How to bend wood like this - Outdoor furniture project

[Alan Lightstone]

The ratchet straps may be your best solution. However, I suspect that you will still need to clamp the long straights as the ratchet strap is unlikely to apply sufficient pressure to those elements.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that you need to use an odd number of laminates. This puts the pressure of slip once the assembly is dry in the interior of a laminate rather than on a glue line.

Mike[/COLOR]

I agree about the long straights at both ends of the curve. I think that will need clamping and may be the big issue. On the other hand, adding a big piece of wood outside the ratchet straps and clamps I would think would distribute that pressure well.

Been also going through my brain about how this could be done with vacuum bagging, but can't quite get my head around that approach.

[Mike King]

For vacuum bagging, you place the laminates in a bag without a platen (with breather mesh to allow the air to evacuate), draw the vacuum, then bend the assembly in the bag around your form. You need to clamp the bagged assembly around the form. It's best to have a polyurethane bag as opposed to a vinyl bag as they are more flexible. Adrian Ferrazzutti showed us this technique for another student in the workshop I did with him at Anderson Ranch. It was cool.

Personally, I think I'd go with the caul approach Michael Fortune used in the slide I posted above...

Mike

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Here are some forms with access to both sides. I will try to dig the round window form out of the shed. It is set up like a BBQ rotisserie.

IMG_1960.jpg IMG_1961.jpg

[Alan Lightstone]

Here are some forms with access to both sides. I will try to dig the round window form out of the shed. It is set up like a BBQ rotisserie.

IMG_1960.jpg IMG_1961.jpg

Interesting, Maurice. I could have done it that way, but I was building to mimic the setup that Australian guy had on YouTube that he removed right as I needed to see it.

I thought that the winch approach would work, and it still might, but straps I think will work better for my particular bend. And I agree, a caul is a must. Plus clamps (probably going to use a couple of parallel clamps with wood boards) to help hold the straight parts.

Would have been tremendously easier just making the making the curved part on the jig, and attaching it to straight sides. Might have to go with that.

[Jim Becker]

You might be able to use shorter "lifting straps" with your existing winch to do the deed in the same way as with just heavy ratchet straps.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I learned some about the forces required to make bent laminations from the video about the making of Stienway pianos. "Work around from the center outwards" . The bending and clamping is shown right at the begining.

[Mike King]

The Steinway factory tour was one of the best things I ever did in NYC. It's too bad that they have now eliminated it. My wife and I tried for years to get tickets to the tour on one of our trips to the city, and when we finally were successful, it was a big day! I'd love to go back...