How do I do this? Table base "form"?

[Phil Winn]

How do I do this? Table base---“form” to be covered with veneer…
I will be making a coffee table with a veneered reverse “C” and (regular facing) “C”, attached in the middle, base. I was initially thinking of building the base out of ¾” plywood—24 pieces of ¾” plywood glued together. Then I was going to cover this with bending plywood, and then veneering the plywood. Now I am thinking about still using the ¾” plywood with some type of “foam” board. I would like to use plain wood glue like Tite-Bond 2 or Tite-Bond 3 to glue the plywood and this foam board----perhaps alternating plywood and the foam board for the 18”. Which foam board would I use?
Then this plywood + foam base will be covered with the 1/8” bending plywood….covered with the veneer. What kind of foam board do I use-which can be glued with Tite-Bond 2 or 3? On the plus side, this plywood + foam base will be lighter in weight than a solid plywood base.
Thanks,
Phil

[Jamie Buxton]

Phil, I'm not sure I understand what you're doing. It seems that you're stack-laminating a solid form from either plywood or plywood+foam, then covering the form with bending plywood, then veneering over that. Is that right?

If that's what you're doing, here's some thoughts...

* Instead of the foam, how about using small discs or squares of poplar, or more of the plywood? You could still do the stack-lamination approach, but many of the layers would be mostly air. The wood would glue well, and would be much stronger than foam, which is pretty easy to tear.
* My experience is that it is much easier to veneer a flat surface than a curved one. Removing veneer tape from a curved surface is difficult. The sander or scraper is highly likely to go through. When I'm doing something like your piece, I veneer the outer layer of bending plywood before I laminate it on the curved substrate.

[Phil Winn]

Picture of the Coffee Table Base...
This is the picture of the table and base.....I was thinking about
either making it out of solid plywood covered by bending plywood and then veneer....OR....Plywood and foam board alternating covered by bending plywood and veneer....how else to do it?
Thanks,
Phil

[Neil Lamens]

Hi Phil:

You're looking at 2 forms coming out of a bent plywood facility, manufactured in a hydrolic press under tremendous pressure and heat, then veneered , by the form builder or next manfacturers in the chain.

Not completely understanding your tools on hand, you can do this base, but may have to open up the inside radius some, for a bit more ease.

You can make that shaped form numerous ways. As Jamie leads to stack lamination. Back in the mid to late 70's and starting to see again sporatically, the use of Baltic Birch ply, stack laminated and sculpted could ease cost a bit. Make a template of your "C" shape, and with a router or shaper, start making parts to stack.

Another approach which Jamie leads you to is to build a torsion-box to be veneered. For that inside radius, I would go to the "wiggle-wood" product which has 3 ply layers, the 2 outside thicker that the middle one. I'd kerf what would become the outside radius of the wiggle wood deep enough to not disturb the middle ply and under formed pressure make that wiggle wood your outer covering of that inside radius of the "C" base. If you do open up the radius a bit, compression of the wiggle wood inside radius may be lessened.

Creeker John Fry has a real good picture tutorial on here that shows making a basic "C" base that you might look at.

Hope that helps Phil

Hey Jamie nice thinking along with you.

[Roger Wilson]

I don't see any reason why you couldn't make the base (very elegent) out of solid wood. Just plan the glue ups and joints for strength and appearance. You could use different types of wood to change the look as well.

[Loren Hedahl]

I would go with the torsion box, as was mentioned above. I would cut the end pieces, which are flat, from 3/4 inch plywood making sure they are exactly identical. Then I would use thin ply screwed and glued for the curved areas. It may have to be slightly kerfed where the bends are tightest.

Any areas that might show creases can be filled and leveled. I would use polyesther auto body filler (hopefully that isn't considered sacreligious on this forum). Then apply veneer.

[Jay Knoll]

Here's a link to a similar project, with lots of great ideas on how to do it, John is a real pro

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=42730

[John Fry]

Phil,

Torsion box and 1/8" bending ply! That's how I would do it.