by doug hodder » Sun May 01, 2005 6:49 pm
Dave, here's a trick that I use on boats. I have used this only on plywood with exterior ratings, or marine grade. I don't recommend doing this on interior rated material, or any of the Home Depot birch laminated plys. (my disclaimer) I boil up about 3 gallons of water and pour it on top of the wood that has a ton of towels on it. Let it sit for a while, do it again, and it is a lot more flexible. That is what I do for compound curves on boat bows. I haven't done this on anything other than 1/4" marine grade or exterior grade ply, but it works well for me. I was able to bend 1/4" luan all the way around on my tear without using any hot water or steam. When you bend it, don't try to hold it with 1 screw with out a backer board while you get your next screw ready. It ain't gonna work. I made up a bunch of 1" boards full width of the trailer with about 6 screws pre-set. As I worked the curve down I sunk the middle screw into the spars and worked my way out to the edges. This prevents screws from tearing through the wood and evens out the material. No puckering between the screws. I agree with previous comments. Hardboard may act like a sponge, just looking for water and structurally isn't going to be as strong as a cheap ply or luan. Also check out the materials, oak, cherry, maple, birch etc... typically indicates what the top veneer is, it's still luan substrate...You're paying for the veneer, If it is going to be covered on both sides, just get the cheap luan or ply...Just my experience....Doug Hodder
Last edited by
doug hodder on Sun May 01, 2005 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.