Good video. Nice work. Couple of useful points: You spent quite a bit of time building the form. Protect your form by applying a thorough coating of wax to prevent any glue sticking to it. The wax paper was a great idea. Instead of clogging the disc sander or belt sander with glue, try using a scraper to get the bulk of the glue off before you sand. Another thing; If you are going to do more of this plywood bending, it might make sense to build a router jig to remove the excess glue from the edge. As you noted, the bandsaw gives a rough finish. Using a router to trim the glue leaves a very nice surface. Have fun, stay safe.
Thanks for the vid. I just want to say that I find it a lot easier applying the glue with a small paintroller. Especially if you're making more then one piece at a time. greetings
Thank you --- informative and straightforward! BTW, with excess glue in any project, I "shave" off most of the excess with a small cake spatula once clamped and the glue dries a bit. This way, I have much less cleanup once the glue dries and I am ready for the next step. BTW, the spatula is also great for spreading glue.
I thought the video was well presented and informative. The comments were also valuable. Even though I already knew the process, it was nice to go back to basic. I wipe away excess glue from any project which makes sanding easier. I sometimes work with an outdoor glue which expands. I use a chisel or a sharp tool to scrap the excess once it dries to a soft consistency (1/2-1 hour).
Three things i would do different. 1 Misting the wood with water before prebending. This helps soften the wood and helps keep the form after the prebending and aids with the glueing as I explain later. 2 using straps on the outside layer will help prevent wood from cracking or snapping. 3 roll on polyurethane glue, this glue uses the moisture from when spraying water on the wood earlier to cure and is much stronger then standard wood glue. And will not seperate when subject to high or low temperatures like standard wood glue does.
thumbs up from a german carpenter! but when you do clamp the layers together i would add another piece of plywood without glue. so you can be sure that your clamps do not press in your workpiece! keep up the good work !
Soaking the laminates in water and then placing them into clamps before they are glued make the transformation much easier. Just as a "warm up period" before any strenuous physical activity reduces the possibility of any injury.
The Varier Balans chair back support add-on I want is a whopping $200 for a 2 bend ply and some hardware. Enlightening to see that 1/8 birch can bend without steaming. Or I'm thinking to just build it up without any bending and add aluminum edge supports for the lower weight bearing curve.
Hi, nice video and very comprehensive explanation. But I still have a question concerning bent lamination: Would it also be possible to glue up "curved beams" from individual pieces / "boards" that are shorter than the final beam (for example make a 9 foot beam out of two 4.5 foot "boards", than three 3 foot "boards" than again two 4.5 foot "boards" and maybe only use 9 foot "boards" for the top and bottom layers)? I hope you understand what I mean. Thanks in advance
I would assume that the plywood will only bend to that sort of radius when the face grain is going across the leg rather than along it. 1/8" ply would probably break if you tried to bend it to that radius the other way.
Hello and thanks for this well made video. I have been unsuccesful in recreating what is demonstrated. I am using three ply birch (don't know if it's Baltic birch) and it begins to crack well before reaching a 90 degree bend. The radius of my mdf mold looks comparable to yours. I live in central Minnesota and the air is very dry this time of year but even after wetting the strips they still crack. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Well, this reply comes a bit late I guess. If I got your question correct, you're asking to use about 12 mm thick ply; demonstrator here uses a 8-9 mm ply. 12 mm ply isn't that flexible, so it breaks quite much easier if bent too much.
Thanks for the comments! A few responses: @bradfordashoemaker: The plywood I used is 1/8" baltic birch, and has 3 plys. Of course, you could glue up individual plys, but starting with 3 is less work. The drawback is that the minimum bend radius is larger than with individual plys. @franciscoferrario: The glue between the layers resists lateral slippage, so it's probably not necessary to "overbend" the mold, at least not by very much.
Hey, nice and very clear video. I have a question though, Why did you cut the plywood strips allways from the same side? As the finished piece shows, you get 2 layers with grain one way and 1 layer with crossgrain, was that intentional?
Hello! You're the answer to all my questions, great video, great help.. But a question, how long (hours/days) did you leave the plywood (Glue) to dry? (Excuse me for my English)..
I would like to have a go at creating a falcon chair leg to replace a broken one. For an idea what I mean simply google falcon chair by Sigurd Resell. Would this technique work as the curves are pretty tight? I think it may crack before the desired angle is reached. Has anyone tried this before if so how?
Not a Bad Video! but next time add the clamps from the middle out this will help to avoid gaps in the first place, or, make two formers and sandwich the ply between the two
How thick is the actual chair leg in mm? whats the minimum thickness needed. Sorry, I'm getting a bit confused with the ply terminology in the comments.
