Features and advantages of products made from bent plywood.
Details made from bent plywood allow you to create original interior items of a wide variety of shapes. Furniture production company Formex produces furniture from bent plywood using multi-layer veneer. There are more than 200 types of parts made from bent plywood, including interior items, chairs, armchairs, components: armrests for armchairs and chairs, frames and parts of various configurations. Bent-laminated plywood is widely used to create decorative wooden radiator screens, folding stools, as well as for the production of health products, in particular exercise seats.
Thanks to the unique structure, chairs and armchairs made of bent plywood are bright and original decor any room, both office and home. Using bent plywood, you can create high-quality, practical furniture unusual design at an affordable price.
Bent plywood made from thin sheets of wood. The sheets are produced by sawless division. The sheets are firmly glued together in a given shape. Ready product It is particularly durable and flexible.
Currently fashion trend became a combination bent plywood with other materials, for example metal. Most the best option is a combination of bent plywood with steel, aluminum, decorated with glass. As a construction material, bent plywood has ample opportunities for a flight of designer imagination. Furniture from of this material practical, comfortable, and special exercise seats made from bent plywood have a positive effect on human health. From bent plywood you can make original models of sofas, chairs, armchairs, beds, bedside tables, cabinets and many other office and home interior items.
Furniture production company "Formex" produces high-quality products from bent-glued plywood (multi-layer veneer - plywood).
We offer more than 100 types components products for the production of executive chairs, staff chairs, chairs on a metal frame, chairs for cafes and bars, armrests for armchairs and chairs. The company's production capabilities and the versatility of the forms allow us to produce an endless number of chair frames and chair parts of any configuration.
Our bent plywood products - plywood, are also used in the manufacture decorative screens batteries, folding stools, orthopedic products.
Currently, not a single manufacturer of office furniture, staff furniture, upholstered furniture and furniture for cafes and bars can do without the use of products made from bent-glued plywood - plywood.
If you are making furniture from plywood, or are just planning, sooner or later the question arises of how to make a “bent” element of your product from flat plywood. This article will be about this. I will tell and show, or rather, I will try to systematize the methods and secrets of making radius bent volumetric parts from flat plywood.
Let's start with something simple.
The first method of making bent plywood parts – simply cut out a “bent” part from the sheet. Or several. And arrange them in the right order. Like, for example, here:
As you can see, all the parts of the chair are flat, but the chair as a whole does not have a single plane. You can read more about this project
Or like this:
Here has smooth shapes, but still consists of absolutely flat parts.
A further development of the same method is to join flat parts cut in a certain way to obtain curvilinear volumetric shapes. This is how this plywood chair is constructed:
But there is no need to regard this method of manufacturing curved plywood surfaces as very simple and primitive. A further development of the method is gluing plywood parts into one solid mass and cutting out the required shape from it.
Here's an example.
From gluing together flat plywood parts like this
By this link There are detailed drawings and a description of the manufacture of such a plywood chair.
This is a seemingly simple way.
The second method of obtaining bent plywood. Actually, this sentence contains the whole essence of the method. There are no actions being invented here flat plywood. The essence of the method is gluing veneer into a plywood piece of a certain shape and “bending”.
The idea is well shown in this video - Description of the process of producing bent-glued parts from plywood
Here it is very important to make a high-quality matrix on which the veneer will be glued into plywood.
To simplify the matrix manufacturing process, such a device was invented.
Examples of using this method:
A) Plywood chair
The main part of this chair is obtained by gluing veneer into plywood in this matrix
More details
b) Plywood chair
All parts of this chair are obtained by gluing veneer into plywood using special dies.
More details
c) All the details of this chair
made not from sheet plywood, but from plywood obtained independently by gluing veneer in matrices.
More details about this plywood chair -
One could go on and on about examples of the use of this method. Let's move on to the next method.
The third method of obtaining bent plywood surfaces – through cuts in plywood, which give it flexibility and at the same time do not deprive it of the required level of strength.
