Pre-Project Help: Curved Cutting Board

[Mike Goetzke]

Years ago I made this beautiful kitchen remodel. It included a curved sink in the island. It's functional and used but my wife has always witched, I mean complained, that at times there is not enough counter space. So after more than 10 years I decided to make a cutting board that can be put on top of the sink or easily moved out of the way. I was thinking of making it an edge grain curved lamination with different species - maybe maple/cherry/walnut. I included a sketch, do you think if I made 1/4" thick boards I could make this shape? (I was thinking of making an ID and OD frame from stacked plywood as a clamping block.) Any help appreciated.

 

[waho6o9]

Trammel points and mdf for jigs and clamping elements spring to mind.

"do you think if I made 1/4" thick boards I could make this shape? (I was thinking of making an ID and OD frame from stacked plywood as a clamping block.) Any help appreciated."

I'm not sure of the durability of 1/4" boards.
All the Best

 

[tjbnwi]

Soak the wood in Downy for a few hours it will easily bend to the radius. Leave it clamped fpr a couple of days. Remove clamps, glue up.

Tom

 

[Packard]

I jury-rigged my Bosch jig saw with a shop made tramell. The result was not satisfactory, so I modified that trammel to fit my router and and took off about 1/16” to get a nice radius.

I will post a photo when I get home.

There was a fun trick I used to play on my nieces. At Thanksgiving I would collect the wish bone in advance and soak it in vinegar overnight. Then I would ask my niece to make a wish and pull on the wishbone.

After soaking in vinegar the bone became like rubber. You could yank it hard enough to split the bone, but it would not crack. They would go nuts trying to figure out why it would not snap.

I understand that thin strips of wood will do the same. I will google it and confirm.

Confirmed: The vinegar breaks down the lignins in the wood making it flexible. I don’t know how long it takes to stop smelling like a salad, nor how it affects glue-ups.

I’ve been told that bent laminations need “low creep glue” so that leaves out TiteBond 1, 2 & 3. I believe hide glue is low creep. I’ve only used hide glue for installing rattan panels with reed splines. Hide glue is reversible for replacing the rattan.

 

[Packard]

I jury-rigged my Bosch jig saw with a shop made tramell. The result was not satisfactory, so I modified that trammel to fit my router and and took off about 1/16” to get a nice radius.

I will post a photo when I get home.

There was a fun trick I used to play on my nieces. At Thanksgiving I would collect the wish bone in advance and soak it in vinegar overnight. Then I would ask my niece to make a wish and pull on the wishbone.

After soaking in vinegar the bone became like rubber. You could yank it hard enough to split the bone, but it would not crack. They would go nuts trying to figure out why it would not snap.

I understand that thin strips of wood will do the same. I will google it and confirm.

Confirmed: The vinegar breaks down the lignins in the wood making it flexible. I don’t know how long it takes to stop smelling like a salad, nor how it affects glue-ups.

I’ve been told that bent laminations need “low creep glue” so that leaves out TiteBond 1, 2 & 3. I believe hide glue is low creep. I’ve only used hide glue for installing rattan panels with reed splines. Hide glue is reversible for replacing the rattan.

The trammel was probably about 70” long as I cut off the trammel’s anchor hole before installing and the overall length of the counter is 65”.

It was store-bought butcher block.

I tried curved laminating and it requires quick assembly. If possible, get a helper.

 

[luvmytoolz]

I’ve been told that bent laminations need “low creep glue” so that leaves out TiteBond 1, 2 & 3. I believe hide glue is low creep. I’ve only used hide glue for installing rattan panels with reed splines. Hide glue is reversible for replacing the rattan.

Cascamite would be a perfect candidate for this!

 

[tjbnwi]

The trammel was probably about 70” long as I cut off the trammel’s anchor hole before installing and the overall length of the counter is 65”.

It was store-bought butcher block.

I tried curved laminating and it requires quick assembly. If possible, get a helper.

Long trammels are what guide rails are for.

Needed two different radius pieces.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Thanks for the help so far. To make it clear I added another pic showing the direction of the laminations. Few years back I made a crib that had bent laminations. That was from oak and I just glued and clamped it. It had a little spring back but not much. Mostly wondering if hard maple would be prone to crack. I never heard of the downy trick but may experiment with it.

 

[Vondawg]

@tjbnwi ..So it looks like you cover the foam strips with blue tape to allow the track to move smoothly ?

 

[tjbnwi]

@tjbnwi ..So it looks like you cover the foam strips with blue tape to allow the track to move smoothly ?

Yes sir.

