polyurethane isn't a very strong glue.  I've done tests in which I pulled apart a polyurethane joint without breaking the wood around it.   Better wood glues will rip the wood before the glue goes.

      Me, I'd use dry wood, and cut the laminates thinner so they'd bend around the curves.   With dry wood, you can use epoxy or urea-formaldehyde.  They both are non-creeping glues, so they're fine in bent laminations.  They're also both completely waterproof after they've cured.  Urea-formaldehyde is less expensive than epoxy, which might be significant if you're making big things.   One catch with urea-formaldehyde is that it doesn't cure below 55 degrees F, so if you're building outside, you better hop on the project before winter.

1. 
   fdampier5 | Jul 10, 2003 05:30am | #5

   Jamie,

    the sawmill has a problem sawing boards less than 4/4 thick asking for 2/4 (or 1/2 inch) will be like pulling teeth, and I don't even want to think of what it'd be like to get them to saw less than 1/2 inch..  Now granted I'll take some off when I run it thru the planer but  asking for a 1/4 inch when they need to saw twenty feet is really asking too much I think..

     As it is I'll have to sit there with the truck and as soon as they finish sawing wrap everything in plastic and drive home and run things thru the planer..  By the next day (at the latest)   have everything glued and in the forms..   since I won't have the luxury of  building one form and using it over and over, I expect I'll have far more in forms then I will have in the actual wood..

     One of the ideas I have been thinking about is to make a series of hoops out of the timbers in the correct radius..  a simple come-along would hold everything in place and when dried I could cut it into the lengths I need..