How to bend plywood at home. How to bend plywood: proven methods How to bend plywood at home

The buildings 17.06.2019

The buildings

The usefulness of a material can be determined based on three basic components:

Minimum costs per installation, while taking into account the maximum overlapping area;
The price of the material itself;
The versatility of the material. This also includes the possibility of the full use of products, provided that they are given a non-standard, for example, bent shape.

Plywood meets all these parameters. In addition to the main purpose, the lining of horizontal surfaces, it can perfectly bend and be used in the construction of the so-called "inflated" or curvilinear forms. Here's how to do it in this guide.

Each layer has its own approach

In fact, of course, the solution to the question of how to bend plywood is not calculated up to the layer, but there is still a certain amount of truth in the title of the chapter. Let's explain: there are a number of difficulties in bending plywood, which are associated precisely with the structure of the material, as well as with the technological features of the bending process.

Namely:

The thinner the plywood, the easier it is to work with. However, for the sake of objectivity, one must also take into account the fact that in order to construct, for example, arches, plywood must be at least 10 mm, that is, you already need to bend a fairly serious puff (see also the article);
Initially, the layers of veneer are located at different angles to each other precisely in order to increase the resistance of the material to bending;
In the conditions of workshops and special workshops, bending and the necessary curvature are achieved quite simply: the part is practically saturated with steam and then falls under the influence of a kind of vise that bends it to the desired radius of curvature.

Interesting to know! At home, you can also steam impregnate a small piece of plywood. For these purposes, you can use boiling water that turns into steam in a saucepan or kettle. Some craftsmen solve the problem of how to bend plywood using steam irons.

All this is real, but there are two points that must be considered:

First, wood cools very quickly, and this applies equally to plywood;
Secondly, it is very difficult to achieve uniform heating of the entire part, therefore given type suitable for small pieces with curves, most likely for the production of curved surfaces of furniture or other small products.

How to bend

So, how to bend plywood without any hassle?

There are two main technologies:

Ferry, (which has already been described);
in the bathroom with hot water.

The second technology is much simpler, it allows you to calmly put the necessary fragment into the bathroom, or another sufficiently large container and leave it in hot water for half an hour. The effect will be guaranteed, since the wood veneer softens under the influence of water and temperature, and the plywood part acquires the necessary elasticity.

Advice! Plywood, there is plywood, there is a very high probability of delamination of the material during prolonged contact with hot water. AT this case we invite you to become an experimenter for a while.

Take a strip of plywood required thickness and soak it in the tub. Check the condition of the fragment every 5 minutes for bending, if after a certain time (within half an hour) the fragment bends normally, then this time is enough to soak the entire working fragment.

The softened part can be installed in a stationary place, attached with self-tapping screws and left to dry completely, this is if you are making a false column, a simple arch or other part that does not require additional complex structural inserts.

A few words about complex structures

Bending is a delicate matter.

The arch of the arch is different, as is the curvilinear design of another curvilinear design. Often, home craftsmen resort to complex, combined solutions using overlay ornaments and other decorative elements. In this case, the entire structure is assembled into a single ensemble, and only then it is mounted and strengthened in a stationary place.

Note! In this case, much depends on the angle of the fold. If this angle is very small, then in order to achieve it, you will have to make several approaches.

The material is soaked, bent as far as possible, then left to dry completely. Then everything is repeated again until the part acquires the intended curvature.

There are several basic technologies fixing blanks after soaking.

We will not repeat them all, we will focus only on the one that we consider the most acceptable for the following reasons:

If you do not immediately install the workpiece in a stationary place, then you need an accurate, even bend and a combined solution;
The most advantageous result can only be provided by a pre-prepared blank or template;
Fixing on the template is guaranteed to save you from having to redo or fix the part.

In this case, we are talking about fixing the fragment on the template until it dries completely. Making the template itself is quite simple, by the way, there are also a lot of manufacturing options.

Here is one of them:

Take wooden slats length equal to the length of the part;
Cut out several fragments from chipboard or wood (from 3 or more, depending on the length of the plywood sheet being bent) and fasten them to the slats;
Fasten the plywood puff onto the finished frame with self-tapping screws and leave to dry completely.

