Conference 7.286::home_work

    I've played around with some bending of wood using the rear kerf
    method, but I used plywood and had no problems. Maybe you could
    consider an Oak veneer plywood, and cut the kerf's about 1/8" apart,
    going across the grain, and a depth of cut to within 1/8" of the
    exposed surface. As for a final trim edge you coul glue up some
    scrap pieces in the shape of the arch and use your jig saw to cut
    it to the size you want. If you have some xtra Oak try the same
    procedure on a scrap piece (for the kerf cuts ), you may experience
    some stress fractures over the full length though because of the
    tight grain of Oak. Its worth a try in either case. 
    
                             My $0.02 !!  -Dick Turosh

  Why not get a piece of oak 1x12 and cut the arch out with a jig saw?
  If the arch needs to be higher, you could glue two pieces together
  (making a 1x24) and cut the arch out of that.

  JP

  Oops.  My suggestion in .2 should do for the trim pieces on the wall but
  not for the underside of the arch itself.  For that, I second the suggestion
  in .1 about oak-veneer plywood.

  JP

The kerfed plywood would probably work, although it might crack at the kerfs.  
You couldn't cut to within 1/8" of the surface and still have a normal reveal
when you put the trim on - the reveal is usually 1/8"-1/4".  Another thing you 
could to is to find someone with a bandsaw, resaw an oak 1X6 into 1/8" thick
slices, and then glue-laminate them together in the arch.  It'll take a lot of
clamps though. 

Paul

    I think that the laminate idea is probably your best bet.  But don't
    think it is going to use a lot of clamps.  You could easily make
    templates out of the plywood.  Space them with scrap wood so that
    the width of the jig is the same as the width of the wood.  Do this
    so that you have both a top and bottom piece.  Clamp one of the
    pieces down, glue and lay the oak strips and move the other half
    of the jig against it.  
    
    Actually, pipe clamps would work really well for this.
    
    Another possibility, although I don't know how it would work for
    oak...  Soak the wood for a long time in an ammonia/water solution.
    Then clamp in the above jig and let dry.  (on softer woods, the
    ammonia has some softening effect on the wood fibers)  Good luck
    finding a bath tub large enough for the whole piece of wood.
    
    I would go with the laminate..  Send me mail if my description got
    you confused...
    
    Cheers,
    jeff
    

    re: .6
    I'm not sure I'd want to soak oak in ammonia; the ammonia will 
    darken the oak considerably.  If you want an "old oak" look that
    is one way to get it, but I assume you want a lighter color.
    
    Although I've never done it on the scale you are talking about,
    steaming/boiling would probably work.  I've bent 1/4" maple by
    boiling it for an hour or so in a long pan bent up out of sheetmetal.
    When I first took it out it was quite soft and bendable, but after
    only a few seconds it began to stiffen up again.  If you try steaming/
    boiling, you'll need to make up a jig that you can QUICKLY slip
    the board into to hold it in the proper curve while it cools and
    dries.  Actually, it would want to be a bit over-curved to allow
    for springback.
    Maybe you could get a long skinny pan bent up at a sheetmetal shop,
    and boil the water in it by putting the pan on a series of charcoal
    grills.  
    Steaming may be a better bet for something that big.  I've never
    done this even on a small scale, but the theory is to make a closed
    box into which you pipe steam from a boiler of some kind.  Put the
    board you want to bend in the box, fire up the boiler, and let it
    percolate for a few hours.  Again, you'll need a jig you can quickly
    slip the board into when you pull it out of the steambox.  The
    setup shouldn't be steamtight; I think the usual practice is to
    stick a rag into the end of the steambox to allow the steam to come
    out, but to hold in the heat and enough steam so the inside of the
    steambox stays hot and moist.

    Why not try building the arch out of some other material, thin plywood,
    masonite, metal, or something else that is easier to shape into
    the arch, and apply oak veneer afterwards?
    
    Just a thought,
    
    Nick

    Ref. .8
     That veneer that your talking about is a good method. I saw a roll
    of oak veneer put out by I believe Monsanto. This veneer is the
    real stuff (solid oak) that has been treated somehow to make it
    very flexible. Seemed like a great idea, but I've never used it.
    

    
    	If you are interested in the veneer approach, I just happen
    to have some White Oak veneer, in 6"w X10'L sheets, that I just
    picked up a few weeks ago. Maybe we could work something out. Give
    me a call at 261-2605, or NISYSE:: TUROSH.
    
                                   My $00.02
                                           Dick