To bend plywood, two conditions must be met: moisture and heat. There is also a dry way to change its shape. You can work with material of any thickness, but the thicker it is, the more time it takes to achieve the result. Bent plywood is used in construction to construct arches, spiral staircases etc.
What kind of plywood can be bent?
Thin layers of wood are glued together, arranged in different directions. As a result, the fibers of one layer have a direction of 45º, 60º, 90º with respect to the fibers of adjacent layers. This method of making plywood increases its bending resistance, so it is easier to bend material with a small number of layers. In production, it is bent using special equipment, clamping it in dies. It is pre-treated with steam and thereby acquires sufficient elasticity.
During renovation or private construction, a bent plywood structure may be needed. Then you have to make do with improvised means. But even in this case, the work can be done efficiently if you follow the technology.
Methods for heating plywood
Heating can be done in the following ways:
- ferry,
- V hot water.
Without heating, the work can be done using epoxy glue.
Hot water should be poured into a bathtub or other suitable container big size. The workpiece is immersed in it for about half an hour, as a result the layers of wood are steamed. IN living conditions steam is created using a boiling kettle. Some experienced craftsmen heat up plywood using an iron. The steam supply must be constant, otherwise the wood will cool quickly.
Securing the workpiece
Moistened plywood easily changes shape, but if the bend angle is large, the work is done in stages. The wood is bent to a small angle, dried, then the steps are repeated as many times as possible until the required shape is achieved. If the bend angle is small, you can do it in one go. The next step is to secure the plywood, which can be done in 2 ways:
- the load is installed at the bend, the ends are tied with a rope and supports are installed under them;
- Fastening to the template is done using tape or rope.
In the second case, any curved structure made of rigid material can act as a template. The most commonly used is fiberboard. To make an arch, steamed wood can be secured in the opening using self-tapping screws. Some nuances of steaming wood should be taken into account: in very hot water it can delaminate, so it is important not to overexpose it. A thin layer can steam in 5 minutes. You can use another option: iron the workpiece moistened with water with a hot iron. After this, immediately give the required shape, repeat wetting and heating with an iron.
Video about bending ready-made template see the end of the article.
A metal template made of durable steel is also used to secure the plywood, but it bends along with it. This technique is preferable for large parts with complex configurations. The steel strip is tied to the plywood until it is moistened, then its shape is changed. The steel template is untied only after the wood has completely dried.
If a weight is used to secure the plywood, it is important that its width is equal to the width of the workpiece. If it is smaller, only that part of the wood that is equal to the width of the load will bend. Changing the shape of plywood is carried out independently when its thickness is up to 20 mm. It should be taken into account that different types of wood have different abilities to bend and unbend. Compression can be performed by 30%, stretching by 2%. Good results show walnut, beech, ash. Maple, oak, and larch are difficult to change shape.
How to bend large sheets?
Very large leaf It is not always possible to treat with steam. In this case, so-called cuts are made. They are strips that are shaped like a cone. Used manual milling machine. The cuts must be made to the opposite layer, it is important not to catch it, otherwise the material will split. For wood 4 mm thick, the cutting depth is 2 mm.
The steeper the bend radius, the greater the number of cuts. The plywood should then be clamped onto the template, and a thin layer of veneer glued to the outside of it. The glue used is epoxy or PVA. Drying time: approximately 1 day. Thus, the workpiece is hollow at the bend, but can withstand heavy loads.
How to bend plywood correctly, you need to calculate with accuracy down to each layer.
Features and types of work
- The thinner the plywood, the easier it becomes to work with.
- Initially, the veneer layers are positioned at different angles relative to each other to increase the material’s resistance 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 the action of a kind of vice, which helps to bend it to the required radius.
Note! Impregnation of plywood parts can be done at home. This requires the use of a vessel with boiling water and steam.
Another possible method is to bend plywood sheets using an iron in steam mode. The following details are taken into account:
- Wood can cool quite quickly, this has a direct bearing on plywood;
- It is quite difficult to achieve even heating of the entire sheet, because of this this type bending is suitable only for small parts of the part, which can be useful when producing curved surfaces of furniture or other small-sized products.
There is another way to bend plywood at home - in a bathtub with hot water.
This technique is much simpler to implement; it helps to place the necessary fragments in a bathtub or other large container, leaving them in hot water for about half an hour. After such procedures, the effect is guaranteed, because wood veneer is under the influence of water and high temperature able to soften without hindrance. This helps to acquire the elasticity of the plywood part.
Important! A sheet of plywood is prone to delamination of the material when exposed to hot water for a long time.
