Curving side panels

wofias8

Does anybody have any good ideas on how to put a gentle curve into an ash board. it is about a metre long and half a metre wide. it is also 18mm thick.
It needs to remain as a solid plank though, so i can't cut a lot of grooves in it. Would steam bending work for a piece of this size? the curve needs to look like this, )


Thanks, Wofias8

kadman

What is the piece going to be used for, what is it going into.
Bit more info needed here.

Could the curve have been dealt with earlier in the design maybe, as curving a single piece of ash of 18mm
is going to be a tall order, lots of things come into play here.

Stability of the curve, and piece. The method used to logsaw a half metre wide piece. Quarter sawn, radial cut ect.

Its do able, if you have the right methods, and tools, vac bag, formers, steam ect.
Or maybe coopered method of construction. Lamination of thinner material....list is endless.

So more input, more input:)

recipio

Ditto. Its solid wood and 500mm wide ?
I would think kerf cutting on the back side is your only hope. Any chance of making a former and veneering it with Ash. ?

woodturner

Ash is an ideal wood for bending. If you were going to steam bend it you'd have to act very quickly as a piece that size and thickness would cool back down quickly. You'll need to make a former with more of a bend than you need as just pressing it down lightly would straighten it back. You'll need to make a steamer to fit your piece into. I've seen people online using wallpaper strippers with the steam directed into it and it worked perfectly.

You'll need another person and gloves and lots of clamps.

kadman

Is the 500mm face being curved, or is it an end to end curve along its 1000mm length.??

recipio

I would think steam bending 18 mm solid wood is well nigh impossible, especially if it is kiln dried. You could try cutting 2mm veneers off the board and glueing them down to a shaped MDF former. A vacuum press is ideal for this.

One shot on kill

Best of luck with this one.

Curve and bond some flexy ply. Then vineer it.

wofias8

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think the only option now is to cut the grooves into it. And hide them with a curved front. It sounds confusing but I have a good image of it in my head!

Miname

Steam it for long enough and make a form that allows for a bit of spring back. Get it out hot and use a heap of ratchet straps to pull it round with a few t bars to keep it square.