Kerfing Wood

Geometrically more closer and thinner kerf cuts should give a smoother curve -- Less and wider cuts may give a curve with segments having sharper bends at the kerf cut.

Kerfing wood. This instructable walks through an exploration of material and process to make solid wood take on new physical properties. Equation for accurate bending kerfing of plywood Answered I am planning out my first Instructable. How to kerf bend both plywood and solid wood quickly and easily.

Kerfing allows for bending all sorts of thicknesses of stock and is especially useful for bending plywood. Using the kerf method as shown but do not epoxy or laminate the wood. It is important not to make the cuts too deep resulting in the wood cracking completely through or not deep enough so instead of bending it snaps and therefore weakens the wood.

Generally the deeper the kerf is cut the tighter the radius you can bend. Kerf spacing determines the minimum bending radius for a piece of stock. The wood needs to be cut to the point that the remaining fibers.

Kerfing is in simple terms the act of cutting a series of kerfs cuts in a piece of wood in close proximity so the wood can be curved. Theres another interesting way to bend plywood or solid wood around a very tight corner using a solid wood corner block and a single large kerf dado refer to photo on far right. When youre cutting a board you have to allow for the width of the sawblade and its teeth when youre cutting.

What you want to do is cut the kerf as deep as possible without weakening the wood. Thanks to Dollar Shave Club for sponsoring. Kerf cutting is making many kerf cuts cuts the width of your sawblade along a piece of wood.

When the kerfs close on the inside the piece wont bend anymore But bending the part until the kerfs close often produces visible flats on the outside surface as shown on Drawing 2 belowSanding these flats into a smooth curve may weaken or even break through the thin web. Stair builders often use this technique for the large bullnosed bottom stair on a fancy staircase. It will be a bent kerfed plywood coffee table There have been a growing number of projects out in the makeosphere where people are cutting slits or kerfs that go almost completely through a thicker piece of wood allowing it to be easily bent.