# Bending wood on it's wide side.



## Rogervan (May 16, 2012)

Hi, I'm new here.

I'm generally talking about this:
http://stusshed.com/2007/07/17/kerfing-bending-wood-on-the-tablesaw/

I assume the kerfs are made with a verticle cutter, so both sides have the kerfs showing. The article says to fill the kerfs with some kind of filler.

Does anybody see anything wrong with making the layout, then removing 3/32 of wood from each side, then kerfing, bending, gluing as best as possible, and filling the 3/32 mortises with well-matched biscuits of wood from an offcut from the same piece of lumber?

I'm thinking of making the biscuits extend over the lumber one inch or so.

Roger


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

You could do that and fill the void with wood of the proper thickness to get a solid look once curved. The kerfs should be filled first with a glue mixture, or epoxy, or bondo. If the remaining wood from cutting the kerfs doesn't run to the edges, there may be the problem of the face wood cracking due to a lack of support.













 







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## Rogervan (May 16, 2012)

*Thanks for the answer.*

20 years ago I decided that 1:1 epoxy was the best glue and worth it's few hassles. I often wonder why Ace, Home Depot, etc. do not carry small epoxy kits. I believe that once the public gets to know epoxy, it would be a big seller.

About the thread though. I don't like how thin the face is with this type of bending. Do you have a way to make these kinds of corners that are made with solid wood? Maybe some kind of jig? I can cut a perfect long radius (but the method is tedious), but the small inside radius has me stumped.

That logo of yours looks real. If it is, did you make it with a CNC machine?

Roger


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Rogervan said:


> 20 years ago I decided that 1:1 epoxy was the best glue and worth it's few hassles. I often wonder why Ace, Home Depot, etc. do not carry small epoxy kits. I believe that once the public gets to know epoxy, it would be a big seller.
> 
> About the thread though. I don't like how thin the face is with this type of bending. Do you have a way to make these kinds of corners that are made with solid wood? Maybe some kind of jig? I can cut a perfect long radius (but the method is tedious), but the small inside radius has me stumped.


Depending on the type of radius and it's use, it might be made from laminating strips of thin wood. If that method is used, both the inside and outside radius is continuous grain, as is the sides. 



Rogervan said:


> That logo of yours looks real. If it is, did you make it with a CNC machine?
> Roger


That's a real "WELCOME". :laughing:










 







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## Calzone (May 15, 2012)

> You can fill it, and if you want to disguise the kerfing, either mix sawdust in with the glue (well, so I’ve heard, but when I tried it, it looked pretty crap),


I do this whenever I have a hole that needs to be filled.
Works great when you have the proportions right.
There are a couple ways to do this though, and they vary depending on proportion of Glue to Wood dust.

First off, you should never go more than 70% wood glue: 30% Sawdust and vice versa. (30% Glue 70% sawdust)

50:50 ratio of glue to dust will do you just fine for most, if not all applications.

Mix it around until it looks like wood filler, then apply.
Now here's where other people screw up.

When you finish using the filler, take a pinch of sawdust and pad it onto the patching spot.
This is done to create a layer of sawdust on top, so that when you apply a finish, you are putting it on wood rather than glue. (we all know how THAT goes)
DO NOT blow off the spot until it has dried, or you risk having glue spots show.

if you end up with more sawdust than glue, take a small amount of glue and brush it inside the spot where you need to patch beforehand. This assists in the patch material which is now dryer adhere to the wood easier.
**reads thread title**
Horsefeathers, I think I de-railed.


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