Replies

1. 
   TomMGTC | Mar 22, 2003 09:51pm | #1

   I would do a bent lamination. 5-7 layers of thin oak clamped on a form.

   Tom
2. 
   Jamie_Buxton | Mar 22, 2003 10:36pm | #2

   You can buy curved panels for lots less than you can set up to build one.   For example, check out Anderson International: http://www.aitwood.com.

1. 
   woodntwork | Mar 23, 2003 06:46pm | #7

   Jamie,

   I checked out the site, but I think that in the long run, they may be a little pricey with shipping, duties, and the weak Canadian $. Thanx any way!

3. 
   jackiechan | Mar 22, 2003 11:15pm | #3

   Todd -

   You have a few options for bending a panel 14"x22" to a 9.5" radius.  

   Two questions: (1) Do you want the panel to look as if its milled from a single wide piece? (2) How thick does the panel need to be?

   The following is assuming that you're looking for the wide single milled piece look.

   The first method, as Tom mentioned in the previous post, is laminating thinner pieces bent around a form.  The only drawback to this, especially if you've never bent before, is that the best results are achieved by vacuum clamping the veneers together (over a form). Plus, unless you have access to white oak veneers of those dimensions (larger is actually needed to trim off waste) you may be stuck.

   A second option would be to laminate several layers of white oak bending plywood over a form.  Bending ply' are large thin sheets that have evenly spaced kerfs running parallel to each other on one side.  It's not expensive, but you will have to go to a hardwood plywood supplier (no Home Depot or Lowe's on this one!).  Test the bending radius at the store before you buy any.  The tighter the bend used with this material, the more evident the facets (actually the spacing of the kerfs from the other side) will be.

   The third option would be to purchase 1/8" thick standard white oak plywood, and laminate that over a form.  (Again testing the bending radius before you buy.)  If this works, go for it.  You will get a nice smooth surface, without the kerfs like the bending ply'. 

   I do extensive steam bending in the custom furniture that I design and build.  So a fourth method, but one that takes the most initial set up, would be to steam bend a single solid piece for each panel.

   There are more methods for doing a panel bend like this one, but for ease of procedure and technique, I would recommend the laminating of the furniture-grade white oak plywood.  When finished, no one will ever know that it wasn't milled from a solid piece of stock!

   If any of these methods interest you, e-mail me, and I'll give you all of the details regarding the exact construction techniques/procedures.

   Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc. 

1. 
   woodntwork | Mar 23, 2003 07:01pm | #8

   Dan,

   I thought that a many lamination set-up would not suit my experience, I also worry about butt joint alignment within the soon to be ply (<14" white oak hard to find in small quantities).

   Initially, I was hoping to resaw some 5/4 x 8" and then book match.

   I am now debating between:

   1)  using 1/8" white oak ply (scarce here) facing in with a book matched (1/8" veneer) facing out. Might even pack out the thickness to 1/2" total.

   2) actually trying to steam bend the pieces, as I have lots of 5/4 white oak in the basement.

   I appreciate your (and everyone else's) assistance.

   Cheers, Todd

1. 
   jackiechan | Mar 23, 2003 08:39pm | #10

   Todd,

   If you are going to lay over a 1/8")+ bookmatched veneer, then there is no need to use the white oak plywood as a substrate.  A perfectly acceptable alternative (and sometimes preferred) substrate would be birch plywood.  In actuality, any furniture grade plywood of the right thickness could be used.

   A scarf joint can be used to great effect, if two (or more) panels need to be butt jointed end to end (top to bottom, etc...)  It will reduce the seam to be almost invisible if the grain is matched appropriately. 

   You may run into trouble trying to bend 1/8" white oak veneer to the desired radius.  The best solution to this is to steam bend the veneers, and then bend them around the form.  This would be a relatively easy steam bend due to the fractional thickness of the wood stock.  (The bends could be done in approx. 20+ minutes.)  Have you ever done steam bending before?  If not, this is an easy set up that can be done utilizing scrap wood (scrap ply' as well).  I'd be happy to talk you through the set up and procedure if you'd like.

   If you have a good quantity of 5/4, straight grained oak, then bending and bookmatching, or steam bending is the way to go.

