Ryan Brucks
05-02-2012, 11:37 AM
Hey guys,
I was needing to build a simple lid for a toy chest last night. Easy enough, but I wanted to try something that would avoid the possibility of finger slamming. The chest is around 14" x 22".
I had the idea to use a very thin, kerf bent lid that is so flexible that it bends in half to open up. Then a tiny piece of wood would be glued underneath near the front, and this would act as a "counterweight" to keep the bent lid open (ie, hanging there in a kind of semi circle with the chest mostly open).
Now I tried this using some 1/2" baltic birch. I only went around 6" into the kerf cuts, leaving a little less than 1/16" of untouched wood on all sides... and the stuff broke waaay too easily.
Is this a goofy idea? I take it that kerf bending is normally used for things like speakers or stairs where it doesnt bend over and over... but I seem to remember people making toys and stuff with kerf bending. Is there anything besides MDF that would work well, and allow for bending? If not, I might just get some kind of bamboo mat and just use that.
I did also consider finger pinching, thinking that could be reduced by sanding the edges a bit.
I was needing to build a simple lid for a toy chest last night. Easy enough, but I wanted to try something that would avoid the possibility of finger slamming. The chest is around 14" x 22".
I had the idea to use a very thin, kerf bent lid that is so flexible that it bends in half to open up. Then a tiny piece of wood would be glued underneath near the front, and this would act as a "counterweight" to keep the bent lid open (ie, hanging there in a kind of semi circle with the chest mostly open).
Now I tried this using some 1/2" baltic birch. I only went around 6" into the kerf cuts, leaving a little less than 1/16" of untouched wood on all sides... and the stuff broke waaay too easily.
Is this a goofy idea? I take it that kerf bending is normally used for things like speakers or stairs where it doesnt bend over and over... but I seem to remember people making toys and stuff with kerf bending. Is there anything besides MDF that would work well, and allow for bending? If not, I might just get some kind of bamboo mat and just use that.
I did also consider finger pinching, thinking that could be reduced by sanding the edges a bit.