Bending plywood

[fatboy9999]

I am making a deck out of 1/8", 3 ply aircraft plywood and wondering if it is possible to wet bend it.I have 2 sections, each about 18 inches long. I would like to put a permenant bend in it the shape of the deck conture to relieve the pressure when gluing it to the deck beams. Can it be done without the 3 layers coming apart? Would appreaciate any ideas, thanks......the fatboy

[pompebled]

I am making a deck out of 1/8", 3 ply aircraft plywood and wondering if it is possible to wet bend it.I have 2 sections, each about 18 inches long. I would like to put a permenant bend in it the shape of the deck conture to relieve the pressure when gluing it to the deck beams. Can it be done without the 3 layers coming apart? Would appreaciate any ideas, thanks......the fatboy

If the ply is manufactured with waterproof glue, heating the plywood is the only way, the heat will soften the glue (and the wood) so you can bend it.
After it has cooled down, it will flex back a bit, but will retain the curve.

If what you want is achievable, depends on how tight the radius has to be.

Try on a scrap piece.

For small(ish) pieces I use a soldering iron, for larger surfaces the heater (paint stripper) comes to aid.

Regards, Jan.

[fatboy9999]

Thanks for the tip Jan, will try the heat idea. I have the pieces soaking in hot water but there seems to be no difference in the "bendablility" as yet. ..cheers for now.........the fatboy

[65535]

Woodworkers use steam chambers And metal setups.

[Ray Farina]

One of the tricks of the trade is to laminate thinner thickness together. I usually make my decks out of 1/16 balsa run vertically, and then run my 1/16 mahogany longwise, make a good strong deck and easy to work. If you try 1/16 you may bent it a little, but 1/32 will have a lot of bend.

[RGinCanada]

Another way to go is to use a table saw to make a number of parallel relief cuts 1/2 way through the thickness of the plywood sheet to allow it to bend.

I have had plywood delaminate when overexposed to steam.

Best of luck,

Ray