Ways to Bend Wood in Furniture Making

• Furniture Making
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Ways to Bend Wood and Working with Curved Components in Carpentry and

Furniture Making

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson all students will be able to:

1. Identify at least two different ways to bend timber.

2. Outline some key Health and Safety principles to do with bending timber.

What do you already know about bending wood for furniture making?

Wait a minute...

You can bend WOOD?

• YES! Vikings were using steam to bend wood for ships around 1200 years ago!

• Four main methods: Steam Bending, Bent Lamination, Kerfing and Coopering.

• Some woods better than others.

• Both structural and decorative reasons for bending wood.

Not all wood is created equal.

To bend wood, it must be: 

• Straight Grained

• No visible defects (knots, cracks etc.)

• Air Dried or Green

• Hard and Soft Woods

• Oak, Ash, Pine, Spruce

Kerf Bending:

Uses equally spaced saw cuts to create bends at desired angles. Spacing can be worked out manually or by using an online tool:

https://www.blocklayer.com/kerf-spacing

Bent Lamination:

This uses thinly sliced veneers called "Construction Veneers" glued together and bent around a former to create the desired curve.

Steam Bending:

Using a steam box to put the timber into and something to generate steam, this method softens the lignins in the timber to allow it to bend around a former.

Coopering:

Whist not technically bending, separate boards are cut to specific angles to create a curve or even a full circle. For example, when making Barrels.

Name a method
of bending wood.