About working with large sheets

Sometimes it becomes necessary to bend a large sheet of plywood with your own hands. This happens when making an arched vault of considerable length or other similar shape.

In this case, the following is done:

A wood cutter cuts to the last layer, but without damaging this layer (otherwise, you will simply ruin the workpiece);
The number of cuts is determined by the radius of curvature, the smaller it is, the more cuts;
The sheet is placed on the template and fixed, while the voids are not filled, but glued, PVA glue is quite suitable (find out here).

Finally

It is quite simple to bend plywood, a little patience and skills - and everything will work out (read also the article). The video in this article is ready to present you its report on the topic.

Why bend plywood

Sometimes we need not a flat sheet, but a curvilinear shape. Fillets instead of corners are often used in furniture production and in interior decoration, which allows you to make the interior softer, more pleasing to the eye, or, for example, less traumatic.

Curved plywood is very often used when it is necessary to make curved formwork (pool bowl, porch steps, rounded concrete podium / pedestal, interfloor march monolithic stairs...). To create such formwork systems, it is often necessary to first bend plywood, and only then make a shield out of it and install it in place.

Another interesting option application of bent plywood - the formation of an arch in the interior opening. As a rule, they usually try to make arches between rooms from drywall (special 6 mm or ordinary plasterboard) and face a lot of problems. But several experienced craftsmen they prefer to use a plywood strip to create an arch, which has sufficient surface smoothness and strength so as not to use a punched corner at the corners. By the way, plywood, if necessary, is easily primed and puttied.

Do-it-yourself plywood molding principles

We all know that plywood is fundamentally different from solid edged lumber. This is sheet material, not piece. It is "assembled" from a thin wood veneer, which is oriented with fibers in different directions. There can be several layers of veneer (accordingly, the thickness of the plate will differ), which are securely glued together with special compounds of various origins. Basically, it is precisely because of the characteristics of the glue that plywood brands stand out: FSF, FK, etc.

Only when taking into account the general performance characteristics of plywood as a material and the properties of a particular sheet model can a reasonable bending method be chosen and count on a positive result. Consider the main points to pay attention to:

1. Large bending radii can be obtained from plywood sheet even without any preparation.
2. The thinner the slab, the steeper the dry bend can be, and the easier it is to make a forced bend. That is why such a method appeared when a powerful curvilinear product is produced by gluing several strips of thin plywood. A thick sheet (from 20 mm) can be bent at home only by means of a notch.
3. When bending a strip or sheet, tensile forces always act on the outer side of the circle, and compressive forces act on the inner radius. Therefore, the veneer can crack on the outside, and wrinkle inside. To strengthen it before molding, a deep-penetrating primer is often used. It is very important to cut the sheet correctly before molding: it is better to have a margin for dimensions so that it does not turn out that after bending the part turned out to be too small.
4. The plate is not equally pliable to molding in different directions. It depends on the predominant direction of the veneer fibers (determined by the direction of the fibers of the outer layers). It is much more difficult to bend plywood across the grain direction than along it. Accordingly, the conditions for starting molding must be maintained for a longer period of time. But it must also be taken into account that when bending across the direction of the fibers, the probability of breaking the plywood is much less, and the part will turn out to be somewhat more reliable.
5. To bend plywood (without using notches), the slab must be moistened and heated, and this must be done evenly, without interruptions or interruptions. It is interesting that these factors are interdependent: with a decrease in temperature, it is necessary to increase the humidification time, and vice versa. A good option- steam treatment.
6. Excessive humidification and heating can lead to delamination of the veneer. That is, it is necessary to control the operating parameters, and it is desirable to periodically check the flexibility of the material as it is being processed. The problem is that products from different companies can differ greatly in properties, even if they are of the same brand. Before starting work with a whole sheet, it is better to conduct a full-scale experiment on a test piece.
7. The tendency of plywood to bend after wetting is highly dependent on the brand (namely, moisture resistance). So FC plywood can begin to bend after a simple short moistening, but FSF plywood, which is more resistant to water, needs to be wetted longer, and also heated.
8. Relatively thick plywood with little water absorption may not be molded immediately - then it makes sense to let it cool and repeat the cycle.
9. Wetted, notched or glued from thin sheets, the part itself will not acquire the necessary shape - you need to use templates. On the template, the sheet must be evenly and securely fixed.
10. If bent plywood blanks need to be glued, then for these purposes it is necessary to use WORKER'S glue.
11. It is very undesirable to immediately screw/glue a flexible steamed sheet into place, since when it dries, it can tear out the fasteners or move away from the glue. The blank must be on the template until it is completely dry, which depends on the air temperature, sheet thickness and other conditions.
12. If a curved piece of plywood will be stored for some time, then it should lie “on its side”, and the humidity in the room should not be high.

