veneer question?

[larry merlau]

which would bend better hard maple or soft maple (quilted) 1/8" slow curve or radius. say 6ft radius being glued to a bendable ply carcass

 

[Don Baer]

depending on which soft maple you are talking about red leaf is harder than silver maple. both are more plyable than hard maple however I don't think the kind of bend you are talking about would be a big deal for any.. I could be wrong.

 

[Bill Arnold]

Most of the veneering I've done has been with commercial solid products. Their thickness is around 1/40" and will make a pretty tight radius. When making my own veneer, I'll resaw and drum sand to less than 1/8" down to less than 1/16", depending on the project. I've used a lot of bending ply, but have also used poplar for the filler if I'm not making a really tight radius. I'm thinking a 6' radius could be done with any type of wood, if you process it to 1/8" thick or less.

 

[Jim DeLaney]

Grain direction will make a difference, but that radius ought to be doable with any of the woods you've suggested. 1/8" seems a bit thick, though. 1/16 or 3/32 might be better.

 

[fred hargis]

That seems a fairly gentle bend, I d say both will work well.

 

[larry merlau]

i dont see how i can get it that thin jim, to me it will roll up in my sander maybe if i put it on a substrate but then no grip to pull threw?

 

[Jim DeLaney]

i dont see how i can get it that thin jim, to me it will roll up in my sander maybe if i put it on a substrate but then no grip to pull threw?

Yeah, that could be a problem. My Performax will handle the 3/32", but 1/16" can be a problem. Fortunately, if I surface one side of the thick stock I can resaw on the Laguna (with Resaw King blade) and get a pretty much ready-to-use piece. I love that blade!