   Lamination bending of 1/8" plywood is actually fairly straight forward, and consists of building the bending form (wood cutting, glue, & screws), spreading adhesive, rolling out air bubbles (if no vacuum press is available), and clamping.  (Detailed description if you'd like them.)

   Let me know what questions you may have, I'll give you the details/tricks/ procedures for any of these bends that you'd like to try.  (Sometimes a combination of techniques works best.)

   Dan Kornfeld, Owner/President - Odyssey Wood Design, Inc.

4. 
   TomMGTC | Mar 23, 2003 03:07am | #4

   Sorry, Todd. I misread the dimensions when I responded at first. I would use bending plywood and white oak veneer and glue them up on a form in a vacuum press. The bending ply I use is not kerfed. It is smooth on either both sides and is available in several thicknesses from 1/8 up to at least 3/8 (the largest I have used).  

   Tom
5. 
   TRIGGER | Mar 23, 2003 04:23am | #5

   I've bent raised panels and frames for a spiral stairwell skirt w/ red oak. Grain running diagonal w/ therake of the stairs. I used a full scale jig for correct rise and run. I sliced then surfaced the bendable pieces from 8/4 stock down to 1/4" x 4" x 42" long.Each panel  required four sets, four layers each. Glue and clamp w/ tightbond. Joined by hand then dowelled together. Vert. & horiz. shaper cutters, bent ply shaper jigs, The hardest part. Panels netted at 28"x 12", diamond shaped and twisted as well.

   Your layers would be thinner for that ridius and horz. grain a plus for this method.Grain match is important.

   Time to eat ,Bye

1. 
   woodntwork | Mar 23, 2003 07:04pm | #9

   Sounds good, do you laminate 4" sections, then dowel?

   Could you use an almost full lenght spline instead?

1. 
   TRIGGER | Mar 23, 2003 10:00pm | #12

   Yup! I had to use dowells 'cause of the twist in the panels. You'll need a fence to match the outside radius on a R table or ect. It ,the fence, dosent have to be more than 3/4" or so high. just enough to keep your bit centered.

6. 
   JeffKurtz | Mar 23, 2003 07:09am | #6

   How to bend a large panel:

   1. Choose the finest, straightest, quatersawn white oak you can find.
   2. Pile wood on stickers with weight on top of pile to prevent wood movement.
   3. Allow three to four weeks for wood to acclimate to shop environment.
   4. Carefully joint and plane boards to required thickness being careful to remove equal amounts form each side.
   5. Properly align grain pattern and direction before glue-up.
   6. Glue and clamp panels on a perfectly flat surface being sure to apply sufficient, yet not excessive, pressure.
   7. After several hours, remove clamps, light up a smoke or pour a cup of coffee, and then
   8. Sit back and watch those puppies bend, curl and bow!

   Jeff

7. 
   nigelUsa | Mar 23, 2003 09:59pm | #11

   Is the top of the panel going to be seen? or the bottom of it? Rip a piece of 3/4 white oak ply and cut kerfs in the back to with in 1/8" of the face approx 3/8" apart. this will give you a piece of very flexable oak faced ply. cut a top for the vanity that will fit inside the top of the cabinet with the front the shape you need less 3/4". copy this front on to another piece and then cut the new piece to 1 1/2" deep (front to rear) glue the flexable ply to the front of these pieces and your almost done. If you need to glue a thin piece of oak to the bottom to cover the kerf cuts and then sand and finish. I went through $$$'s of oak trying to "bend" it around a form.

1. 
   TRIGGER | Mar 23, 2003 10:17pm | #13

   Have you ever heard of "Wiggle Wood"? It's 3/8" x 4' x 8' three ply , avalible horizontal or verticle grain. Depending on wich way you want to bend it. Neet stuff, but hard to carry around. Lam. 2 pcs. togeather is mucho strong w/ no bumps from da kerfs. Must be veneered though even if paint grade.

1. 
   nigelUsa | Mar 24, 2003 02:41am | #14

   I know the stuff Trig but I've not seen it with nice wood veneer and veneering gets us back into the special clamping needs. As this project needs a small piece I would use my method. To avoid the "flats" showing the kerfs have to be close together and I have often used a 7.25" blade thin kerf blade as the 10" blades are often .125" thick.