Bad idea to try to sand away glue. The glue just heats up, melts, and clogs the sandpaper. It's best to use a scraper. Better than than waiting till the glue cures, wipe it off as soon as the work is clamped up, like others have said.
Can I bend 18 or 20mm plywood with this method? I mean for thicker plywood will this work? Because I wanna make a curved baby hammock. Or If I use ratchet strap will that work too?
This is too long proces 6h to dry.I have to make 84pices to do and 6 radiator covers in 5 days so Do you thing Im lazy????Make faster proces.If you have 30clamps and 5 forms.
Jordan Ray well only 16 Jordan it's also possible they just don't like the video! I mean I wouldn't be pissing about with a sander when a plane will do it as quick, cleaner, cost nothing in abrasives and be cleaner for my lungs. Now if I put in that work and not just machine things, I'm probably not too lazy am I? But I didn't like the video either! Use some common sense smart arse and learn to spell, it's too lazy, not to lazy!
Are you not supposed to cross the grain to prevent it from shattering with the weight on it? Yeah. I believe you are. I'm confused, because the end result shows you've crossed the grain, but not in the demonstration with the band saw, best mention that with a title before somebody hits the floor with sharp bits of wood all around them. Because you know somebody is going to cut the parts all across the grain. :/
u seem u know what u are talking about I am starting to do a project like this and saw your comment, what do u mean with what u say. please answer I need help with my final project in year 12 thanks :) please respond
3/8ths plywood is constructed with two outer layers of wood running one direction, and the middle layer running crossed. Every third layer will be running the opposite direction, which is exactly what he showed and explained in the video. If you look closely at the video at 4:05, you will see that for every 2 layers running lengthwise, one is running wide. So in short, the plywood is already constructed with crossed grain, no need to do it yourself.
Because of the thickness of the outer layers of this type of plywood, all that is being done, is bonding them with glue (making this much stronger) to another "thin-ply" to make a thicker one like the one in the middle. If you were to be making this same setup of multi-plies-bonding out of just the veneers (all the same thickness) then yes, crossing the grains would be highly advisable, but the gains on this particular setup are to small to be measured. (Unless it was twice or 3 times that length, or exceeding the weight rating of that same thickness product 1-1.5" thick birch plywood, or lastly if you plan to only use 4 legs on a bench)
This young man is remarkable organized, tidy, thoughtful, and talented.
This is the coolest, most concise explanation I have found for bending plywood I have found after DAYS of searching. Awesome job!
Good video. Nice work. Couple of useful points: You spent quite a bit of time building the form. Protect your form by applying a thorough coating of wax to prevent any glue sticking to it. The wax paper was a great idea. Instead of clogging the disc sander or belt sander with glue, try using a scraper to get the bulk of the glue off before you sand. Another thing; If you are going to do more of this plywood bending, it might make sense to build a router jig to remove the excess glue from the edge. As you noted, the bandsaw gives a rough finish. Using a router to trim the glue leaves a very nice surface.
Have fun, stay safe.
Thanks for the vid. I just want to say that I find it a lot easier applying the glue with a small paintroller. Especially if you're making more then one piece at a time.
greetings
Thank you --- informative and straightforward! BTW, with excess glue in any project, I "shave" off most of the excess with a small cake spatula once clamped and the glue dries a bit. This way, I have much less cleanup once the glue dries and I am ready for the next step. BTW, the spatula is also great for spreading glue.
Love it, all that furniture is great, it's 60's and 00's at the same time.
thank you for the simple, to-the-point explanation
Easy, simple and direct explanation. I like it. I will surely try this.
Thank you for this since I didn't think of using thin plywood for this purpose. Very good video!
I thought you had to steam it or something- you make it look so easy! Thanks.
Yes, you can steam wood doweling rods.
Amazing and so very helpful, thanks a lot!!
I don't know how i ended here, but this is very nicely done tutorial :)
This knowledge changes things for me. Thanks!
I thought the video was well presented and informative. The comments were also valuable. Even though I already knew the process, it was nice to go back to basic. I wipe away excess glue from any project which makes sanding easier. I sometimes work with an outdoor glue which expands. I use a chisel or a sharp tool to scrap the excess once it dries to a soft consistency (1/2-1 hour).
step 3: use scrap piece of wood to be placed between the clamping surface and clamp. helps eliminate flat spots.
This is great, thanks for posting it. I've tried bending some ply using a steam box but had no success - looking forward to trying this out tomorrow.
Three things i would do different. 1 Misting the wood with water before prebending. This helps soften the wood and helps keep the form after the prebending and aids with the glueing as I explain later. 2 using straps on the outside layer will help prevent wood from cracking or snapping. 3 roll on polyurethane glue, this glue uses the moisture from when spraying water on the wood earlier to cure and is much stronger then standard wood glue. And will not seperate when subject to high or low temperatures like standard wood glue does.
thumbs up from a german carpenter!
but when you do clamp the layers together i would add another piece of plywood without glue. so you can be sure that your clamps do not press in your workpiece!
keep up the good work !
