# Dr Seuss style bookshelf or night stand for my son



## hig789 (Feb 13, 2016)

Saw these bookshelves and night stands on social media a while back. My son is all about Dr Seuss so I thought it might be fun to make one for him. I haven't decided which I'd like to make but more than likely it will be the night stand. But I am baffled at how to get the curves in the covering for the sides. I guess I could get some really thin material and try and bend it to the curve but I want something that's going to be pretty durable. Remember it's going in a 3 year olds room. Haha. 


Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. 



















Matt


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

There are several ways of doing the curved sides. Both require building a form to make the curve. You could use bendable plywood and pretty much make the form in the shape you want and just laminate it. It would just need one side of the form if you have a bunch of clamps to make the gluing. Those dollar spring clamps home depot sells would be enough to bend two layers of 3/8" bendable plywood against. Use a resin glue or epoxy to make the bend. Regular wood glue tends to glue around the edges and stay wet in the center of a large panel where resin glue will harden anywhere. The bad thing about bendable plywood is it doesn't have a finished wood on the face. It would be necessary to veneer the sides of it after making the curved side. Another option would be to bent 3 sheets of 1/4" plywood. It's not as easily bent so it would be necessary to make an inside and outside form to make the bend. Also it is prone to straighten out some when you take it out of the forms so you would need to make the forms with a little more curve than you want the part. Probably if you had a 26" long side which you wanted 2" of curve in the middle you make the form with about 3 1/2" of curve. Making a double bend leave the side clamed a couple of days to let the wood adjust to the stresses. Since you are not trying to match something else the exact shape shouldn't be a problem. Just make the curved sides first and build the face to match the contour.


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## Masterjer (Nov 6, 2012)

I like your idea a lot. Please update us with pictures and your progress. 

I would think about making a form a structural part of the design. You could then adhere 1/4" ply (or 2 or 3 layers) to the form to build up the sides.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

I suggest several possibilities for the "skin."

1/8" Baltic Birch plywood or rotary mahogany "door skin". But no tighter than maybe a 12" radius.

There's some sort of plastic that's used now as a replacement for glass in framed pictures. Ducks Unlimited uses it exclusively
as it cuts the weight in half for framed prints. It bends easily, I know that much about it.
Go right over the top: wooden, attractive frame and transparent skin.


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## hig789 (Feb 13, 2016)

Thank you for all the suggestions everyone. Someone suggested to me that I use 1/8" lauan for it and just laminate 4 sheets over one another. I think this might be what you are suggesting Robson Vally since what I have found is Baltic birch. 



Matt


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## Philip001 (Feb 26, 2016)

I noticed a youtube video showing a stacked laminate method that used cutouts of plywood. Each piece of plywood was cut with the desired curves. The video does not describe much, but the start shows a closeup of the layers of plywood. Using 3/4 plywood, it would require at least 20 layers to give the bookcase enough depth.


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## Brian T. (Dec 19, 2012)

Not many years ago, I went to a "Wood Show" in the city. One part of it was quite crowded. 
In the middle of the crowd was a chest of drawers that looked like it had melted. Absolutely bizarre.
Sign said he picked up the idea from an illustration in Alice In Wonderland.
Near as I could tell, the sides were a glue up of steam-bent oak boards, then sanded.


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## ecr (Jan 4, 2011)

I did this one last year for my daughter. I routed a 1/4 inch slot a 1/4 in from the edge and pushed the 1/4 ply panel in the grove. Worked good, the bookcase sketch would work fine like this. Don't know about the double curve on the smaller sketch.


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