Bending Basswood Sheets

Special methods for bending balsa wood may not be necessary if the curve is a gentle one and the radius is large.

Bending basswood sheets.

Stage 1 getting the wood flexible. Basswood as light as it is is a relatively simple wood to bend. To bend the basswood grip the wood in the shape you desire. Now you ll have your basswood bent in a little more than a 45 minutes.

Or just plainly needed your basswood bent. Balsa wood is often the wood of choice when a woodworking project involves curves that require the wood to be bent. Use sobo unless you re in a rush then use zap a gap with zip kicker. Do not attempt to use c quarter grain balsa as it ll tend to split very quickly.

To create bends for small scale projects in plexiglass perspex or acrylic 1 8 inch and thinner you can use a small torch butane kitchen torches work well a paint stripping heat gun or an embossing heat tool which is a wand that works very similarly to a paint stripping gun but using a smaller more directed heat flow with a smaller fan. The ability to alter the grain direction as our imagination dictates while preserving the strength inherent in a straight piece of wood allows us to create the elegant beauty of a continuous arm windsor chair and the inspiring sweep of a vaulted ceiling. Step 4 bending the basswood. Often during a construction project you will need to bend wood.

The thickness of the plywood and the direction in which you bend it both determine the minimum bend radius you can achieve. Also to bend bass wood the best way not necessarily fastest is to build a form then thoroughly soak two sheets of bass wood if you re needing 1 16 use two 1 32 then put them both in the form until they dry. Use the vice grip to bend the basswood. With all bending operations it s suggested that you start out with the most flexible piece of balsa that you can obtain typically this is referred to as a grain balsa.

The video tells how to bend balsa using household ammonia many modelers have had a lot of difficulty bending balsa or hardwood by using this technique ther. Although the wood is soft enough to bend you still do need to use your strength to bend the basswood in shape. Ever tried to make a model house and needed the basswood bent. The bend radius is a measure of the size of the circle you would draw if you complete the semi circle formed by the curvature of the wood a smaller bend radius denotes sharper curvature.

Bending wood is one of the latter. Bending wood allows you to create complex models or shapes that can accommodate numerous woodworking projects. Basswood is a lightweight wood ideal for model building. Begin by soaking your piece of basswood in vinegar for.

For more complex or tighter curves however use some.