how to shape wood

[Nancy Drew]

hi

can anybody tell me how or where to find info on shaping/curving wood?

tks

[Morris Dovey]

This is a fairly good place for finding info on shaping/curving wood. Most of woodworking deals with selection of wood, shaping it, or finishing it. Do you have a particular question or are you looking for some good reading?

[Nancy Drew]

hi morris.

a little bit of both. i've just bought a new house and want to design/build my own furniture. i want to try to create some furniture based on early

60s/70s designs, many of which were build from plastics and very curvy. i don't know too much about woodworking, so i guess the first thing i'd like to know is what kind of wood is recommended for furniture? i plan to paint the furniture when done, so warmth of wood shouldn't be an issue, but strength and ability to shape would be. i'd also appreciate it if you could point me in the direction of a good article of shaping wood.

tks

[Morris Dovey]

Your question is a difficult one to answer because there are so /many/ choices. I was about to answer that nearly any hardwood would provide adequate strength - until I remembered that I've a fir (softwood) piece in my own living room.

I think a good approach might be to find pictures of what you like; and then post pictures to news:alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking with a query to this newsgroup as to what wood(s) would work best for that particular piece. Most of this group will probably not be terribly excited by the idea of painted furniture - but don't let that bother you.

There're people here with good experience with steam bending and wood lamination. I'm not one of those people so will invite response from someone who has that experience and/or can suggest good reading.

Again, you can make life easier for everyone (including yourself) by sharing pictures of what you'd like to make. Otherwise you'll find yourself with thousands of times more information that you could ever use...

[oldsalt]

You may find the following site of interest!

luck!

Jim

[Nancy Drew]

thanks morris.

i should have realized suggesting a paint job wouldn't go over too well, but i'm a newbie at this.

i've followed your advice and posted under the subject heading "what would you use to build this with" if anyone cares to take a crack at it.

tks

[David]

there are lots of woods to choose from. just a partial list: oak, cherry, pine, mahogany, maple. You use what appeals to you and of course consider the appropriateness of the species to the style of the project. ie a "high tech" piece would look bizarre if made of knotty pine! :)

as far as references: "The Complete Illustrated guide to Furniture & Cabinet Construction" by Rae, Taunton Press

Nick Engler's "Woodworking Wisdom" is handy. Rodale Press

If you go to Amazon you can search for any woodworking topic and get a nice list of books, some of which you can search inside of to preview their worth. You must register a credit card with Amazon to utilize that feature, but it's well worth it!

dave

Nancy Drew wrote:

[Morris Dovey]

It's not a problem. As you work with wood more, I predict you'll find beauty that begs not to be hidden with paint. (-:

I saw. You've picked a /serious/ project. If I wanted a chair like that I'd plan on making several to develop my skills and techniques. I think I might try some 1/4" birch plywood for my first attempt - though I'm not /sure/ that'd be the best starting point.

I did a google search on "plywood bending" and found 27,900 references like

- I'd suggest repeating that search and reading everything that looks like it might be applicable.

[oldsalt]

Nancy try the site below, it might be helpfull!

luck!

Jim

[Nancy Drew]

yeah, i realize it's a pretty complicated piece. i'll definately start out on something simpler and try to work my way in that direction.

tks aga>

[Nancy Drew]

thanks for the info, dave. i'll check amazon.

[Phisherman]

Taunton Press has a good book called "The Complete Illustrated Guide to Shaping Wood."

[David]

yes! that's the one who's title eluded me this morning.

dave

Phisherman wrote:

[Nancy Drew]

thanks guys - my local library happens to have a copy which i've placed on hold...

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 17:07:55 GMT, "Nancy Drew" calmly ranted:

Your nearest branch library. Look for books on steam bending and laminating wood, Nancy.

Also check the

and sites for EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE tools, or get a nice, quiet little draw knife, spoke shave, and some rasps to have a go at it.

G'luck!

[Larry Jaques]

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 16:39:03 -0700, Larry Jaques calmly ranted:

Oops, make that

add

[Frank]

how do you want the wood shaped?? I use mostly chisels and guoges for very complex shapes (horses), I also use rotary tools for small work and a great newer product called microplanes (not sureforms!!) are great for long curves and rough shaping. Simpler things can be done with a router or other shop type equipment. Tell me what you want tomake and I'll let you know what I would do. Chris Pye is an excellent referance- His book on "tools and materials" great, but he has a definate preferance for chisels over other means. Remember the end product of the process is all that matters in an object, unless your zen about process...

-Frank