Thanks for a really easily understandable and succinct vid.
Thank you, that was very nice. Just what I expected it to be. Thanks for the demonstration.
"the sanding may take longer than you expect."
Ain't that the truth! Fucking awesome video, strong work.
Why does the plywood not break? I've had to soak the wood for 24 hours so it wouldn't snap.
Soaking the laminates in water and then placing them into clamps before they are glued make the transformation much easier. Just as a "warm up period" before any strenuous physical activity reduces the possibility of any injury.
The Varier Balans chair back support add-on I want is a whopping $200 for a 2 bend ply and some hardware. Enlightening to see that 1/8 birch can bend without steaming. Or I'm thinking to just build it up without any bending and add aluminum edge supports for the lower weight bearing curve.
Using a planer to remove the dried glue squeeze out might work better than gumming up your disk sander with glue.
If you don't mind sacrificing planer blades.
You wouldn't be sacrificing planer blades by using them on hardened wood glue anymore than you "sacrifice" them by using them on wood.
Dried glue is bad news for any sharp blade.
Chuck D this^
Hi, nice video and very comprehensive explanation. But I still have a question concerning bent lamination: Would it also be possible to glue up "curved beams" from individual pieces / "boards" that are shorter than the final beam (for example make a 9 foot beam out of two 4.5 foot "boards", than three 3 foot "boards" than again two 4.5 foot "boards" and maybe only use 9 foot "boards" for the top and bottom layers)? I hope you understand what I mean. Thanks in advance
i like the way you ply, boy.
Awesome, thanks for the video!
How did I find this in a CS GO tip video from the war owl
Very useful tutorial, thank you! Also, is it possible to make much sharper bends with this method? Say less than 1 inch radius?
I would assume that the plywood will only bend to that sort of radius when the face grain is going across the leg rather than along it. 1/8" ply would probably break if you tried to bend it to that radius the other way.
Fantastic!
Use a cheap 1" paint brush to put the glue on with. It will spread pretty evenly.
Use a jointer to square it up and put it together with marine epoxy cuz its the right thing to do
i wonder will it break if i'll stand on it? is it strong to hold 90kg i wonder not for whole chail bun only this part??
Good job! Thanks.
Can you bend a 5 layer bit of ply as I have the wood all cut and just need to bend the end on a 35 degree angle? Please reply someone.
@BongSao1979 Also! I cut the strips WITH the grain of the plywood. Should I have gone perpendicular to it? (I am very new to wood working)
Is there a minimum to the layers there have to be?
I am thinking about making my own violin case, and it should be as lightweight as possible.
Hello and thanks for this well made video. I have been unsuccesful in recreating what is demonstrated. I am using three ply birch (don't know if it's Baltic birch) and it begins to crack well before reaching a 90 degree bend. The radius of my mdf mold looks comparable to yours. I live in central Minnesota and the air is very dry this time of year but even after wetting the strips they still crack. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Yeah i have some 3/16 actual and it's similar to what you said. It's stiff and would crack way before 90.
Southern Lumber in San Jose doesn't exist anymore. In that area try Aura.
whats the minumum amount of peices i can use if i was using 2mm plywood?
very very good ... thanks - pls can you give the name of the glue? ciao
Well, this reply comes a bit late I guess. If I got your question correct, you're asking to use about 12 mm thick ply; demonstrator here uses a 8-9 mm ply. 12 mm ply isn't that flexible, so it breaks quite much easier if bent too much.
Thanks for the comments! A few responses:
@bradfordashoemaker: The plywood I used is 1/8" baltic birch, and has 3 plys. Of course, you could glue up individual plys, but starting with 3 is less work. The drawback is that the minimum bend radius is larger than with individual plys.
@franciscoferrario: The glue between the layers resists lateral slippage, so it's probably not necessary to "overbend" the mold, at least not by very much.
Hey, nice and very clear video.
I have a question though, Why did you cut the plywood strips allways from the same side? As the finished piece shows, you get 2 layers with grain one way and 1 layer with crossgrain, was that intentional?
Oh i see, you just need 1 leg for the chair. Pretty cool.
Always place the work between the blade and the fence NEVER the waste. ( 3mins 30secs)
Hello! You're the answer to all my questions, great video, great help.. But a question, how long (hours/days) did you leave the plywood (Glue) to dry? (Excuse me for my English)..
6 hours
I would like to have a go at creating a falcon chair leg to replace a broken one. For an idea what I mean simply google falcon chair by Sigurd Resell.
Would this technique work as the curves are pretty tight? I think it may crack before the desired angle is reached. Has anyone tried this before if so how?
