curves

Currently in the process of building a bed like this

formatting link
it's coming along quite nicely but I have a question with regards the best way to make the curved sections of the bow which are 3" wide and 3/4" thick. What is the best way to create the curve? The options as I see them are a) cut it from wide stock which seems quite wasteful of what will be pricey lumber b) some form of steambending but not sure if it's too wide for that or c) cut into 1/8" strips and laminate it. I'm thinking c will work the best but looking for any pointers from the group.

The other part of the question is what wood to use. I priced teak, to go with the teak and holly ply that will comprise the 'decking' but that's real spendy $15b/f so thinking either something similar in color to it or alternately a contrasting wood. I have a little white oak lying around that might do the trick but again any thoughts much appreciated.

Thanks, Damian

The other option I'd forgot d) is to angle some thinner stock with a few mitres and then cut that on the bandsaw but not sure how nicely the grain would line up/look.

Reply to
damian penney
Loading thread data ...

formatting link
and it's coming along quite nicely but I have a question with regards

Sorry to say but cutting the curved pieces from one piece is the way to go IMHO.

Inviato da X-Privat.Org - Registrazione gratuita

formatting link

Reply to
No

formatting link
> and it's coming along quite nicely but I have a question with regards

formatting link
You don't think the lamination will go so well?

Reply to
damian penney

formatting link
>> and it's coming along quite nicely but I have a question with regards

formatting link

I subscribe to the KISS principle plus the git-er-done school of thought. From the picture you are not talking about needing a 24" wide board. maybe an 8" board. If you do need wider I would edge glue stock to give you enough material to cut your curve with. Laminations would just be weird for the parts I think you are asking about IMO.

Inviato da X-Privat.Org - Registrazione gratuita

formatting link

Reply to
No

formatting link
and it's coming along quite nicely but I have a question with regards

I'm kind of surprised you picked teak. If this isn't going outdoors, why pick something so expensive? You could go w/ Cherry, Maple, Mahogany, Birch or any other number of beautiful and yet less expensive woods, both for the decking (out of plywood) and the curved parts.

As other's have said, your best bet for getting the curved pieces is to cut them. Laminating will be a lot of work when you can do it quickly from a single pieces of wood. Assuming you get straight-grained wood, ought to be able to keep the grain mostly parallel for the (gentle) curves.

~Mark.

Reply to
Mark Ohlund

"damian penney" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@h76g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Pretty much anything other than cutting it out of solid is going to look really weird. You can't steam bend something in the wide direction when it's much wider than the narrow direction (it'll just twist). Laminations will look wierd because you'll see the edges of them.

One thing you might be able to do is cut them out of plywood and edge-band them with a thin piece that will bend.

Be advised that teak can be a real pain to work with. It's difficult to get glues to stick to it.

John

Reply to
John McCoy

I'd agree that laminations would be a ton of work and would look weird. If I were doing it, I'd use whole boards and cut them down on the bandsaw (if you picked teak despite its price, what's a little extra to do it right?), or use teak ply with edge banding. Actually, if I were doing it, I'd probably have picked cherry or mahogony or something that vaguely resembles teak but is less expensive and easier to work with. Good luck, Andy

Reply to
Andy

Plus if you were ripping it with a table saw you'd lose so much in the kerfs to build up that many laminations that you'd probably waste more wood than cutting it out of a solid.

You could glue up the waste pieces from the first side to a narrower board for the second if the grain was a good match.

-Leuf

Reply to
Leuf

With regards the teak decking I went with it because I wanted it to be ply so it would be stable and I also wanted it to have the stripes you see on old wooden boats. The ply is 2 3/4" teak and 1/4" holly strips (looks awesome) while I could have made something similar all google searches for simulated teak and holly decking or teak and holly alternatives wielded replies that all amounted to 'just use the right stuff'. The sheet was $174 and I'll get a couple of nice bedside table tops out of it too; mostly it will just save be a ton of time.

Will most likely just go with the wide board but I will give the lamination a shot with some scrap I have on hand. Strips will be sawn on the bandsaw so kerf not a problem, and from what I recall from a David Marks show where he made a coat rack (or was it a lamp?) after it was laminated you really couldn't detect the laminations at all.

Reply to
damian penney

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.