The seat and back of this plywood chair are made from ordinary laminated plywood sheets.
Thanks to the “pattern” of through cuts, the plywood parts have acquired flexibility and exactly follow the contour of the guides along which they are curved.
More details about this plywood chair -
Or here's another example - again plywood rocking chair.
Thanks to these cuts in the plywood, the main plywood part of the rocking chair gained flexibility. And besides, there is also a springy “softness”.
More information about the rocking chair
The fourth method of producing bent plywood parts – not through cuts.
The essence of the method is well shown in this video
A certain number of parallel blind cuts on one side of a plywood sheet will allow this sheet to be bent along a certain radius. It is applied not only to plywood, but also to wood, MDF and chipboard.
An example of using this method in practice
Plywood chair.
Made using a CNC machine from sheet plywood. You can see more details . Eat good video illustrating the process of making a plywood chair.
One more example - baby rocking horse.
Unlike a chair, in this case, to strengthen the structure, the grooves are filled with glue.
for a description of the manufacturing process
Here are the main ways I know of bending plywood. The numbering of methods is conditional.
On my website, all projects using “bent plywood” are marked with the appropriate tag -
– you can easily browse and select a couple of ideas for bending plywood.
If anyone knows any other ways, please write and I’ll add them!
Despite the huge variety building materials, produced by modern industry, their new modifications and varieties appear every year, distinguished by an excellent set of physical and technical parameters and unique specific properties.
One of them - flexible plywood, which has the advantages of natural wood and is characterized by extraordinary flexibility, not typical for other woodworking products. The reason for this flexibility lies in the raw materials used. This is wood tropical trees, the wood of which is characterized by low density.
These include:
- Ceiba. Area of origin: Africa and the Middle East. Wood characteristics: light cream. It is light in weight, soft and durable. It tolerates gluing, painting, polishing, etc. well.
- Sumauma, Parika, Faveira. Area of origin: Africa and South America. Wood characteristics: creamy white to light brown and pinkish. Its structure and composition resembles ceiba.
- Keruing. Area of origin: Indochina and the countries of Asia Minor. Wood characteristics: red or red-brown. Very durable, resinous and hard, can be used in conditions of high humidity.
IN Lately Flexible plywood made from birch veneer has also become widespread. It owes its specific qualities to the special structure of the layers having a cross arrangement. The main advantage of this flexible type we can name its availability and lower cost compared to exotic analogues.
Types of flexible wood:
Today on sale you can also find so-called bent or bent-glued plywood, made from thin veneer, sheets of which are glued together during the production process according to sketches of the future product. in the manufacture of furniture. Thanks to its elasticity, strength and ease of processing, this material is very convenient for creating pieces of furniture of the most unimaginable and original shapes.
Bent-laminated plywood is made from peeled veneers of birch, larch, beech, pine and even MDF. To cover its surface, veneer made from valuable wood species, such as walnut, mahogany or oak, is used. Thanks to the use of such spectacular cladding, products made from bent plywood look very expensive and elegant.
The advantages of this material include:
- Wide variety of shapes.
- Homogeneous structure.
- Resistance to abrasion and mechanical stress.
- Spectacular appearance and decorative effect.
Production and technical specifications
In the process of manufacturing flexible transverse plywood, layers of wood (at least 3) are connected to each other with a special adhesive composition, after which the sheets are heated and pressed at a certain temperature. As a result of this processing, a unique and unusual material, with its high strength and lightness, it has excellent elasticity and resilience.
Technical parameters and properties of Asian plywood:
Technical parameters and properties of African plywood:
Thus, when evaluating flexible plywood on a five-point scale, it can be given “five” ratings in the categories of “practicality,” “external attractiveness,” and “reliability.” As for availability and price range, here is this finishing material deserves a “three” because of its high cost and “exoticism”. The exception is flexible plywood made in China, which combines all of the above advantages and has an affordable price.
