Thread: Need urgent help in bending ply

You need to laminate several pieces of thin ply together using a form. A pic of what you want to do would be useful.

thanks for the reply but im not sure if you correctly understand me. i already have cut the shape out with ply already glued together. is there a way to bend it now or will i have to start over by bending by laminating and glueing?

Originally Posted by jmuras

is there a way to bend it now or will i have to start over by bending by laminating and glueing?

No, and then yes.
Are you getting any useful ideas from your teacher?

Wake skate construction - Step two.

see where this link takes you.

For my Hsc i have just bent quite a large piece of ply. I used flexi ply which worked extremely well and laminated 3 pieces together using megapoxy 69 glue and then clamped it into a mould. I honestly would have no idea how you would bend a solid block of ply, you could try steaming but it could possibly turn disastrous. I would follow the instructions in burraboy's link above

thanks heaps for the reply guys. i have a mould set up and im going to test a few different ways to bend including kerf cut and steaming. but if they fail (most likely will) i am going to have to start over and go by that guide.

You can't bend thick ply. But you could glue layers on where you want the shape to go up and carve it with a sanding disk on a hand held grinder. Otherwise it is a trip back to the drawing board an the ply supplier to get "bending ply", which is thin ply that you laminate over a form to make a thicker sheet.

Don't you have a teacher you could ask this stuff of?

BTW, we probably do know what a wake skate is.

Jake

Originally Posted by jmuras

hi all, i am currently studying dt in the hsc and for my major design project i am constructing a wake skate. you probably dont know what that is but basically i have to bend a 15"x38" piece of ply to create the board. now i was wondering if there is a way to bend the ply if it has already been glued. i am thinking of steam bending it, but as i am a complete amateur im not sure what to do. if this way wont work please help or if there is a better way please inform me, need urgent help.

steaming the ply in order to bend it is so unlikely to work that I wouldn't bother trying

Originally Posted by jmuras

i already have cut the shape out with ply already glued together. is there a way to bend it now

in a word, no

yes you will have to start over and bend and glue laminates over a former

Originally Posted by jmuras

i have a mould set up and im going to test a few different ways to bend including kerf cut and steaming. but if they fail (most likely will) i am going to have to start over and go by that guide.

Jake it's the last week of term, save yourself the time and agreviation.
start with thin layers, say 3mm thick, and bend them over a former using epoxy or another waterproof glue and clamps

I've bent and glued two layers of 4mm ply using a male and female former and clamps

cut the plies oversize and trim to shape once the glue is fully dry

if it doesnt work and you gotta start again go to a hardware store and ask for bending ply
it comes in 2 forms bending across the sheet and the other is bending end to end
a standars sized sheet 2.4 x 1.2 you can bend the side together using your hands its that flexable