To avoid such consequences, you can carefully and closely monitor the effect of steam from hot water on the material. To do this, take a strip of plywood required thickness and soak it in the bath. Next, check the part every five minutes for bending. If after half an hour from 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 secured with self-tapping screws, then it should be left until completely dry.
Complex design
If it is necessary to perform complex combinations, it is necessary to take into account a number of features of this procedure. In this case, many moments may depend on the bend angles. If the angle is quite small, you will have to go through several processes.
The material must be soaked, bent as much as possible, and then left to dry completely. This procedure is repeated as long as it takes to acquire an element of the required curvature.
There are several basic technologies for securing workpiece elements after the soaking process. To do this, consider the following features:
- If the workpieces are not installed immediately in a certain place, then you cannot do without accurate calculations, even bending and a combined option;
- The maximum suitable result can be provided, thanks to a pre-prepared blank or template;
- Fixations on templates with a guarantee eliminate the need to redo or correct the element.
We will talk specifically about fixing the desired element on the template until it dries completely. The template itself is quite easy to make, and there are also plenty of options for making it. 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, often used in quantities of three pieces, this also depends on the size of the sheet of plywood that is bent, then strengthen them with slats;
- On finished frame Using self-tapping screws, secure the plywood puffs and leave them until they dry completely.
Large sheets of plywood
Large plywood sheets cannot always be treated with steam. IN in this case It is recommended 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 hooking it into mandatory, because in this case there is a high probability of splitting of the material. These tips will be useful for those interested in how to bend 4 mm plywood.
Note! For sheets 4 mm thick, the cuts should be about 2 mm deep.
Professionals advise making more cuts, which helps create a steeper bending radius. After the sheet of plywood is clamped onto the template, outer side at the same time sticks to thin layer veneer It is better to use epoxy or PVA glue. It will take about a day to dry. This method produces a workpiece that is hollow at the bends and can withstand considerable loads.
How to bend plywood, a video is provided below for your reference.
To obtain the desired quality result of the work performed When bending plywood, experts recommend taking into account the following features:
- It is better to store curved sheets in a room with low air humidity - no more than 10%;
- The radius of bending along is much larger compared to transverse deflection;
- It is recommended to bend the steamed and soaked part in a warm state.
Many people wonder how to bend thick plywood. The above methods are also applied to such sized elements, taking into account the features affecting the material. A simple solution in this matter 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 methods. Here are its main actions:
- Soak the 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 using clamps or another convenient method.
- It is recommended to bend sheets of plywood along the grain to make it more durable and not split.
- Leave it to dry for about two hours.
Adhering to the above features of the plywood bending procedure, the work process at home does not cause difficulties.
Very often during the construction or renovation of houses there is a need to obtain curved surfaces of plywood sheets.
In construction, repair or furniture making, there is a need to bend plywood and obtain curved surfaces.
This raises the question: how to bend plywood so that the bend is strong and does not crack? You can perform this procedure yourself.
Bending at home
When bending wood, there are a number of difficulties that are associated with the structure of the material, as well as technological features of this process:
The thinner the plywood sheets, the better and easier it is to bend them.
- The thinner the material, the easier it is to work with. However, it is necessary to take into account the fact that to construct, for example, an arch, the plywood must have a thickness of at least 10 mm. That is, you need to bend an already quite thick puff pastry.
- When making plywood, layers of veneer are placed under different angles to each other. This is done in order to increase the bending resistance of the material.
There are several ways to bend plywood at home, the most popular of which are:
- humidification (steaming);
- incision;
- gluing.
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Steaming
In workshops and special workshops, bending and the required curvature are achieved quite simply. To do this, the part is saturated with steam, after which it comes under the influence of a special vice, which bends it to the desired radius of curvature.
At home, this procedure is quite difficult to carry out, since it is very difficult to find a suitable container with constantly boiling water. Therefore, only small pieces of plywood can be bent in this way. To do this, you can use an iron with a steam function or hold the material certain time over a container of boiling liquid.
An alternative to steaming is to dampen the plywood. To do this, hot water is poured into a container of the required dimensions (for example, into a bathtub), after which the workpiece is immersed in it for a certain time, which depends on the direction of bending and the thickness of the sheet. Below is a table for calculating the boiling time of plywood at a temperature of about 95°C.
| Three-layer plywood, mm | Five-layer plywood, mm | Time for bending along the fibers, min | Time for bending across the fibers, min | ||
| 1,0 | 15-20 | 10-15 | 1,0 | 60-90 | 60-90 |
| 1,5 | 20-40 | 15-20 | 1,5 | 90-120 | 90-120 |
| 2,0 | 40-60 | 20-30 | 2,0 | 120-150 | 120 |
| 2,5 | 60-90 | 60 | 2,5 | 150-180 | 120 |
| 3,0 | 90-120 | 90-120 | 3,0 | 180-210 | 150 |
| 4,0 | 180 | 120 | 4,0 | 240-300 | 180-240 |
As a result of this procedure, the layers of wood are steamed. After steaming, the wood is bent by a small angle and fixed in this position in several ways:
- a load is placed in place of the bend, the ends of the plywood sheet are tied together with a rope, and supports are mounted under them;
- The plywood is fixed in a prepared template, to which it is attached using rope or tape.
