Bending wood

[goldfish]

Hi whats a good wood to use for bending im guessing something like 2mm birch ply ??? I would like to bend a small length round this picture. THX

Edited December 21, 2020 by goldfish

[Ctutor]

maybe heated steamed poplar??

[Roberta Moreton]

That would be a VERY tight radius. I don’t think plywood will bend. I have bent thin strips of wood, but not in a tight radius. 

[John B]

You may be able to purchase a small sheet of Bendy ply
https://www.bord.com.au/products/plywood/bending-plywood/
Soaking ply in water is not real good idea as this will weaken the glue holding the plies together.
A thin strip of a flexible timber, soaked or steamed then held in position until dry may also do the job.

[jollyred]

Look for edge banding.  It is a thin wood that is used to cover the edges of plywood so the layers don't show.  It even comes with an iron on adhesive, so you don't need to clamp it in place for glue to dry.  The roll they come in is about 3" in diameter, so it should do what you want.  It is usually only available in a limited number of species (I think it may only come in birch).  But a little dye can do wonders.

Tom

 

[Woodmaster1]

I have used cherry, white oak quartersawn, and maple to make small to large shaker boxes. I used a hot water bath or a steam box with a wallpaper steamer for the steam.

[tomsteve]

that would look pretty nice with the idea ya have. i think id cut a circle out of some 3/4" the size wanted then build up veneer around it.

 

either that or steam bending. theres quite a few videos on steam bending. this article seems to be pretty good on the subject of steam bending

https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/process-equipment/how-to-steam-wood/

[ike]

My neighbor wanted to make a gutar so I made a fixtlure of the bends on the guttar He soaked it for 4 days then put it on the fixdture and let it dry for a little over a weeek and it worked out fine. He used 1/8 BBplywood  you have to have duse dthe ply crosss grained . this was 4 in. wide ply then the glue would hold . we wanted 1/16  jBBply bit cpuldn't find any around here.

IKE

[Jim Finn]

I have found that Red Oak bends well.  I have bent 1/8" red oak after soaking in water for 3-4 days and bending into place around a form.

Edited December 23, 2020 by Jim Finn

[LarryEA]

Best wood to bend is, " White Oak " or Red Oak.

[Marry_Mitchell]

Well you can either use red oak or engineered wood like plywood. Cedar is also soft wood but not sure about its bending as I have't worked on it. Harder the wood the more difficult it is to bend. So its better to go for red oak  and for this steam bending works best. Cheers

Edited December 24, 2020 by Marry_Mitchell