How to Quickly Kerf Bend Plywood and Solid Wood
Easily Bend Wood With Kerf Bending. No Math and Measuring Required.
There are 3 common ways to bend wood; steam bending, bent lamination and the technique used in this video called kerf bending. Out of the three, kerf banding is in most cases the quickest and easiest method and doesn't require any special jigs. The process if fairly simple in which you make a series of kerfs in your wood spaced apart depending on your desired radius. The kerf is cut almost all the way through leaving a little more than a 1/16 skin (veneer) on top. This skin is thin enough to allow it to bend and can be held in place with glue. I prefer using polyurethane (Gorilla Glue) for this technique as it expands when it comes in contact with water filling the gap. This wood bending technique works with both plywood and solid wood. In this tutorial video we go over how many kerfs to cut, spacing and depth without getting into unnecessary math. I use the kerf bending technique to make a stylish coat rack and at the end of the video I'll go over some tips and tricks to get up bending wood with ease!
