All about bent plywood

Flexible plywood is a blank made of plywood sheets that have an original shape. These kinds of patterns are actively used in order to produce unique and stylish pieces of furniture, which, of course, will give any home even more coziness and comfort. A bent plywood board differs significantly in its characteristics from wood, since it is much lighter, has increased strength properties and is better adapted to the intended shape.

Plywood is the thinnest sheets of veneer that are connected to each other with a special glue. The latter is most often birch or pine material, alder or beech. It is thanks to these species that the positive aspects of plywood are manifested.

• Increased level of moisture resistance. The hydrophobicity of plywood is almost 2 times lower than that of wood. That is why it can be safely used in those rooms where there is a high level of humidity, and when decorating facades.
• There is no such process as warping, so the material will not rot.
• Outwardly, a beautiful and original look with a wood texture.
• Quite easy to apply in a home workshop.
• Excellent resistance to UV radiation, for this reason, the material will not fade when exposed to the sun for a long time.
• Low price compared to natural wood, as well as better technical characteristics.
• Simplicity during care. You can safely use various detergents to clean the plywood surface.
• Environmental component. Plywood is a material with increased safety. This feature provides an excellent opportunity to produce practical and beautiful furniture for any children's room.
• The fast abrasion resistance of bent plywood leads to the fact that it does not wear out for years.
• Long service life.
• You can give the product any smooth shape and curve to create truly unique pieces.

The finished bent-glued plywood board is actively used for the production of products of an unusual shape, which adorn any living space with their exquisite appearance. The most demanded subjects are:

• decorative elements of cabinets, walls, pedestals, dressing tables, drawers, shelves and low shelves;
• latoflexes (frames) for beds;
• comfortable chairs or rocking chairs;
• regular blanks for creative-looking chairs or original inserts for armchairs and sofas;
• stylish facades for solid hull structures;
• office chairs, hard chairs, inexpensive furnishings for schools, hospitals and hotels;
• stylized elements for dining tables and small tables.

There are a variety of methods that can be used to bend plywood to the desired degree to make a beautiful chair or headboard out of it. It is worth remembering that when choosing any of these methods, it is impossible to position the upper part of the veneer so that its fibers are across the intended bend, because this way, most likely, an unwanted break will result.

This well-known technique is more common in large production and is concluded in the use of special expensive molds.At first they heat up well with electric current or steam. Already well-glued and neatly bent plywood is placed in them. It is in the molds until the very moment when the used glue dries up, because it is he who will subsequently firmly hold the bend of the material used.

At home, in order to professionally bend thin plywood sheets, you will need to use special equipment, which is not always possible, but then you can do something completely different:

• first you need to glue the plates with ordinary wood glue;
• with their own hands, the sheet is neatly bent;
• the bend is fixed at the edges with a good epoxy;
• you just have to wait until the product is completely dry.

This simplified method is very good, but the main disadvantage is the fact that in this case only thin plywood sheets can be bent. If you need to bend plywood of substantial thickness, you will have to choose a different method.

In order to end up with stylish and durable elements of the highest quality, it is imperative to take into account the following points:

• made parts cannot be stored at low humidity;
• bending of steamed or heated elements in a special way must be carried out until they have completely cooled down.

If you need to bend a rather thick sheet for the headboard, then you will have a difficult time. First, the material must undergo special processing. This is necessary for the plywood to become softer - only then it will be possible to try to bend it gently.

Special processing can include the following operations:

• in large industries, for such cases, a special industrial-type steam installation is used;
• if you need to do this process in your own home, then ordinary steam coming from a boiling kettle (for oversized parts) or from a household steam generator is suitable.

If the parameters of the plywood are really large, then before processing it is better to put the sheet in very hot water in order to give it the necessary elasticity with its help. It is important here to prevent delamination of the processed sheet.

In this case, you can use 3 methods available to any man in the street.

• You can leave the sheet in hot water for only 30 minutes, then gently move it into the prepared rigid workpiece. The material will have to be left there for exactly 7 days.
• You can moisten the workpiece abundantly with water, bend it slightly and iron it properly with a hot iron. After that, wet it again well, bend it again and remove all the liquid from the surface. And you will have to do this until the very moment, until you get the desired shape.
• You can also heat the sheet to a certain state in a hot oven, but when choosing this method, you should be prepared for the fact that noticeable cracks may appear on the material.

If you need to bend an excessively thick plywood sheet as quickly as possible, then the most effective method is to create a large number of grooves in a strictly defined place on the sheet. To make these cuts, you will need a milling cutter. The cuts should not be too deep. They can only reach half of the sheet. The veneer layer on the back side must not be damaged.

At home, this kind of operation is carried out by performing a certain sequence of steps.

In the place where you need to get a bend, a small load should be fixed, and the edges of the plywood sheet (under which supports should be placed) will be pulled together with a strong rope or strong tape.

When creating a part of a solid size or not quite standard shape, it is best to choose a sheet of steel as a suitable template. Bending of the plywood sheet should be done simultaneously with the steel workpiece. It will be possible to separate the template from the plywood element only after the whole structure has dried out qualitatively.

If your plywood sheet has a thickness of 4 mm or 6 mm, as well as 10 mm, then it will have improved quality characteristics., since such plywood is created from tree species that grow in Asia, which means that bending will be done with some difficulty.

Plywood is an excellent material that is great for both interior decoration of the house and for making stylish furniture. The low price and excellent qualities have turned it into a worthy rival to ordinary wood. A distinctive feature can be considered the fact that plywood has the ability to bend into all sorts of shapes, which ordinary wood cannot boast of.

See below for how to bend plywood.