Then the workpiece is dried and used for its intended purpose. Steamed plywood easily changes shape, but if you need to create a large bending angle, then such work should be done in stages. Therefore, all procedures are repeated as many times as necessary to achieve the required bending value.
An alternative to steaming is to soak the plywood in warm or cold water. In this case, you should take into account:
- for soaking at a water temperature of 60°C, the time must be increased by 1.5-2 times;
- for soaking at a liquid temperature of 20-30°C, the time increases by 15-20 times.
You can make many useful things from plywood: furniture, various stands, etc. But in order for all this to be complete and beautiful view, it is advisable to give homemade things different shapes, including round ones. Then the question arises: is it possible and how to bend plywood yourself? To answer it, you need to know the existing methods and technologies of this process. How to do this work yourself will be discussed below.
Plywood can accept various geometric shapes, for this it is enough to know the technology and some strict rules of this process.
Peculiarities
Bending plywood requires heat and moisture. It is also possible to use the dry method of changing the shape of wood. These methods apply to plywood itself different thicknesses, but we must take into account that the thicker the material, the more time it takes to obtain the desired result. Scope of application bent plywood quite wide - from construction work(production of bases for arches, cladding of spiral staircases, etc.) to the production of bent furniture.
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Plywood selection
Because this material made by gluing thin layers of wood that are located in different directions, this increases the bending resistance. Therefore, for work you need to take thin plywood - it has fewer layers. In factories they bend it special machines, using to get the desired shape matrices. The material is given the necessary elasticity by pre-treating it with steam.
At home, when renovating an apartment, structures that have a rounded shape are often needed (for example, when constructing an arch). You can make them yourself from bent plywood. If the technology is followed, it is possible to obtain a high-quality product, despite the use of improvised means.
Plywood is sold at construction markets and in specialized supermarkets of the same profile. You have to choose flexible material, which is available with a thickness of 3-4 mm. It is usually used to create arches in doorways. After processing, a part made of such material is secured to the frame using screws. IN Lately appeared on the market similar plywood made in China, which combines reasonable price and required quality. There are several methods that are used to create bent structures:
- steaming;
- gluing;
- cuts;
- various combinations of the above methods.
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Heating plywood
This process can be carried out using the following methods:
The cutting method is suitable for plywood, the inside of which will be closed.
- using superheated steam;
- immersing the material in hot water (liquid temperature - 60°C);
- soaking in warm liquid (this increases the working time by 20 times and is rarely used).
If it is not possible to bend the plywood using these methods, then you can try to do without heating, using epoxy glue for the work.
For the first method, some craftsmen create steam using a boiling kettle, and sometimes use an iron. But since the steam supply must be constant, the steam in the right amount It is quite difficult to obtain at home, so we will focus on the second method of obtaining bent plywood.
Hot water should be poured into any open container - a bath is good for this. Its volume allows you to do bent parts quite large size. The plywood blank is immersed in hot water for 30-40 minutes. During this time, the wood is steamed to the required amount. Wet material easily changes its shape, but it must be taken into account that if it is necessary to bend at a large angle, then this process will have to be done in several stages: first, the wood is bent at a small angle, then the part is immersed in hot water. After 30 minutes, the process is repeated, increasing the bend, and so on, until the desired result is obtained. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that in very hot water the material can delaminate. If the plywood is very thin, then 4-6 minutes may be enough to steam it. Sometimes this method is used: they iron the moistened workpiece with a heated iron and immediately after that give it the required shape. Then they are moistened again and ironed with a heated iron.
For processing large leaf steaming plywood at home is often not possible. Then, to obtain the desired result, cuts are made in it in the form of strips shaped like a cone. For this work, a hand-held electric tool with a cutter attached to it is used.
These cuts must be made carefully, otherwise chips may occur in the material.
After steam treatment, plywood retains its strength at bend points.
For plywood 4-5 mm thick, the depth of such cuts should be no more than 2 mm, and their number depends on the steepness of the required bend radius - the larger it is, the more numerous the number of cuts themselves.
After this, the plywood is clamped onto the template. A strip of veneer is glued onto the outer layer of the material. To do this, you need to take epoxy glue (you can also use PVA). The part dries in about 24 hours. The result is a hollow workpiece that can withstand fairly large loads.
