Bending wood

[Cliff Hartle]

I need to make two 32 " diameter kitchen lazy susan shelves.

I am going to make them out of 3/4" MDF with a band of 1/2" oak wrapped around them.

I need a simple way to steam the oak so I can bend it around the MDF.

I have read all about making various steam boxes out of PVC pipe, 5 gallon gas cans and propane stoves. Iam not going to bebendin allot of wood in my lifetime so I'm looking for the simplest way to do this. I'd like to not use lamination.

Thanks, Cliff

[Cliff Hartle]

I need to make two 32 " diameter kitchen lazy susan shelves.

I am going to make them out of 3/4" MDF with a band of 1/2" oak wrapped around them.

I need a simple way to steam the oak so I can bend it around the MDF.

I have read all about making various steam boxes out of PVC pipe, 5 gallon gas cans and propane stoves. Iam not going to bebendin allot of wood in my lifetime so I'm looking for the simplest way to do this. I'd like to not use lamination.

PS id like to just buy them in plastic, but I can't seem to find. The place I would have expected to find them

dosn't have them in this size.

Thanks, Cliff

[Upscale]

From: "Cliff Hartle" Subject: Bending wood Date: July 22, 2005 09:51

I need to make two 32 " diameter kitchen lazy susan shelves. I am going to make them out of 3/4" MDF with a band of 1/2" oak wrapped around them. I need a simple way to steam the oak so I can bend it around the MDF.

Why bother? Go pick youself up some 3/4" veneer stripping and then trim to size it comes in rolls of varying lengths up to 64'. There's the glue on yourself type and the already glued type that you iron on melting the glue so it bonds to whatever you're applying it to. Both work find as far as I'm concerned.

[David]

how about white vinyl t-molding?

Dave

[Jeff Cooper]

I actually just did this on our kitchen remodel. I used 3/4 baltic birch plywood for the base.

To make the sides I thought about steam bending but decided to go with a laminate of 1/8" birch plys and epoxy. I created a circular form the diameter of the base (but only a semi circle, see below) to clamp the plys to and about 2 inches high (about the same height as the sides. Next I resawed some birch strips and ran them through the planer until they were 1/8 of an inch thick. Then I could use 4 of those to make a side. Since I only had a semi-circle, it took 2 pieces to make up single side.

After they were dried, I cleaned off the edges on the table saw and cut a 1/4 dado along the inside curve with a router table. You can wipe up epoxy while it's wet with acetone.

They came out pretty well considering it was my first attempt at this. I had made a couple of test pieces with white oak before I tackled the birch. Some lessons I learned:

1) You really need 1/8" plys, I tried 1/4" but they sprung open too much after drying. 2) Making the circular form a slightly smaller diameter than the actual shelf might be a good idea, then they could spring open to the correct size. It would probably take some expermenting to get that right. 3) Make your form enough of complete circle so that you can glue up a single side in one shot. My form was only have the length I needed (I was just making it out of scrap). So my shelves have sides made up of two halfs with a joint in the back. Cutting that joint was a PITA, getting a 90 deg cut on a curved piece of wood isn't easy!

Jeff

[cliff]

[John]

I built a bunch of lazy susans for use on the kitchen shelves, use

1/16in thick x 2in aluminum "bar" stock bent around the edge of the lazy susan to give me a rim to prevent things from sliding off. Attached with contact cement and #4 screws

John

[cliff]

I thought of that and may still do it, but to me that just screams 50's kitchen.

You know that > I built a bunch of lazy susans for use on the kitchen shelves, use