Bent Lamination Thickness

There s some info in the may issue of american woodworker on bent wood laminations.

Bent lamination thickness.

Bent lamination is a process of bending thin strips of wood using lots of glue and lots of clamps. Anything thicker was prone to splitting. 1 8 1 4 is common but i usually end up somewhere around 3 16. Bottom line do as previously suggested.

The process starts with ripping some thin strips of wood and applying glue to each strip. Lamination ply radius thickness 2 4 3 32 4 8 1 8 8 12 3 16 12 1 4. Shallow curves can be made up of fewer thicker laminations while tighter curves need more thin laminations. For very small shaker boxes in cherry even 1 16 can be too thick even after steaming.

Once the parts are formed changing the overall thickness will be very difficult so take the time to figure out the number and thickness of strips needed to make up your part. Start with a desired thickness thin until it survives the bend radius. It s messy but rewarding to see a gracefully bent piece of wood emerge from a glue encrusted form. How thin you cut the strips depends on a number of factors include the wood s natural bending properties the severity of the curve and your tolerance for springback.

Bending plywood is available in 5 16 and thicknesses and comes in several species including poplar birch and lauan in standard sized sheets 4 x 8 with the veneer layers running either lengthwise or widthwise. Cutting laminates on the bandsaw cutting your own laminates is best done with a bandsaw.