How the heck do you guys bend plywood?

[swissarmygirl]

I used 1/4 inch ply on mine and didn't have much of a problem. Just worked it bit by bit and it turned out just fine. No special tricks, just some muscle and some patience.

[GPW]

A quick Google of wood bending techniques produces a plethora of bending methods...
One sure way is to just attach the ply at the high point of the bend and weight it around the curve,a little bit at a time Given enough time , the ply will assume the new shape naturally without breaking ... don't be in a rush...

[Canuck]

I used Luan Plywood
Oak on the inside
and mahogany on the outside
It is very easy to use and bend

[Steve Frederick]

If the roof is left "wood" then 2 layers of 1/8" first nailed in place, second glued to the first. (No exposed fasteners. If you were painting, just one layer, nailed..Fill the nail holes, seal, paint. For an aluminum roof, one layer, nailed, metal glued to it.

[J.T.]

So, when you bend plywod over the front do you cut the sheet in half making two 4x4 sheets? or do you lay it over the front and top using one whole sheet? and if you do use the whole sheet at one time what kind of plywood do you use? I've seen pros and cons about useing luan. I've also seen good reports about useing birch.
I'm having trouble finding Baltic birch in the Houston area, although I did find some the other day from a salvager for $7.50 a sheet. Bought 5/8"" birch for $20 a sheeet.
I'm wondering if a chat room would be good for exchangeing information and such. Oh well, just my $.02 worth
OOOOOOPs, just emailed a guy on Cregslist in houston about some 1/8 inch luan for $3. a sheet. Anyone have any ideas about that?

[madprinter]

I've made curved window casings and arched door openings with flexable plywood. I don't remember the brand name. It comes in 4x8 by1/4"sheets. It is like Luan, but all the plys of wood run in the same grain direction and have a canvas layer glued in the middle. I used two layers on my arches. You can roll it up. I have some left over. I'll try to get a pic on to show you how tight it can be rolled.

[Juneaudave]

Will a brad nailer work on 1/8 ply, gentle to moderate bend?

[Nitetimes]

Will a brad nailer work on 1/8 ply, gentle to moderate bend?

I would use a air stapler, I've had brads pull thru 1/8" but staples will hold pretty good.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

I'm using two layeres of 1/8" on the exterior with the grain on the outer surfaces running from sise to side... Should be a piece of cake.
However... I used one layer of 1/8" maple on my interior... 1/2 sheet on the hatch and a full sheet in the cabin.
I wanted the exposed grain to run lengthwise on the interior and it was a fight, but I took my time by going one spar at a time, glueing each spar as I approached the front of the trailer.
I did have a wormhole on the backside of the plywood, which ran sideways go BANG!!!
Luckily, the skin on the interior side of the cabin didn't go BANG too, right where the worm hole was, but it did develop a small facet at that point.
I was able to insert aditional blocking in the spar area and temporary interior blocking inside the cabin to make the 1/2" long facet disapear.
I only used glue and relied on the length of the maple plywood to lock the ceiling to the spars and spar blocking along the walls.

[tonyj]

So you decided to be there, but not square?

I'm with the "bend it on the short side" group. You end up using more sheets, but that scrap ply always seems to find a place to be used. I also used a stapler instead of a brad nailer. The 1/8 ply pulls right though a brad, but is held tight with a staple. I used 2 layers of 1/8 on my trailer.

[Gage]

Well, when I get ready to do my interior roof skin. I'm going to take a sheet of 1/8" birch and trim the sides down to fit inside. Then I'm going to clamp it down in front and form it to the rear. I can not have seams because there are no front cabinets and 4' won't get it. I just may add some steam to it and pre roll it and let it sit for a day or two before installing it.

[madjack]

...well it is my understanding, if you take a BigJohnsonStrecher and twist out the lower nut, you can bend with it as well as strech
madjack

p.s. at least, that is what Peter Long and Carla Roundheels told me..afterall, they are the inventor and marketer for the BigJohnson and SHOULD know... ..........................

[pELF28p]

What do you guys use to fasten the 1/8" ply? Do you only use glue? If you use screws (and glue) how do you set the screws into the 1/8" ply for a smooth finish? It seems 1/8" is very thin to be setting screws into.
-J

[Miriam C.]

What do you guys use to fasten the 1/8" ply? Do you only use glue? If you use screws (and glue) how do you set the screws into the 1/8" ply for a smooth finish? It seems 1/8" is very thin to be setting screws into.
-J

You can't really set the screws in 1/8" ply. They will draw themselves down but if you are not going straight they leave part of the screw up. You can sand after the glue drys or back them out and fill with Epoxy.

I used screws on 1/8" Birch with the bend on the width and glued all the spars and insulation. My ply went under the 12" radius so bending was easier.

For the inside, I preplanned to use Steve Frederick's method. My inside framing is a shelf for the ceiling then spars and roof to lay on. Didn't have much trouble with it.

[tearbum67]

This is how I did my interior. I used a car jack that I braced against the galley end of the cabin and placed a 2x4 "T" on the jack with the "T" end against my plywood. Once I got it snug I just carefully turned the jack screw a turn or two every 10 or 15 minutes. It will scare the heck out of ya but I had no cracking at all.