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Thread: Legs for a midcentury bench

  1. #1
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    Legs for a midcentury bench

    I'm making a slatted midcentury bench for my sister-in-law's birthday. I'm not sure what to do for legs. I really like the curved (laminated?) legs from Joe's bench:

    150679476_2766815646901782_1092741670223328487_n.jpeg

    How are these generally done?

    Alternately, I considered going with some McCobb-style midcentury bench legs. I have the wood, but unfortunately not the lathe to turn my own. I can buy them premade, but only in maple, cherry, white oak or walnut. The bench is iroko and will be outside (covered patio).

    Anyone in the SF By Area willing to turn some legs for me if I provide the wood? I'd happily pay a reasonable amount for the effort.

  2. #2
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    A leg construction like that would likely be a bent lamination...many thin layers glued together, clamped in a form to provide the curved profile.
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  3. #3
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    I was going to jump in and make the same suggestion that Jim did. That's a really nice looking bench. I would try to duplicate the legs. I think you'll be very happy you did.
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  4. #4
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    Seems like it's time for me to learn to do bent lamination. Any good guides or references?

    Also, do I need any special tools or can I simply cut, glue and clamp the laminated sheets?

    Finally, the wood is iroko - Can I cut thin sheets of it? I'm worried about splintery texture. Should i consider a different wood for the legs (maybe with a veneer). Again, this is an outside bench, so weather resistance is important.

    Thanks for the feedback - always nice to try something new and this is the perfect project for it!

  5. #5
    Pretty easy to turn McCobb style legs on your table saw with a jig. Search Youtube.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Liebling View Post
    Seems like it's time for me to learn to do bent lamination. Any good guides or references?

    Also, do I need any special tools or can I simply cut, glue and clamp the laminated sheets?

    Finally, the wood is iroko - Can I cut thin sheets of it? I'm worried about splintery texture. Should i consider a different wood for the legs (maybe with a veneer). Again, this is an outside bench, so weather resistance is important.

    Thanks for the feedback - always nice to try something new and this is the perfect project for it!
    Forum members should be able to guide you through the bent laminations for this project. Drawer the legs out on paper. Create a template on poster board or 1/8 inch plywood, then trace that on some particle board or MDF. Saw that out. You can create a form by connecting the two particle board pieces with hardwood blocks. Cover with bendable plywood. You are going to have to see how thin you have to resaw the iroko to get it to bend at that radius. Probably no thicker than 1/8 inch and perhaps thinner. I have done many bent laminations. Michael Fortune has good information in Fine Woodworking. Let us know if you need further information.

  7. #7
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    I would make those curved legs as bent laminations. I'd make a bending form to establish the curve. I'd make a custom vacuum bag wide enough and long enough to hold the laminates. The bending form would be outside the bag. The bending form establishes the curve, and the vacuum bag squeezes the laminates together while the glue cures. The laminates have to be thin enough to bend around your curve. I haven't bent-laminated iroko, but my guess is that the laminates would be less than .1" thick. I use a bandsaw to cut those laminates. I'd use epoxy for the glue-up. It doesn't creep. It has a long open time, so you have plenty of time to get the glue spread, laminates stacked and inserted in the bag, and the vacuum sucked down -- all before the glue starts to harden. I use West Systems 105.

    So.. my process wants you to have a bandsaw to cut the veneers, and a vacuum veneer press with a custom bag. You might find arranging for those turned legs to be easier and/or less expensive.

  8. #8
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    I'm leaning towards cutting veneer for laminate on my table saw (wasteful but I have the stock for this one off) and trying the glue up without vacuum (lots of clamps).

    I've found a number of videos and guides online that make this seem reasonable.

    I'll let everyone know my results!

  9. #9
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    Body of the bench is about ready, so finally getting ready to tackle the laminate legs.

    What glue do people recommend for this given that the bench will be outdoors (albeit under a roof and in Los Angeles)?

    Also, thickness of the leg and veneer? I was thinking six layers 1/8" thick for a total thickness of 3/4".

    I assume I should be cutting the veneer a bit thicker and planning/sanding to final thickness? Can I tape the strips to a substrate and run them through the planer?

  10. #10
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    For outdoor (even though covered) I'd use TB-III or polyurethane glue (Gorilla or other brand). Since this is a lamination, the polyurethane glue might be better since it has a much longer open time than TB-III. There are also some other glues that are specific for laminations including exposed.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 05-07-2022 at 2:45 PM.
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Liebling View Post
    Body of the bench is about ready, so finally getting ready to tackle the laminate legs.

    What glue do people recommend for this given that the bench will be outdoors (albeit under a roof and in Los Angeles)?

    Also, thickness of the leg and veneer? I was thinking six layers 1/8" thick for a total thickness of 3/4".

    I assume I should be cutting the veneer a bit thicker and planning/sanding to final thickness? Can I tape the strips to a substrate and run them through the planer?
    Epoxy. It doesn't creep, which is important for bent lamination. It is also pretty water resistant. I use West Systems 105, but there are others.

    I betcha that 1/8" thick wood will not bend around the curve in the pic. The laminates will likely have to be thinner than that. Experiment with the thickness before you cut all the laminates.

  12. #12
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    Like Jim I like Titebond 3. You can count on 20 to 25 minutes of open time. It will be fine outside. This is in pouring rain and is in it's second season outside. No glue failure.

    chair laminations.jpg


    I believe you are going to need more than 6 laminations, probably 8 like I have. You will have to experiment to see what your laminated thickness has to be because you have a pretty tight curve there. Perhaps 3/32". Try that and see if they crack on you or bend. Go slow. You have to cut them fat, at least 1/8". To thin them, try the Boggs vacuum box which I explain here. Keep us posted...it looks to be a great project. Let us know if you need more help.

  13. #13
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    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.

  14. #14
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    Ooh..thanks Mark! The vacuum box looks just the ticket!

    I'm always building one thing to build another...

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aaron Liebling View Post
    Ooh..thanks Mark! The vacuum box looks just the ticket!

    I'm always building one thing to build another...
    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?

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