When You Install Plywood in Wood Frame or Cbs Can You Use the Same Holes Again
HOME CLINIC
HOME CLINIC; 'COOKING' AND OTHER WAYS TO GIVE WOOD A CURVED SHAPE
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February 27, 1983
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Section 11 , Page
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BENDING ordinary wood or plywood to a curved shape can enhance many home woodworking projects - for example, when building furniture with curved legs or cabinets with curved fronts, or when making curved railings, and even for building homemade sports equipment such as a toboggan or custom-made curved backpacking board.
For bending most solid lumber (except very thin strips that bend easily without cracking), there are two basic methods most often used by do-it-yourselfers:
1. Steaming or soaking the wood in boiling water to soften it. 2. Saw-kerfing or grooving the back of the wood so it will bend easily without danger of splitting or cracking.Steaming or soaking lumber can be accomplished in several ways. One method is to rig up a trough of some kind, using a length of rain gutter, for instance. Place the wood in this and fill with boiling water, then lay heavy strips of canvas or old blankets on top to keep the water hot and to hold the wood under the water. Keep pouring boiling water over the top every few minutes to keep it hot. Depending on the thickness of the wood, this should be kept up for anywhere from one to three hours to make the wood fully pliable.
Many find it simpler to steam the wood by wrapping it in heavy aluminum foil. Wrap the foil loosely around the wood, then crimp one end tightly closed so it will hold water. Pour water in from the open end, and then crimp this closed, too.
Now place the whole thing over a charcoal grill or hot plate of some kind and leave it there while the water on the inside boils and turns to steam. If the package is a long one, heating it along its full length is really not necessary. Tilt it, and heat just the lowest end. The water will boil and create steam that will work its way up through the full length.
Leave a small opening at the far end so steam can escape, and let this ''cook'' for about two to three hours. Be sure you add more water as needed to keep it steaming.
While the wood is steaming, a bending form or jig should be set up for actually bending the wood to the shape desired after it is removed. This can consist of blocks of scrap wood suitably nailed onto some type of backing or supporting board, and arranged so that when the steamed wood is bent around the blocks it will be formed to the shape desired.
When you set up the bending form, make sure the clamping blocks are arranged so you can apply clamps to hold the steamed wood in place. Wearing heavy work gloves, remove the softened wood from the steam bath and start bending it around the form.
Start by clamping it to the first block, then bend slowly around to the next one to avoid cracking the wood. Apply clamps to each block as you go and when this is done, allow the wood to dry for at least 24 hours before removing the clamps. After this, the wood will stay in its bent shape, though it may spring open slightly before reaching its final shape.
Saw-kerfing - a technique in which a series of shallow parallel cuts is made on the inside of the curved piece to facilitate bending - is mainly used on wood or plywood that will be fastened against a framework or supporting structure of some kind so that the bent wood will not have to hold its shape by itself.
The only way to determine the spacing of the kerfs, or saw cuts, and the depth of each kerf, is to experiment with some scrap pieces of the same wood beforehand. As a rule, the kerfs should go from half to three-quarters of the way through the panel or board, and should be spaced anywhere from about one-quarter inch to a full inch apart, depending on the thickness of the wood and on the radius of the curve. The tighter the curve, the closer and narrower the kerfs should be.
Several tests may be required to strike the right combination. Ideally, the kerfs should be spaced so that the piece will curve smoothly when it is bent, and they will be just deep enough and wide enough so that each kerf will be closed at the surface when the piece is fully bent into position.
To create a freestanding curved piece of plywood that will not be supported by a backing or framework, you can glue several thin sheets together to build up the thickness required, curving them as you go.
This is done by assembling a temporary bending form first. The first thin sheet is clamped to this and coated with glue; then the second thin sheet is clamped on top. This is continued with successive sheets, with each glued to the preceding one and clamped to the curved bending form to hold it in place.
When the glue dries, the curved panel can be removed from the form and it will hold its shape.
Answering the Mail
Q. There is a crack in our living room ceiling that runs the full length of the room (18 feet) and extends down to the top of the window frame. The crack was filled in with spackling compound, but this has loosened and fallen out, so now the crack is open again. Is there a better remedy? - F.N., Danbury, Conn.
A. For really stubborn cracks that keep opening up, your best bet is one of the patching compounds that are designed to be used with a special fiberglass cloth tape. Unlike patching plaster and regular spackling compounds, these compounds do not dry hard; they remain slightly flexible and when applied according to the directions on the package they are designed to bridge over the crack, rather than fill it in. That way when the plaster expands or contracts, or moves because of structural ''give,'' the patching material will not be squeezed out; it will ''give'' also and will stay in place. You can buy these patching materials (in kit form, or as separate items) in many paint and hardware stores, as well in home centers. (Krack-Kote and Tuff-patch are two brands that are widely available in this area).
Q. I have a metal storm door that was originally a dark color. This year I painted it white on the outside, and since then I have had a problem with condensation forming on the inside of this metal door (between it and the main door). Thinking it was because of heat leaking out past the main door, I caulked and weatherstripped the door, but the problem continues. Do you have any suggestions? - J.S., Whiting, N.J.
A. If the sun shines on that door, the dark color may have absorbed more solar heat, so it did not get as cold on the inside. White reflects solar heat away, so now the metal on the inside gets colder. The moisture is coming from the warm moist air inside, so it's possible the weatherstripping you installed is not as effective as it should be. Check the bottom as well as the sides and top. Another thing that may help is providing one or two small ''weep holes'' or ''breather holes'' in the frame around the storm door, preferably down near the bottom. This will allow moisture vapor that is trapped between the two doors to escape before it can condense on the metal, yet it should not allow much heat to escape. Questions about home repair problems should be addressed to Bernard Gladstone, The New York Times, 229 West 43d Street, New York, N.Y. 10036. Questions of general interest will be answered in this column; unpublished letters cannot be answered individually.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/27/nyregion/home-clinic-cooking-and-other-ways-to-give-wood-a-curved-shape.html
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