Tom

 

[tjbnwi]

Thanks for the help so far. To make it clear I added another pic showing the direction of the laminations. Few years back I made a crib that had bent laminations. That was from oak and I just glued and clamped it. It had a little spring back but not much. Mostly wondering if hard maple would be prone to crack. I never heard of the downy trick but may experiment with it.

Hard maple is much less pliable than oak (we work with a lot of both).

A steamer box would not be out of the question. One the size you would need would not take long to make.

Tom

 

[Packard]

Long trammels are what guide rails are for.

Needed two different radius pieces.
View attachment 382942View attachment 382943View attachment 382944View attachment 382945

I never even thought of that. I will the next time. Though pre-cutting with the jig saw made trimming with the router a breeze.

 

[Packard]

The trammel was probably about 70” long as I cut off the trammel’s anchor hole before installing and the overall length of the counter is 65”.

It was store-bought butcher block.

I tried curved laminating and it requires quick assembly. If possible, get a helper.

Just as an aside, the countertop was old stock from IKEA and was solid birch. But don’t try that now. Their countertops at last look were a thick veneer on the top and edges, and a man made core, so you cannot have a machined edge with current stock.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I’ve been told that bent laminations need “low creep glue” so that leaves out TiteBond 1, 2 & 3. I believe hide glue is low creep. I’ve only used hide glue for installing rattan panels with reed splines. Hide glue is reversible for replacing the rattan.

That is really only an issue when you do the laminations with "Force." If you pre-bend the parts, via steaming or other methods, the creep is not really there anymore.
I built 6 of these display tables, for a local library, in the spring of 2016. They are still there and looking great, despite the fact that they have contact with the public. I suggested laminations, to save time, but that was shot down. They wanted the solid pieces. It took some adjusting of the forms, to get them to fit perfectly, after a slight springback. They had to fit nicely, without tension, because of the mitered ends.....oh, if I had only known about the MFK700 back then.
That green "field" is a fairly soft vinyl-like material, intended for flooring. It had to be in-place before the glue up.

 

[Packard]

That is really only an issue when you do the laminations with "Force." If you pre-bend the parts, via steaming or other methods, the creep is not really there anymore.
I built 6 of these display tables, for a local library, in the spring of 2016. They are still there and looking great, despite the fact that they have contact with the public. I suggested laminations, to save time, but that was shot down. They wanted the solid pieces. It took some adjusting of the forms, to get them to fit perfectly, after a slight springback. They had to fit nicely, without tension, because of the mitered ends.....oh, if I had only known about the MFK700 back then.
That green "field" is a fairly soft vinyl-like material, intended for flooring. It had to be in-place before the glue up.

The green stuff looks like drafting table covers. It maybe they borrowed the material from the flooring guys.

Green Cream Vinyl Sheets Cover Drafting Tables & Boards

 

[tjbnwi]

Thanks for the help so far. To make it clear I added another pic showing the direction of the laminations. Few years back I made a crib that had bent laminations. That was from oak and I just glued and clamped it. It had a little spring back but not much. Mostly wondering if hard maple would be prone to crack. I never heard of the downy trick but may experiment with it.View attachment 382957

Rip a couple of strips, soak them in Downy overnight, see how it goes.

Tom

 

[Packard]

I never heard of the Downy thing either, but online reading shows that it is widely used for that purpose, though any brand will apparently work.

2. Soaking Wood in Downy (Fabric Softener)

• What it does: The surfactants in fabric softener penetrate the wood cells and act as a softening agent, reducing the rigidity of the fibers.
• Best used for: Steam-bending wood or making wood pliable. Woodworkers often soak wood in a mixture of fabric softener and water to make it more flexible and prevent snapping during the bending process

 

[tjbnwi]

I have no reason to deceive anyone……

I find Downy works in a shorter period of time than off brands.

Tom

 

[Packard]

I have no reason to deceive anyone……

I find Downy works in a shorter period of time than off brands.

Tom

Does it affect glue adhesion? And what glue do you use?

(I use Downy in my washing machine. Don’t use it for towels or cotton goods. It reduces water absorption as does the dryer sheets. Luckily cotton does not seem to get static.)

By the way, already-used drier sheets make the very best thing for polishing the lenses on your glasses. They are also as slippery as black ice on most flooring (except carpet), so if a drier sheet falls on the floor, pick it up quickly.

 

[Michael Kellough]

On the other hand, if you use dryer sheets when drying your cotton tee shirts, then the shirts aren’t so good for cleaning you eye glasses, because of that waxy stuff.

Dryer sheets are also good for wiping down plastic vacuum cleaner tubes. It leaves a waxy coating that greatly reduces the amount of dust particles that stick to the tools. I wonder if ordinary wax would do the same?