Darryl Keil Last Activity 2026-04-21 12:31 PM
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Jens Boldt

 
Subject : Curved bookshelf
Posted : 2003-06-04 8:58 AM
Post #28969
Hello, I am a furniture design student from Sweden. I have plans on building a bookshelf were all the shelves are a little bit bent. The shelves will be about 5 feet long and the radius on the shelves will be about 5 feet or more. The finished bookshelf will consist of ten bent shelves. The shelves will be a little less than an inch thick. The depht of the bookshelf will be around one foot. So my question is what kind of technique you recommend I should use to bend the shelves and since the radius is quite big I hope it wont be to difficult.



 
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Thomas Stender

 
Subject : Curved bookshelf
Posted : 2003-06-05 1:20 PM
Post #28974 - In reply to #28969
Jens,Make a convex mold (solid wood, insulation foam with plywood bottom, or ribbed) maybe 4 in. longer and a little wider than your shelves. Many materials suggest themselves for the shelves, but one elegant solution would be to resaw a thick plank, plane the layers to 1/8" or 3/16", and glue them back together (in original order) over the mold in the vacuum press. You could also use many kinds of substrates and veneer the outsides. Remember that more glue lines in the sandwich make for a stiffer lamination. But you don't need to overdo it, either!




 
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Jens Boldt

 
Subject : Curved bookshelf
Posted : 2003-06-06 4:13 PM
Post #28979 - In reply to #28974
Thank you for your answer. I talked to a friend that suggested an other way of doing it. He suggested that I should make a form looking like a ladder where the "steps" can be moved. Then you "force" bendable plywood to a curve between the steps and at the same time you glue them, when the glue is dried I should have a bent shelf. I realise it wont be as strong as with the technique you described but maybe it will work? An advantage if it works would be that I could make individually bent shelves without making many convex molds. The bookshelf will be painted so the shelves doesn´t have to look elegant. Jens Boldt




 
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Thomas Stender

 
Subject : Curved bookshelf
Posted : 2003-06-07 5:11 PM
Post #28985 - In reply to #28979
Jens,That sounds like a plausible solution. I assume you would use clamps? Then the number of clamps you use (that don't deform the lamination) is directly proportional to the quality of the glue-up. You could also use the "ladder" as an outside form with a vacuum bag around the lamination only. Then the only clamps you need are those that establish the shape. See the photo next to "outside technique" under "vacuum veneering" on this site.: Thank you for your answer. I talked to a friend that suggested an other way of doing it. He suggested that I should make a form looking like a ladder where the "steps" can be moved. Then you "force" bendable plywood to a curve between the steps and at the same time you glue them, when the glue is dried I should have a bent shelf. I realise it wont be as strong as with the technique you described but maybe it will work? An advantage if it works would be that I could make individually bent shelves without making many convex molds. The bookshelf will be painted so the shelves doesn´t have to look elegant. : Jens Boldt
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