When epoxying wood bent around a mold, what is the minimum number of pieces of wood required to keep the bend in place when removed from the mold. Can two pieces of wood be bent around a frame and epoxied and keep the bend, or are more pieces required.
ootdb
Thank you for this post - this is exactly what I wanted to know!
Tough to give you an absolutely sure answer, Mark. That said, there will always be a bit of "spring back". I’ve never experimented with variable thicknesses, I just rip the strips thin enough to bend easily around the form and the resulting "spring back" has never effected the outcome of the project. Plan on adding a little thickness so you can trim the part to fit after it comes out of the form.
To compensate for spring back, it is often recommended to build your bending form with a slightly tighter radius than you want the finished product. For things like cambered hatch covers, I think CLC recommends using about a 1" tighter radius.
Grant
Thanks for all of your replies.
There is a simple formula (y=x/2n) you might try. Look at the following for more info and a graphic: http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Calculating_Springback.html
I did formed hatches for my CH18 using the CLC suggestions. 2 pieces of 4 mm ply laminated over a mold with 1 " less radius than the deck radii. There was a little more springback than expected so they aren't a perfect match but pretty close and they look good. If I were to do it again, I'd maybe go for a 1.5 inch smaller radius.