Several ways to bend plywood

Heating + Humidification

This method (but only in a more technological version) is used in production. The plywood sheet is steamed and placed under a “hot” press, which, with the help of a matrix and a punch, gives the blank the necessary shape. The machine can bend a board of relatively large thickness, or several sheets of plywood at once.

When working with your own hands, you will have to be content with plywood 4-15 mm thick as a raw material. It is better if it is a sheet of the FK brand with birch veneer - it does not need to be kept in water and heated for a long time. Twenty minutes or half an hour in a warm water bath is usually enough. With the FSF brand it is more difficult, it needs to be steamed more intensively and more time. The thicker the sheet, the longer the exposure should be. People solve this problem in different ways: some build a box chamber into which they put the spout of a boiling electric kettle, others try to use household air humidifiers and various steam generators.

No matter how the process of preparing the plywood to the state of flexibility, but the sheet must be formed and fixed. Here again we have a huge field for creativity. Perfect option is to make a complete spatial matrix. You will need a counterpart - a punch. Clamping the workpiece between them, we obtain the desired shape of the product. The force required to close the mold is achieved by using threaded devices (clamps or simply studs with bolts and washers), jacks, loading, etc.

But with one-time work, the construction of an impromptu press becomes too burdensome. Therefore, you can try to bend the prepared plywood sheet on the template. The template is usually drawn from the same plywood, edged boards, timber ... The steamed sheet is laid on the form, after which it is fixed with tie-down straps, clamps or just a screwed bar.

Alternatively, to form plywood, you can use stiffeners from rolled metal (steel strip, square pipe), which already have a given radius.

Bonding multiple thin sheets

Suppose we need a curved strip with a radius of 600 mm from plywood 12 mm thick. It is not worth counting on obtaining such a radius from a 12-mm sheet to a cold one, but, for example, it is not advisable to make the desired part by heating and moistening for some reason. As a way out, you can buy plywood 4 mm thick, which, without preparation, can bend across the fibers with a radius of 1 meter or 60 centimeters. Our task will be to cut 3 strips, then, bending them, glue them together.

There are three points to note here:

Glue should be used carpentry and quality.
Sheets must be strongly pressed against each other with clamps.
In the design position, the glued part must be fixed until the glue is completely dry. It is recommended to use a template.

Slot milling

This method is chosen when you have to work with plywood sheet more than 18 mm thick, or if you need to get a very tight bend radius. This method is so effective that it allows you to get even sharp corner. To begin with, on the back side of the sheet with an interval of 5-10 mm (the more often the notch is made, the smaller the radius can be obtained), parallel grooves are cut across the workpiece.

The cuts only make it possible to bend the plywood, but you will need to set the required radius according to the template. A very important operation here is the filling of milled grooves with adhesive mass. Since the cavities are too voluminous, sifted sawdust is often introduced into the wood glue (or resin). If the part in this place will experience intense loads, then the entire plywood zone with cut grooves, in addition to filling, is glued on top with veneer sheets.

On this, the story about the methods of bending a plywood sheet can be considered over. The input data has been received - only practice will help further. In one of the following publications, we will talk about how to bend an edged board or solid wood beam.

How to bend plywood correctly, you need to calculate with an accuracy of each layer.

Features and types of work

The thinner the plywood, the easier it becomes to work with.
Initially, the layers of veneer are arranged at different angles with respect to each other in order to increase the resistance of the material to bending;
At the level of conditions in workshops and special workshops, bends and the desired curvature can be achieved quite easily: the parts are almost impregnated with steam, after which they are subjected to a kind of vise, which contribute to bending it to the required radius.

Note! Impregnation of plywood parts can be carried out at home. This requires the use of a vessel with boiling water and steam.

