Can you wet mould Plywood?
 

I want to bend some plywood (6 or 9mm) round an 8cm radius. Almost 60% of the way round... When I say wet mould, I mean soak it in water then bend it...

Is this possible or should I chose a different substance?

If by "Wet" you mean steaming it then yes you can, however I am not sure you would be able to make such a small radius using that technique!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dg7mWlRHJw

Hmmm..... very interesting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwTFw...eature=related


Hmmm interesting

I have put bends in ply, by running a saw 1/8 of an inch deep, mutiple cuts from top to bottom, on the "in" side. Was using 5/8 ply, and not the same degree of curve, but it's an idea.

Steaming! Thats the word I was looking for! Thanks Krupi. I heard you can boil it also but how would this effect ply? Is the glue water soluble in TDX or would (hahah) I need marine ply?

Same as above, the other easy method is using thin soft/hardwood veneer and apply adhesive to each layer then clamp using a former.

You can get grooved 6mm MDF from places like B&Q as an alternative to ply if material type is not critical.

I like the idea of layers, it depends on what you are using it for though.

So what is it, don't tell me your making some home made kegs to go with your home made ale ;)

I cant stand MDF...

Its for a throttle quadrant. 109 ;)

I'd try cold bending, using multiple layers of thinner material. If it was good enough for Orville and Wilbur, it's good enough for that. Use glue, not brads though: http://www.popularwoodworking.com/te...the_wright_way

You'll probably need 2mm layers for that radius.

Yes to building up in thin layers for that radius with the grain going in the same direction Veneers would do, you can buy Flexi Ply and Flexi Veneer 8' x 4' sheets tho, go to a local Joinery firm they may have some small offcuts you could borrow or even slice you some Ash or whatever you fancy using for your throttle knob. Ply is built up of layers that run perpendicular to each other thats what makes it strong and hard to bend.

109 throttle quad- nice project:grin:

as it's basically a rectangular box with very near 6" diam circular bit on the back, I'd be looking for something like a 2" slice of 6" diam plastic drainpipe, (chop out a ~100 deg segment for pushrods if using linear pots?), cut slot(s) for levers and sandwich between 2 ply plates for the sides. finish of rest of front box with ply.
Thickness of slice dependant on what thickness of wood you use for the plates- total width of unit should be ~55mm.