Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Well when I go to do the roof on my tt I'm going to need to bend the 6mm ply/luan around the top and rear curves, which aren't going to be very large radiuses to maximize headroom (its going to be a standie). How do you go about pre-bending the sheets so they don't crack/break when I'm trying to bend them to the frame?

Here's a link to get you started:

http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=19280&highlight=bending+plywood

Try doing a search for "bending plywood" on the forum and you'll find a lot of good information.


Good Luck,

Mike

I used the Sauna to steam our sheeting..Sounds silly but thats exactly what I did too. Worked slick. Ok but the Sauna is a part of the Finnish Culture. So I used whatever came to my mind..

It was Baltic Ply and not the Luan .

Yup I did mention it in that other thread too.

Classic Finn

I put the 1/4 inch for my hatch in a bind little by little like this. Then i wet it with hot water a few times in my driveway on a hot summer day.. It worked pretty well..

Excellent. Almost time to start. Pricing tow hitches right now.....

KDOG....I personally don't think that you ought to consider luan and ply in the same group. Ply will bend with more control than a luan will and hold a screw better. Luan is made up of some pretty crappy materials and is cheap for a reason. The core can be a collection of knots, voids etc....I've had it explode into a sharp edge that took a ton of epoxy and body work to get it smoothed out. It was only on a bend on the front of a trailer for 2 profile. Just my experience with it. I won't do it again. You might have different results and I'm sure that others have also. But, for me...I had a bad experience with it...it's not on my shopping list in the future.

In my avatar, the curves are 2 layers of 1/8" baltic birch...the flat portions on the roof are 1/4". I've gotten the 1/8" down to 1.5" R in smaller pieces. Much more stable than a luan. A sheet of luan can end up looking like a potato chip just while sitting in the garage and drying out... Doug

The best materials get the best quality. I had to choose one of two evils and went with masonite over luan for my underlayment purely for cost reasons which I know will be fine, just a little extra headache to work with. Given full choice 1/8" plywood is the choice of preference (In my opinion)

Forgive me if this product has been addressed previously. I wanted to make a strong (to attach an overhead console and speakers) headliner inside my '40 ford street rod. A local company that supplies custom woodworkers with their wood carries flexboard (also known as wigglewood, bendboard...). It is 3/8 inch plywood that bends easily and is sold in 4x8 sheets. I soaked it, bent it to the correct specs and held it in a jig overnight to dry. Perfect! For added strength, I made a couple matching bend 10" wide strips and glued them inside the original curves, eliminating any flex. I then sealed it. It is incredibly strong. I also made a round subwoofer tube! This stuff is cool to work with and I can see in my little mind some great cabinetry ideas.