Applications and products
Bent plywood is most widely used in furniture production. In particular, sets for children's rooms are made from it. The main advantage of such products is their original appearance, high strength and the absence of sharp edges and corners that can injure a child. Such plywood is not suitable only for. For these purposes, special ones are used, such as, and others.
In addition, it is the basis for the production of so-called bent-glued elements and products, which include:
- Rocking chairs.
- Office chairs, furniture for cafes and restaurants.
- Elements of upholstered furniture and facade elements of cabinet furniture.
- Flexible bed bases called “latoflexes” or “battens”.
- Decorative and structural components of mirrors, bedside tables, cabinets, etc.
Using the previously used five-point scale, bent plywood products can be assigned “five points” for functionality, decorativeness and ease of use. And for the cost and complexity of manufacturing, they fully deserve a “four” rating, which confirms their high quality, originality and uniqueness.
Press for the production of plywood products:
Bending plywood at home
Bend the plywood, giving it the original and unusual shape possible at home. To do this, it must be placed in appropriate conditions, with a certain temperature and humidity.
Basic methods used to create bent structures from this material:
- Steaming.
- Gluing.
- Creation of cuts.
- A combination of the above processing methods.
You can make plywood more elastic by doing the following:
- Immerse it in water heated to +95 ⁰С. In this case, water of the required temperature is poured into an open container of the appropriate size, after which sheets of plywood are lowered into it. Time spent in water: from 5 to 30 minutes. Then they begin to carefully bend the wood. First, a minimal bend is made, and the workpieces are again immersed in hot water, leaving it there for another half hour. After this, the manipulation is repeated until the part acquires the desired shape.
- Treat it with hot steam. For this purpose, you can use a regular kettle or an iron with a steam function. But the main difficulty of this process is that the effect of steam on the material must be constant and long enough, and this is very problematic to achieve at home. In this situation, it is more convenient to work with an iron. The workpiece is wetted and ironed with a well-heated iron. Then the plywood is carefully bent to a small radius. These steps are repeated several times until the desired bend is obtained.
- Soak it in warm water. The most inconvenient method, due to its duration and low efficiency.
The above methods are good for self-made small plywood parts. In order to bend a large sheet, it is necessary to make cone-shaped cuts in the form of strips, while acting as carefully as possible to prevent the appearance of cracks and chips.
It is better to use for cutting cuts electric jigsaw with a cutter. The depth of cuts – with a sheet thickness of 4-5 mm – is no more than 2 mm. Quantity - in accordance with the bending angle. After sawing, the plywood is clamped onto the template used and using epoxy glue. The drying time of the workpiece is about a day.
In order to obtain beautiful and original high-quality elements as a result of bending, the following points must be taken into account:
- The transverse radius of wood fibers should be much smaller than the longitudinal one.
- Manufactured parts must be stored at a humidity not exceeding 9-11%.
- Bending steamed or heated workpieces must be done before they have cooled down.
On the picture - original shelf bent plywood 
DIY bent plywood
After passing preliminary preparation, plywood can be bent in accordance with specified patterns.
At home this can be done like this:
- A load is attached at the bend, and the edges of the sheet (supports are placed under them) are pulled together with a rope.
- The plywood is fixed with tape or rope.
- The template function can be performed by any structure that has desired angle curvature and sufficient strength. For example, fiberboard sheets, cut to the appropriate shape and size.
When making a large part or a non-standard shape, it is better to use a steel sheet as a template. In this case, bending of plywood must be done simultaneously with the workpiece, firmly fastening the sheets together. It will be possible to separate the template only after the structure has dried thoroughly.
You can also bend plywood by gluing its layers together. To do this, first a template is made, and thin layers of wood are laid on it, bending them along a given radius and coated with an adhesive composition (PVA or epoxy).
