Rotary Cut versus Plain Sliced Veneers

[Scott Felicetti]

I'm working with plain sliced veneers. 1/8" Poplar and 1/16" Maple. The Poplar is cut up and edge glued together to make a vertical grain board. The maple is horizontal grain. I'm having difficulty bending the veneers to go into a 12" diameter steel mold. Alot of breakage and cursing (in that order).

I had some initial succes with soaking the veneers in regular temperature water. I tried to get fancy and tried the very hot water with a little fabric softner trick. The wood became wacky. The vertical grain poplar board swelled length wise and the horizontal grain swelled width wise a full inch.

I'm going to go back to my room temp water method to make sure it didn't alter the dimensions of the wood significantly.

Do rotary cut veneers bend easier? Should I try wood with a higher moisture content to start such as air dried or green wood? Any Luthiers out there that have had success with those high tech electric blankets? I don't want to think about the amonia or steam box yet. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Scott

[David DeCristoforo]

I'm confused by this, possibly because of the terms you are using. When you say "vertical" and "horizontal" grain, are you talking about the grain direction or the manner in which the veneers are cut? If you are saying that you are trying to form 1/16" thick maple or 1/8" thick poplar into a 12" radius with the grain running horizontally or "around" the radius, then, yes, you are going to have a problem. Your best bet would to pre-form the veneer with a "hot pipe" before attempting to put it in the form. But what are you trying to form? A cylinder? How tall?

Soaking the wood in water is not the answer as you have discovered. Perhaps you could provide a little more information about what, exactly, you are trying to make. A sketch or pic would be helpful too....