There is another way to bend plywood sheets with an iron in steam mode. This takes into account the following details:

The tree can cool down quickly enough, this is directly related to plywood;
It is quite difficult to achieve even heating of the entire sheet, because of this this species bending is only suitable for small parts of the part, which can be useful in production curved surface pieces of furniture or other items large sizes.

There is another way to bend plywood at home - in a hot water bath.

This technique is much simpler in execution, it helps to lay out the necessary fragments in a bathroom or other large container, leaving them in hot water for about half an hour. After such procedures, the effect is guaranteed, because the wood veneer under the influence of water and high temperature is able to soften without obstacles. This contributes to the acquisition of elasticity of the plywood part.

Important! The plywood sheet is prone to delamination of the material when exposed to hot water for a long time.

To avoid such consequences, you can carefully and carefully monitor the effect of steam from hot water on the material. To do this, take a strip of plywood desired thickness and soak it in the bath. Then check the part every five minutes for the appearance of a bend. If half an hour after the start of the procedure, the fragment is able to bend well, then this particular period of time is enough to soak all the working material.

The part in a softened state is installed in a specific place and fastened with self-tapping screws, then it should be left to dry completely.

Complex design

If it is necessary to perform complex combinations, a number of features of this procedure must be taken into account. In this case, many moments can depend on the bending angles. If the angle is quite small, you will have to do several processes.

The material must be soaked, bent as much as possible, and then left to dry completely. This procedure is repeated for as long as it takes to acquire an element of the required curvature.

There are several basic technologies for fixing blank elements after the soaking process. To do this, consider the following features:

If the blank products are not installed immediately in a certain place, then you can not do without accurate calculation, even bending and a combined version;
The maximum suitable result may be to ensure, thanks to a pre-prepared blank or template;
Fixations on templates with a guarantee eliminate the need to rework or fix the element.

It will be specifically about fixing desired element on the template until completely dry. The template itself is made quite easily, and there are also enough options for its manufacture. One of them:

Take wooden slats so that the length is equal to the length of the element;
from chipboard or wooden parts cut several pieces, more often used in quantities of three or more, it also depends on the size of the plywood sheet that is bent, then they are strengthened with battens;
Plywood puffs are fixed on the finished frame with the help of self-tapping screws and left until completely dry.

Large sheets of plywood

Large size plywood sheets are not always steamable. In this case, it is advised to make the so-called cuts in construction, which are presented in the form of cones consisting of strips. In this case, it is better to use a manual milling machine. These parts are usually made to the opposite layer without engaging it in without fail, because in this case there is a high probability of splitting the material. These tips will come in handy for those interested in how to bend 4mm plywood.

Note! For sheets 4 mm thick, the cuts should be about 2 mm deep.

Professionals advise to do large quantity cuts, which contributes to the creation of a steeper radius when bending. After the plywood sheet is clamped on the template, the outer side is glued with a thin layer of veneer. Glue is better to use epoxy or PVA. It will take about a day to dry. In this way, a workpiece that is hollow in places of bends is obtained, which is able to withstand considerable loads.

How to bend plywood, a video for review is provided below.

To obtain the desired quality result of the work performed When bending plywood, experts recommend considering the following features:

It is better to keep curved sheets in a room with low air humidity - no more than 10%;
The bending radius along is much larger in comparison with the transverse deflection;
The steamed and soaked part is advised to bend in a warm state.

Many people wonder how to bend thick plywood. The above methods are also applied to such dimensions of the elements, taking into account the features acting on the material. A simple solution in this matter, it can be considered an intricate procedure by gluing several thin sheets of plywood, which are already flexible, into one thick sheet.

For those who want to learn how to bend plywood at home, a video is provided.

For those who don't know how to bend 10mm plywood, below is one of the common ways. Here are his main actions:

Soak plywood sheets in water for about two hours. Or soak until the parts soften.
Pin soft sheets plywood in a bench vise.

Bend the parts with clamps or in another convenient way.
It is recommended to bend plywood sheets along the grain so that it is more durable and does not split.
Leave it to dry for about two hours.

Adhering to the above features of the plywood bending procedure, the workflow at home is not difficult.