I always soak the ply in water for 24 hours first.
Im wathing This in 2020. And there is corona virus
This is probably a really silly question, but how strong is this?
Not a Bad Video! but next time add the clamps from the middle out this will help to avoid gaps in the first place, or, make two formers and sandwich the ply between the two
What is the radius of curvature?
fantastic
subscribed
what type of glue you use ?
Amazing thank you
Why specifically note plywood? This same technique works with solid wood as well.
Good video.
Dad had taught me to wipe it off the excess with my finger after it's clamped. Think I'd be doing that rather than leaving it on there.
How thick is the actual chair leg in mm? whats the minimum thickness needed. Sorry, I'm getting a bit confused with the ply terminology in the comments.
in che senso va tagliato il compensato?
Bad idea to try to sand away glue. The glue just heats up, melts, and clogs the sandpaper. It's best to use a scraper. Better than than waiting till the glue cures, wipe it off as soon as the work is clamped up, like others have said.
thanks mate
nice vid bro
is this plywood you are using 1/4" or 1/8" thick?
Thanks heaps
wowzers
thanks :) xx
잘봤어요~영어지만 알기쉬웠어요!
10Q for generously
RIP southern lumber..
Can I bend 18 or 20mm plywood with this method? I mean for thicker plywood will this work? Because I wanna make a curved baby hammock. Or If I use ratchet strap will that work too?
You probably could not bend 20mm ply with a truck
tight fam
@MSergonis ?
Expect some comedy when sitting on a chair with legs made of bendy ply.
Why sand the edges before trimming? It seems like an additional step with no purpose.
Mister Hat To remove any glue bumps that would not allow the piece to follow the fence straight when cutting the excess.
+Sebastien Lemay In that case, only the side facing the fence for the first cut needs sanded. Right?
@BongSao1979 Oh man. As soon as I wrote that I realized it was totally wrong to go with the grain. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge!
Satisfaid
Excellent Video. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. PIANOSTYLE100.
@bradfordashoemaker looks like 1/4
it's a waffle! Yummy! :D
If you want you can learn from WoodPriX scripts how to make it yourself.
Show
lol then it breaks xD
The 38 people who dislike this video are probably to lazy to do this stuff and I'm only16
noone cares
Air rifle shooting
This is too long proces 6h to dry.I have to make 84pices to do and 6 radiator covers in 5 days so Do you thing Im lazy????Make faster proces.If you have 30clamps and 5 forms.
Jordan Ray well only 16 Jordan it's also possible they just don't like the video! I mean I wouldn't be pissing about with a sander when a plane will do it as quick, cleaner, cost nothing in abrasives and be cleaner for my lungs. Now if I put in that work and not just machine things, I'm probably not too lazy am I? But I didn't like the video either! Use some common sense smart arse and learn to spell, it's too lazy, not to lazy!
Are you not supposed to cross the grain to prevent it from shattering with the weight on it? Yeah. I believe you are. I'm confused, because the end result shows you've crossed the grain, but not in the demonstration with the band saw, best mention that with a title before somebody hits the floor with sharp bits of wood all around them. Because you know somebody is going to cut the parts all across the grain. :/
u seem u know what u are talking about I am starting to do a project like this and saw your comment, what do u mean with what u say. please answer I need help with my final project in year 12 thanks :) please respond
3/8ths plywood is constructed with two outer layers of wood running one direction, and the middle layer running crossed. Every third layer will be running the opposite direction, which is exactly what he showed and explained in the video. If you look closely at the video at 4:05, you will see that for every 2 layers running lengthwise, one is running wide. So in short, the plywood is already constructed with crossed grain, no need to do it yourself.
Because of the thickness of the outer layers of this type of plywood, all that is being done, is bonding them with glue (making this much stronger) to another "thin-ply" to make a thicker one like the one in the middle. If you were to be making this same setup of multi-plies-bonding out of just the veneers (all the same thickness) then yes, crossing the grains would be highly advisable, but the gains on this particular setup are to small to be measured. (Unless it was twice or 3 times that length, or exceeding the weight rating of that same thickness product 1-1.5" thick birch plywood, or lastly if you plan to only use 4 legs on a bench)
+Sten43 Since 1977 Do you even know what plywood is?
Of course I know what ply is. You clearly don't.
one down 3 more to go..
6hrs? really?
Bending plywood in 1 simple step, purchase bendy ply.
Check woodprix mates. I love it to my wooden projects.
I am sure that you will find good way to make it on woodprix Webpage.
I made it by myself. I used Woodprix woodworking plans for that.
I am sure you can still buy handbook with all info you need on woodprix. Just google it.
ok i did it now what do i do with this bent plywood chair leg
Hahaaaaaaa
Bend over and I’ll show ya