Legs for a midcentury bench

[Aaron Liebling]

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.

[Alan Schwabacher]

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).