Laminating Difficult wood
On a recent project I wanted to bend and laminate a rail. The Wood in question was Finnish white oak, which has a tendency to split/crack whilst being bent.
My solution was to first make the lamination jig, exactly the size I needed for the curve required.
I then placed the sequenced strips of oak (5mm thick) into the steam box for about 20 to 30 minutes. Removing the hot oak, I bent them around the lamination form and clamped them into position for about an hour.
Remove the clamps and the oak will spring out quite considerably, do not worry about this. I generously spread some PVA glue between the laminations and clamped them together again, this time using plenty of clamps about 30 clamps for a 3' lamination.
The glue was left to set for about 4 hours, then the clamps were removed and the piece was left to stand unclamped over night before stressing or working on the piece further. There was a little "springing" of the piece, but only about a 1/4", which was with tolerance.
You can see more details of the project from here. http://lumberjocks.com/projects/11915
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Tags:
lamination, steam bending, oak
Categories:
Technique | Tips & Tricks