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Workpiece fastening
To ensure the stability of the resulting plywood shape, it must be secured. This work can be done in the following ways:
- a heavy object is placed at the bend site, the ends are tied together with a rope and supports are installed under them;
- the part is secured in the template using cord, tape or rope.
In the first case, everything is clear, but you will need to constantly monitor the structure, since the plywood may move slightly away from the desired angle when cooling. In the second case, in the form of a template, you can use any design with bending angles that need to be obtained again created part. Most often, a homemade template made from fiberboard is used. If an arch is being made, then the steamed wood can be directly installed in place by clamping it in the opening with screws.
Plywood has the greatest strength, bent method gluing.
You can use a steel template to secure the plywood. It is bent along with the wood. This technique is used for the manufacture of large-sized parts with complex shape. The steel strip is attached to the plywood before immersion in the bath begins. Then it is bent together with a sheet of material. This template is removed only after the plywood has completely dried.
When used to secure a load, you must try to ensure that it is equal in width to the sheet of material. If this is not the case, then only that part that is equal to the width of the load will be bent. Such methods are applicable only for plywood with a thickness of less than 2 cm. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that different varieties trees have different bending (extension) abilities. Satisfactory results are obtained when using plywood made from walnut, ash and beech. It is not recommended to use sheets of larch, oak or maple material for such work. Typically, wood can be stretched by 1.5-2.5% and compressed by 25-33%.
– this is the material that you cannot do without in the construction and repair sectors. It is also used in furniture production. But sometimes there is a need to obtain a curved plywood sheet. Of course, you can contact a company where, using special equipment and a certain technology, they will produce a curved part for you. You can do this yourself. We offer several proven methods that will help you bend plywood at home.
Methods for obtaining bending of plywood
There are several of the most proven ways to bend plywood material. However, when different options When obtaining a bend, some points need to be taken into account. In cases where an arch is required, plywood is chosen with a thickness of at least 10 mm. And this is already quite a thick puff pastry. From this we can conclude that what thinner material, the easier it is to influence it, and, as a result, the plywood bends more easily.
Today, there are three main methods for bending a plywood sheet:
- steaming;
- incision;
- gluing.
Each method is good and effective in its own way. But you can also use a combination, which will ultimately result in more rigid bent structures. Let's first try to analyze each of the three technologies.
Steaming plywood
IN industrial production To obtain plywood bending, the steaming method is often used. It is to influence raw material steam, after which the plywood is placed in a plant where a press is applied to it. Under the influence of a special vice, the material is bent to the desired radius of curvature.
At home, it will be more difficult to carry out the steaming procedure. This will require the presence of very large containers in which water must boil. In this case, the plywood is simply fixed over the containers, and the steam itself will do its job.
An alternative to steaming is to soak the plywood sheet in water. You can use a bath for this. However, there are some nuances here too.
Firstly, the duration of soaking will directly depend on the thickness of the material, as well as on the direction in which the bend is required.
Secondly, the process of soaking the plywood in more warm water will last much faster. So, for example, at a water temperature of up to 90-100 degrees, the soaking time can be 1.5-3 hours, at a water temperature of up to 60 degrees almost twice as long, in cool water (15-30 degrees) even longer - 15- 20 times.
When the steaming or soaking time has been maintained for as long as necessary, the plywood can be bent, but only across the grain. To do this, attach the workpiece to a template, fix it in the desired position and wait until the material dries completely. It will be much more effective to combine both methods.
Notching plywood
This method also helps to achieve the desired curvature of the sheet. Moreover, the thickness of the plywood can be from 15 to 20 mm. The bending method is as follows: in those places where bending is planned, small cuts are made using a cutter. The cuts should be a depth not exceeding half the thickness of the sheet, otherwise the material may simply break. It is also important that the cuts do not reach the dowel layer in the opposite direction.
The width of the cuts on different sides of the plywood can be different. This allows you to get the following result: on one side the bending angle is smaller, on the other – larger. Using this technique, many people bend plywood to create the walls of a boat. And to fix the resulting shape, the plywood is clamped and a layer of veneer is glued on top.
In this case, the glue used is epoxy, although it is quite possible to use PVA glue.
Gluing parts
This method consists of taking thin sheet plywood and cut it into individual parts. They make a pattern and use it to connect the elements to obtain the desired shape. To do this, epoxy glue is applied to the joining points, the parts are glued together and fixed. You can use clamps to clamp the gluing areas. Dry ready product It should take about a day, after which it can be used. To prevent joints and irregularities from being visible on the workpiece, it is subjected to grinding.