You can create many useful things from plywood: furniture, shelves, partitions, various coasters and more. However, in order for all this to be complete and attractive, it is best to give homemade products various shapes, including rounded ones. In this case, the question arises: is it possible bend plywood on your own and how to do it? To answer it, it is important to know the existing technologies and methods of this process. also often used in decoration, you can read the link.

Stages:

	Plywood bending options. Specifics and invisible moments of performance in the most diverse ways.
	Selection of materials. In specialized points of sale, various quality sizes and thicknesses are sold plywood Therefore, it is very, very important to choose the best option.
	Bending material by heating or sawing the workpiece.
	Bending plywood with a large thickness. Specifications, options.
	Tools for work.

How bend plywood in artisanal conditions: specifics

To get it right bend plywood, the presence of moisture and heat is required. It is also possible to use a dry version of changing the shape of a tree. These methods are applicable to plywood of any thickness, however, it must be taken into account that the thicker the material, the more time is needed to obtain the desired result. The scope of bent plywood is quite wide - from construction work (finishing spiral staircases, manufacturing the base for arches, etc.) to making furniture with curved parts.

Selection of plywood for bending in artisanal conditions

Since this material is made by gluing thin layers of wood that are located in different directions, the resistance to bending increases. Due to this, thin plywood should be taken for work, since it has fewer layers. In production, its bending takes place on special equipment. The material is given the required plasticity, pre-finishing it with steam.

AT artisanal conditions, when repairing a living space or a private building, structures are often needed that have round shape(for example, when arranging an arch). They can be made independently from bent plywood. By implementing the technology, it is possible to obtain a very high-quality product, not paying attention to the use of the means at hand.

Plywood marketed building materials and at specialized outlets (specialty stores, shops, etc.). When selecting, you need to look at the flexibility of the material, which is performed with a thickness of 3-4 mm. Basically, it is used to make arches in doorways or when moving from room to room. After finishing, a workpiece made of this type of material is attached to the frame with self-tapping screws. These days on the market one could see such plywood Asian production. It combines an attractive price and appropriate quality. There are several options that are used to create bent structures:

gluing;

Cuts;

Steaming;

A variety of configurations from the above methods.

How bend plywood in artisanal conditions (video): heating

This process can be done in the following ways:

By immersing the workpiece in hot water (temperature - 60 ° C);

Using superheated steam;

Soaking in a warm liquid (rarely used, as it makes the whole process take longer).

If there are no conditions and opportunities bend material in the above ways, you can use an epoxy-based adhesive.

To use the superheated steam technique, some professionals make steam with a boiling kettle, less often with an iron. But since the supply of steam must be constant, it is quite troublesome to get steam in the right amount in artisanal conditions. Due to this, the first option is more common for self-obtainment. required form plywood.

Hot water should be poured into any open container - a bathtub will be most suitable, since its volume allows you to make very large bent products. The plywood blank is immersed in hot water for about 30 minutes. After this time, the wood will be able to crack down on the required amount. A wet workpiece will easily change its shape, but you need to take into account that if you need to bend the plywood to a large angle, general process will have to be done in stages:

First of all, the bend should be made at a small angle;

The material is again immersed in hot water;

After 30 minutes, the procedure is repeated, the bending angle increases;

The method is repeated until plywood will not take the required form.

However, it is necessary to take into account the fact that when soaking the workpiece, it can exfoliate. For example, if the plywood thickness is very small, it may take 4-6 minutes to bend it. In most cases, an iron is used. The wetted material is ironed with a heated iron and immediately it is given a mandatory shape, after which it must again be wetted and ironed with a heated iron.

In order to process a large plywood sheet with steam on your own, there are absolutely not always suitable conditions. In such a case, to obtain the desired result, cuts are made in the material according to the type of strips that have the shape of a cone. For such work, it is used hand power tool with a cutter installed on it.

Such cuts must be made very carefully, otherwise chips may appear on the material.

For a workpiece with a thickness of 4-5 mm, the depth of similar cuts should not be more than 2 mm, and their number depends on the steepness of the required bending radius. In other words, the larger it is, the more cuts will be needed.

After that, the material is clamped on the template. The layer located on the outside is pasted over with a strip of veneer, for which epoxy-based glue or even PVA is used. Plywood dries in about a day. The result is a hollow billet capable of holding fairly large loads.

