Creating bowed wood

[Bob Johnson2]

Can anyone tell me how you can bow a peice of wood. I'm looking into building a bedroom vanity and would like to have the side boards (apron) and the drawer front with a bit of a curve to it. I'm thinking it'll be about 4" wide and 30" wide with a 12" drawer in it, bowed an 1 1/2" or a bit less. Going to use maple.

[Dan Oliphant]

Bob, the process that would work the best is to glue up thin (3/16) pieces of material, formed on a two piece template that represents the final form. Use a slow setting glue, that way you will have time to position each subassembly while glueing and positioning.

[Steve Cox]

Probably your best bet is to resaw the board into 3/16" slices (or so) and then to glue them back together clamped over a form built to the desired curve. Use something like a plastic resin glue that doesn't have the creep that yellow glue does. That will give you the most accurate and permanent curve as opposed to steam bending which is another option. Have you considered how you are going to construct the drawer to the curved front? If I was building this I might consider a thick piece of wood (12/4 ?) and sawing the curve into the front while leaving the back flat. That would simplify the construction considerably.

[Bob Johnson2]

Thanks guys
The best I can come up with is doing the lamination also. But as Steve points out, how do you cut a drawer out of it after the glue up, hence my question. I thought of doing the laminations, then cutting it apart to get the drawer shape out and then glueing it all back together and veneering the surface but that's kind of bogus.
Any 12/4 material I've run into I have to buy the whole board, which is usually at least 10' Kind of a costly deal to end up only needing 30". I supposed I might be able to get away with laminating some 4/4's together to get 12/4. Then I'm still left with the question of hpow do I cut a drawer front out of the middle of it without ripping the 12/4 into strips. Or is this how it'd have to be done. I don't want to have visible glue lines in it.

[Jim Becker]

In addition to the laminations, you can do a combination...use thick, plain-sawn material as the basis for your drawer/door fronts, do your dovetails while it's flat after laying out the curves for positioning said dovetails, cut the curves on the bandsaw and then veneer the front with appropriate material, even figured. If you use the same species as your veneer, you'll have nearly zero indication that it's not solid stock through and through without careful inspection. I would likely choose the lamination method, however, despite the tougher joinery, for wide drawers and doors for strength.

[John Shuk]

I know a professional furniture maker whose signature is bowed sided dressers. He told me that he uses wood that is still a little wet and sets it on two sawhorses and puts weight in the middle to acheive his bow. I haven't seen him do it but I have seen his work. It is very nice.

[Rick Thom]

see FWW #163. June 2003. "Small stand is lesson in curves" by Stephen Hammer. He shows how to build precisely what you are considering.

[Jim VanBramer]

Just have me store 'em for you for about 6 months!:( :( :(

[Bob Johnson2]

Just have me store 'em for you for about 6 months!:( :( :(

Happens to you too huh?

[Michael Adelong]

I ended up with curved boards both times I resawed.

I'd sell you a few if I had a way to predict the shape and amount of curve in advance of the cut. :o

Are you one of those woodworkers who cares about those little things like actual dimensions? :D

Michael