How to get a thick edging on plywood ?

[jimbowley]

Hi,

My next poker table build will be 88"x48". Up to now I've used solid wood, but the cost of strip beech sheet is too much at £240 so I'll use beech ply (£50 B&Q). But I want to have a reasonable roundover on the edge, eg 6mm.

So what techniques can I use? The smallest bend radius is 20".

I thought of using multiple layers of veneer tape (never used it before though)

Or can I buy and apply a 2 layers of something like 3mm strip.

Or could I get a 6mm strip to bend.

Thanks for any help.

 

[OLD]

Tauntons Fine Wood Working may/june 2009 no 209 has a article on the magic of hot-pipe bending looks like it might work.
And i have a extra copy when i renewed my subscription PM if you would like it.
There is also steam bending which may be more straight forward.

 

[Derek Willis.]

Make male and female formers out of mdf, then cut very thin strips of your edging timber, and laminate together between the formers cramp up overnight and clean up next day. Worked very well for me.
Derek.

 

[seanybaby]

I think i'd use 3 layers of 3mm and use the table top as the former. Then use a band cramp (ratchet style) to pull the laminations to the table. Don't put glue between the top and first layer and use some brown parcel tape at the ends to stop the glue getting onto the top. Then when it's dry take it off, cut to length and with all the other parts you can glue it to your top with the band clamp again.

 

[jimbowley]

Thanks for the inputs, and magazine offer.

I've done some searching on steam bending which is interesting, but a bit too much for this application.

I'm tending towards lots of layers of iron-on edge veneer, but I can't find out the thickness. Obviously big difference between 0.5mm and 2mm.

And overall, given the time saved and superior end product, maybe £240 quid for the strip wood isn't looking so bad.

Or maybe edge banding and a square edge isn't so bad after all !

 

[FatFreddysCat]

I'd recommend bending between two MDF formers rather than around the work piece as you'll inevitably suffer glue squeeze out. Make the formers slightly tighter in radius than the finished curve (to allow for spring back) and make your jig to cover around 105 degrees of curve to give you some leeway in cutting the end joints. I'd also recommend making the curved a good 10 to 15mm over width and trimming down after they've been mounted. I generally add a straight lipping with a 10 to 15 degree "hook" at one end and then cut curved corners with a corresponding "hook" angle. The back of the curve is sanded out over the roller of a belt sander to get a tight fit although a limited amount of filler in the joint is acceptable, I'd say. Use a non-creep glue such as Cascomite or Extramite to bond the lippings together and in place - even exterior grade PVA creeps and PU glue can mark the veneered top of the workpiece when assembling and be a nightmare to get out. The radiused edges are machined after all the lippings have been cleaned up. We used this technique recently on several reception desks supplied to one of the hospitals in Liverpool where the corner radii were too tight to machine on a spindle moulder and ring fence and the overall appearance was reasonable, but care was needed to keep the glue lines down to acceptable thinness. The laminae were 4mm to 6mm and the tightest radius was about 160mm

As to using multiple layers of iron on edging tape - well interesting idea, but how do you keep previous layers delaminating under the heat of the iron as you apply subsequent layers? Most iron-on veneers are in the order of 1mm thick, so you'd need a lot of layers. I think that if you could get them on they'd tend to droop or delaminate over time due to the large amount of glue in the lippings

 

[Dave D]

If you are going to be doing a lot of work like your poker table then you might want to consider Bendywood.
This is real wood,oak, ash etc. which has been pre steamed and can be bent cold by hand to an amazingly small radius.

Made in Italy by Candidus Prugger www.bendywood.com
Available in the UK from www.noyekltd.com

 

[FatFreddysCat]

If buying from Noyek it is good practice to check everything you receive very, very carefully as they are noted for their ability to slip damaged sheets into the middle of packs. That's from exposure over a numbr of years........

Incidentally, bendy wood is really expensive