Workpiece fastening. Video

In order for the form of plywood to be stable, it must be attached. This work can be done in several ways:

Any heavy object lies at the bend, the ends are pulled together with a rope and supports are installed under them.

The workpiece is attached in the template with a cord, rope or tape.

The first method is completely understandable, however, the construction will need to be verified, since plywood in the process of cooling, it may slightly deviate from the required angle. The second method involves the use of a template, which can be used for almost any design with the desired fold angles for the future part. The most commonly used do-it-yourself fiberboard template. If it is necessary to make an arch, then the steamed blank can be put directly in place by clamping it with self-tapping screws in the opening.

Steel templates can be used to fasten plywood. They bend at the same time as the wood. A similar technique is used to create large parts with a curvilinear shape. The steel strip is attached to the plywood before lowering into the bathroom. After that, it is bent simultaneously with the blank sheet. Detachment occurs only after the final drying of the workpiece.

When using the load to fix the material, you need to be careful and try to make it equal in width to the workpiece sheet. If this is not the case, then only the part of the plywood that was equal to the width of the load will be bent. Such options are used for wood with a thickness of no more than 2 cm. Moreover, you need to take into account that different types of wood bend in different ways. Himself big effect can be achieved if plywood was made of ash, walnut or beech. Professionals do not recommend using oak, maple or larch blank sheets for plywood bending. Basically, for a tree, compression by 25-33% can be realized, and tension by 1.5-2.5%.

How bend plywood a decent thickness artisanal conditions: video

If it was required to make a bent product from plywood with a thickness of 1.5 to 2.2 cm, then, basically, the option of cutting its surface with a cutter is used. The depth of the cut should not be more than half the thickness of the material sheet. It reaches the layer with the opposite direction, but does not sink into it. Otherwise, the workpiece will split. There is no clear definition for the width of the slot, as it can be very different. There may well be an effect when the bending angle on one side of the material is greater than on the other. A similar option can be used to make the walls of the boat.

The plywood is bent to the desired angle and clamped into the mould. A strip of veneer is glued on top. Drying - 24 hours. The gluing procedure itself is possible both with cuts outward and inward - the degree of rigidity of the part will not change from this. Just in the first version, there are voids.

There is another option for obtaining products from thick plywood - gluing. In this embodiment, a bent workpiece is cut with an allowance of 2-6 mm from a thin material. In simple terms, a pattern is formed that is superimposed on the sheet so that the finished part alternates elasticity and direction of the veneer to obtain the desired rigidity. Layers of plywood should be glued together using an epoxy composition, after which the workpiece is clamped with clamps for a day, which will add to it the necessary shape. When the product is completely dry, it will need to be sanded and grind off all the irregularities along the edges.

For getting good product the main thing is to make such advice as:

In order to preserve the acquired parts, the moisture level in the room should not exceed 9-11%;
The bend radius across the wood fibers must be smaller than along it;
Materials that have been steamed or soaked in hot water must be bent while they are still warm.

In order to get a sufficiently difficult bent structure, it is better to ask professionals with qualified tools, experience and abilities.

What materials and equipment may be required to make plywood of the required shape?

Thin veneer.

Steel strips.

Clamps.

Plywood sheets.

Bath with hot water.

Glue epoxy or PVA.

Iron.

Rope, tape.

Power tool with cutter.

You can personally bend various parts from plywood. To do this, just choose one of the above options, which is most suitable for you. However, you need to learn that for this you will have to purchase very high-quality material.

Wood-laminated board, better known to us as plywood, has found wide distribution, as in finishing work as well as in the furniture industry. And one of her the most unique properties is the ability to create almost any bend. This allows you to create unique aesthetic designs and use the material more efficiently.

In this article, we will look at how plywood bending occurs in industrial and domestic conditions.

General provisions

What is a wood-laminated board? This is a collection of thin sheets of wood, veneers glued together with a special composition. In this case, tree species such as birch, alder, beech or pine are most often used.

This feature of the structure gives this material the following advantages:

Increased moisture resistance. Compared to ordinary tree the hydrophobicity of this material is approximately two times lower. This allows it to be used indoors high humidity and even for finishing external facades.

