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Kerf bending is the easiest way to create curved wooden structures. This short video from The Honest Carpenter will show carpentry beginners 5 quick tips and tricks that make kerf bending easy to understand!
5 KERF BENDING TIPS AND TRICKS! (For Beginners–Guide To Kerf Bending Wood)
Kerf bending is the process of removing small, thin sections of lumber from a board in order to make it more flexible. When “kerf” passes of a saw blade are removed, the board loses rigidity, thereby allowing it to bend!
The most important thing, though, is that you don’t allow the blade to cut all the way through the top surface board. A bit of lumber should be left to keep the board intact.
(“Kerf” refers to the width of a saw blade at the teeth…or the groove or notch left behind when a saw blade passes through a piece of stock.)
Check out this video we did on the topic:
5 KERF BENDING TIPS:
1) Set your cut depth accurately. You want to leave just enough material for the board to kerf bend without breaking. This is usually just shy 1/8″. On very rigid stock, though, like oak or hardwoods, you may have to cut a little more deeply.
2) Always test your cuts on scrap when you’re kerf bending!
3) Spacing matters: the closer kerf cuts are spaced on a board, the tighter the kerf bend radius. Kerf cuts spaced farther apart will produce a shallower kerf bend radius.
HERE IS A GREAT ONLINE KERF SPACING CALCULATOR:
4) Secure the kerf bent board by either gluing the kerfs shut with the board in a curved position. Or, use a separate piece of lumber attached to the kerf bent board to make it hold shape.
5) You can also curve kerf bending boards outwards, so the fillets open. Just do so carefully! It’s best to hide the fillets inside a work piece (like a guitar). Also, it can help to steam or saturate the board a bit before bending it. This makes the wood more pliable.
Thank you for watching the video!
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