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Thread: Legs for a midcentury bench

  1. #16
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    I'm planning on cutting on the left side of the blade (away from the fence) off a wide board. It's wasteful, but I'll cut thick and plane to the desired thinness.

    There's no safety issue that I know of with cutting veneer from the non-fence side of a TS...you just need an additional guide to help keep a consistent thickness.

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Liebling View Post
    I like the idea of epoxy. A nice long open time, too.

    I was thinking that re: 1/8".

    Assuming I had to go thinner, what's a good process for flattening them? At that point I assume the planer cannot be used.
    Drum sander...you are correct that in most cases, a thickness planer isn't going to be the tool of choice when you need to go really thin...catches and ripping apart is a common issue with the thickness planer on really thin material.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Rainey View Post
    You are welcome Aaron. Another concern would be using a table saw to resaw to that thickness. I have a bandsaw and do my resawing on that. I understand that there are safety issues with resawing on a table saw, but i have no experience in this area. Has anyone resawed 1/8 inch or thinner laminates safely on a table saw? Perhaps there are fellow creekers in your area with a monster bandsaw that can give you 3/32" laminates almost glue ready for a reasonable fee?
    Solid material should be ripped with a short fence that ends just beyond the start of the blade, allowing pieces the freedom to move without becoming trapped between the fence and the blade.

    A short fence can be as simple as a piece of MDF attached to the machine fence…..Rod.

  4. #19
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    So I have my form built and I ran some tests with the largest possible radius corners that looked good. It looks like my final thickness for the laminated strips will have to be 1/32". Any thicker and they broke.

    Given this, it would be nice to lose some overall thickness on the legsGiven the strength of bent laminations for a purpose like this, what should I be looking for as a minimum total thickness? I was planning on 1", but that requires 64 total strips and a lot of cutting and gluing! Could I safely go with 3/4"? Width will be ~3".

  5. #20
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    I do not know the answer to your question. Any structural engineers out there? I have not done laminations of 1/32". I am impressed. What is your method for getting uniform laminates that thin? Mark

  6. #21
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    I cut a few on the table saw and got a nice consistent 1/32" after sanding..that said, it was VERY wasteful of wood 91/8" kerf). I found a local millwork that will re-saw and sand them for me. It's not super cheap, but it's cheaper than buying a bandsaw and much cheaper than moving to a bigger shop which I'd need to fit the bandsaw in!

    They'll only promise 3/32", so I'm going to reword my form with slightly gentler curves that should work for that thickness.

    I should be able to get a total thickness of over 1" relatively easily - probably go for 12 laminations.

  7. #22
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    The other method that helps bent lamination to work with somewhat thicker pieces is to heat bend the stock before layup. You would need to check whether it works with the species you're using, but it's the way things like violins are made. Search for "hot pipe bending". You spritz the wood with a little water, then bend it in seconds around a heated pipe that quickly drives the water off, stopping to respritz before you char. You would put an approximate bend in each piece, then the clamping cauls just need to fine tune the curve and press it together, usually with less chance of breaking and less work for you in the glueup (though more overall).
    Last edited by Alan Schwabacher; 05-18-2022 at 12:03 AM.

  8. #23
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    If you make the radius larger the bench will have more tendency to fall over. To counteract that you might make it wider across the bottom and make the curve more than 90 degrees, then make a sinuous vertical. While you are doing that, raise the bottom off the floor in the center so it sits better on an imperfect surface without any wobble. Actually it might be good to add some feet, either wood or rubber.

  9. #24
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    Aaron:

    I may be following you making a similar bench. I really like the design. You're getting some great suggestions from our experts here.

    I'm really interested in how the Iroko turns out. I've never worked with that species. How/why did you choose it?

    Also, what's your game plan for its finish? It would be a shame for that to turn grey outdoors.
    Last edited by Alan Lightstone; 05-26-2022 at 8:56 AM.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  10. #25
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    Great suggestions indeed!

    I was already planning on adding some embedded rubber feet, as this will be sitting on concrete.

    The iroko choice was a combination of:

    1. Supposed to survive well outdoors
    2. Nice color/texture for the piece
    3. Was 25% off at the local mill when I was wood shopping

    I've been super happy with it so far.

    Regarding finish: this will be outdoor on a covered patio in L.A. and likely get some sun. Since it's my sister-in-law whom I visit regularly, I'm going to go with an easy oil finish and just reapply seasonally as needed. If this were going to be out of my sight, I'd consider something more protective. That said, even if you finish the pieces before constructing, it's going to need refinishing at some point and unless you can take it apart, oil seemed like the easiest path for that ongoing maintenance - more frequent, but easier.

    Note: I had a local place (3 blocks away!) cut the laminations for the legs - I have 40 3.5"x60" strips just under 3/32" thick.

    Unfortunately, I broke my ankle over the weekend, so things are on hold for a bit.

  11. #26
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    Not sure if steam bending is effective on this wood but it may let you pre bend it some prior to glue up.

    Never tried hot pipe method but that may be an option.

    For the glue up your form will be critical and extensive. Maybe make a mockup of that. You will want a ton of clamping force to prevent those little gaps between laminations, especially if your stock does not have identical grain in each piece. A little quarter sawn next to some flat sawn will fight the bend more and open up a gap.

    Good luck and get well soon.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Bender View Post
    Not sure if steam bending is effective on this wood but it may let you pre bend it some prior to glue up.

    Never tried hot pipe method but that may be an option.

    For the glue up your form will be critical and extensive. Maybe make a mockup of that. You will want a ton of clamping force to prevent those little gaps between laminations, especially if your stock does not have identical grain in each piece. A little quarter sawn next to some flat sawn will fight the bend more and open up a gap.

    Good luck and get well soon.
    From my limited experience steam bending, I would also think that getting the four curved pieces the same after springback would be unlikely. But again, not an expert in that.

    Get well soon. Sorry about your injury.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  13. #28
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    Aaron:

    Ever get back to this after your injury? If so, I'd love to see some pictures of it.

    I like the design so much, I'm seriously thinking of starting on a similar bench soon. Not sure of wood choice. Sadly, SWMBO will likely make me paint it (sob...), so sapele or mahogany which would normally be my first choices will be pretty unnecessary.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  14. #29
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    Did anyone mention using a support strap on the outside of the laminations to prevent them from breaking going around the form? That's pretty common practice for making tight bends, and it allows one to use thicker laminae. There is at least one article in FWW showing how it's done. Another method that should work is to make a narrow vacuum bag, slide in the glued pieces, pull a vacuum, and THEN mend it around the form. The bag acts like the support strap. I've used this approach on making curved door frame headers, but never on a radius that tight so I'm not sure it would work.

    As for glue, NO to TB III. It's terrible in the sun and has low creep strength. Polyurethane, UF, or best of all, epoxy.

    John

  15. #30
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    I really don't want to steal Aaron's thread, but I'm definitely going ahead and building one of these. A number of modifications, of course, but I'm going to try doing it with bent lamination.

    I'll start another thread. Still hoping Aaron is okay, and progressing with his table.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

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