Tip: for outdoor use, it is recommended to use special plywood with increased moisture resistance of the FSF brand.
The phenol-formaldehyde resin used in it for gluing veneers is much more resistant to dampness and temperature extremes.

No warping and less susceptibility to decay processes.
Attractive appearance with wood texture.

Ease of do-it-yourself application. It is very easy to work with such a pliable material.
UV resistance. Does not fade in the sun.
Affordable price . Significantly underpriced natural wood, while exceeding it in many technical indicators.
Ease of care. The instruction allows the application household chemicals to clean the surface of the material in question.

Ecological cleanliness. All ingredients are absolutely safe for human health. This allows you to place products from this material even in the children's room.

Abrasion resistance. Does not deteriorate in places of frequent contact with hands, feet or interior items.
Durability . Due to the combination of the above qualities, long term services.
Ability to create smooth shapes and curves. This is exactly that unique quality that allows you to achieve the most original designs, and it is about it that we will discuss further.

Bending methods

There are two ways to bend plywood, which we will analyze in detail.

Tip: When using either method, do not place top veneer fibers across the curve.
This can cause breakage.

Folding of layers during their gluing

This technique is most suitable for production and is as follows:

Special curvilinear molds are used, heated with steam and electric shock.
Veneer sheets glued with fan glue and bent into the required position are placed in them, the moisture content of which does not exceed twelve percent.
There they are until the glue dries enough to firmly hold new form material.

You won't find home necessary equipment and therefore can be limited to the following actions:

Glue with some wood glue.
With my own hands bend them to the angle you want.
Fix the edges with epoxy.

Expect complete freezing.

The method is quite good, but you need to remember that it requires both production case, and in home production of the presence of precisely thin veneers. If you already have it ready, then proceed to the description of the next method.

Bending a sheet of plywood after gluing

A thick piece just won't bend. It needs to be given a special treatment to soften the material and make it more pliable. And only after that you can bend the plywood by placing it in a pre-prepared curvilinear template.

The following types of processing are possible:

The factory uses industrial steam plants for this purpose.
At home, you can use steam from a kettle for small parts or household steam generators.

Large sheets should be soaked in hot water to give them elasticity. It is very important at this point to ensure that the wood-laminated board does not exfoliate.
Here you can go two ways:
- Leave the product in hot tub for half an hour. Then mark it in a hard blank and leave it like that for a week.

Moisten the workpiece with a copious amount of H 2 O, bend a little and iron it with an iron. Wet again, bend and remove moisture. And so on until the plywood takes the proper shape.

You can also heat the product in the oven to a suitable state. But this method is fraught with the appearance of cracks in case of overheating.

You can bend the pliable material after the following ways:

Place the plywood into the frame template. It is very reliable and accurate, but it needs to be done first, which requires additional costs and effort. For fixing in this case, prepared spacers and a belt system are used.

Use steel strip. You tie it together with a wood-laminated board and bend it into any fancy shape. At the same time, the metal will reliably hold its shape. After that, leave the resulting structure until completely solidified.
With the help of cuts. This is particularly advantageous in the case of particularly thick products. Apply a series of incisions at the place of the bend, which makes it much easier to bend. Set the workpiece in the position you need and fill the resulting gaps with adhesive.

Reasons for using bending methods

The above methods can achieve any smooth shapes that will hold firmly after the workpiece dries. So you can create arches in doorways and rounded corners between walls. But especially wide application to date, the bending of plywood sheets has received in the production of furniture.

This allows:

Minimize the number of traumatic corners. This is especially true for rooms where children live. Since their restlessness often causes dangerous contacts with the corner surfaces of ordinary furniture.
Increase the aesthetic value of the interior. Because it is much more pleasant for the eye to observe smooth, rather than sharp transitions. Sliding surfaces soothe and improve mood.
Give greater solidity to the object and get rid of sometimes huge amount fixing details. This significantly enhances the strength and reliability of the structure.

Conclusion

Wood-laminated board is an excellent finishing as well as furniture material. Lower cost and improved specifications make it a serious competitor to classic wood. And what is especially remarkable, and what a tree can by no means boast of, is its amazing ability to bend in the most unimaginable forms giving the interior a special aesthetic.