jim, i don`t understand "solid laminate"? if you`re speaking of using bending ply with wood skins to match the piece....that`s the most stable construction i`m aware of.....if a person owns a vacuum rig the entire doors could be glued up using thin laminations of solid wood for another very stable lamination. if using solid wood a person should plan on doing a core lamination first to where the core can be trued to the radius prior to laminating on the faces `cause solid lumber is more likely to exibit some springback after the initial glue up....
a hollow core or even a honeycomb core would be my last choice for furniture built in a small shop......boeing and lear have the honeycomb laminations down to a science but their materials are way outta line for a small shop!
I would use a male and female form for the curve made out of mdf or ply, then I would plane and joint my stock (using 6" - 8" wide boards). Next I would resaw to somewhere around 1/8" to 3/16"... (could get some neat book matching going on...) Then I would start "laying up" the laminations on the form using something like Gougeon Brothers'
WEST SYSTEM epoxy
I don't have a vacuum press (yet
, unlike Stu
) so I would clamp the heck out of the forms with the "veneers" sandwiched in the middle. I would rig some wedges along one edge to keep the joints tight.
After curing I would scrape and sand etc. and then use the curve on the door itself as a pattern for the top and bottom of the cabinet... I would do this however the doors are built. Make them first, then use them as a pattern.
I know what you mean about Boeing and Lear etc. Super light and beautiful stuff.
Some of the big yachts around here have some pretty fancy interiors too. A lot of my thinking comes from ship wright work and interior finishing on everything from fishing boats to sail and power boats when I was younger.
This is why I thought of some kind of hollow core... Not honey comb but some kind of grid with straight verticals and bandsawn horizontal curves all neatly half lapped with epoxy. Then a couple of 3/16" "skins" for the back and front. All the same material and it would appear solid.
Just like James Krenov
Dave's design reminds me of his work.