Each subsequent layer must be laid on the previous one, alternating the direction of the fibers. After drying, the edges of the part are processed grinder to remove unevenness and glue smudges.
The video will tell you how to bend plywood:
Wood-laminated boards, which we know simply as plywood, have found their use in finishing and furniture production. They have one of the most unique properties; with their help you can create almost any bend. Due to this, it becomes possible to create unique aesthetic designs and effectively use the material.
Now let's talk about how exactly you can make bent plywood in industrial plywood production and independently at home.
Advantages of bent plywood
What exactly is a plywood sheet? These are connected to each other thin sheets wood (veneer) using a special composition. The veneers usually used are birch, alder, pine or beech.
Due to these features, the material has the following advantages:
High level of moisture resistance. Compared with a simple tree The hydrophobicity of plywood is approximately half as high. This makes it possible to use moisture-resistant plywood in rooms with high levels of moisture and when decorating exterior building facades.
There is no warping, and the material is least susceptible to rotting.
Beautiful appearance with wood texture.
Very easy to use by yourself. With such pliable material, work becomes easy.
Resistant to ultraviolet rays, so the material does not fade in the sun.
Low cost. Much better for the price natural wood, and also has the best technical indicators.
Easy to care for. Possible use detergents for cleaning plywood surfaces.
Environmental friendliness. All materials used to make plywood are safe for human health. This makes it possible to place a product made from this material even in a child’s room.
Abrasion resistance. With constant contact with various furniture, hands or feet, it does not wear out.
Long service life. Due to all the above qualities, it has for a long time operation.
You can create smooth shapes and curves. This quality is great for creating unique and interesting designs, which we will talk about next.
Methods for bending plywood
You can bend plywood using two methods, which we will talk about now. Here it is worth giving a little advice: when using each of the methods, you should not position the top veneer in such a way that the fibers are across the bend, as this may cause a kink.
Bending of layers during gluing
This technique is usually used in production conditions and its meaning is as follows: The use of molds for curved veneer, which are preheated using steam or electric current. Next, plywood sheets glued and bent into the required shape are placed there, the humidity level of which reaches no more than twenty percent. They are placed in them until the glue dries to such an extent that it can perfectly hold the material of the new shape.
It is impossible to find the necessary equipment at home, but you can do it completely differently:
Glue several thin plywood sheets using wood glue.
Bend it with your own hands to the required position.
Secure around the edges with epoxy mortar.
Wait until completely dry.
The method is quite good, but do not forget that thin veneer should be used for it. If you have a ready-made sheet of plywood of large thickness at your disposal, then you should use another option.
Bending plywood after gluing it
It is difficult to simply bend a thick sheet. He must go first special treatment to become softer and more pliable. Only then can the sheet be bent. But first it should be placed in prepared curved veneer.
The following types of processing can be applied:
In factories, special industrial steam installations are used for such cases.
As for home conditions, you can use steam from a kettle for small parts or a household steam generator.
You can also steam it with a kettle.
If the plywood is large in size, then it should be placed in hot water in order to give the sheet greater elasticity. In this case, it is important to prevent the sheet from delaminating.
Here it is better to use three methods: Leave the plywood in water for half an hour, and then move it into a hard piece and leave it in that position for a week. Wet the workpiece generously with water, bend it a little and iron it with an iron. Then wet it again, bend it and remove all the water. And do this until the required form is achieved. You can also heat it to the required state in an oven, but when using this method, cracks may appear on the material.
After processing is completed, the plywood can be bent using the following methods:
Place it in the frame template. This should be done very carefully and reliably, but, first of all, the frame should be made, which will require spending a little more time and effort. In order to secure the product, it is better to use spacers and a belt system.
Use steel strip. You should tie it to a sheet of plywood and bend it into the required shape. At the same time, the metal will perfectly hold its shape and will not allow it to be lost. Next, you just need to leave the finished structure until it hardens completely.
Using a cut. This will be especially useful when using a thick product. Several cuts should be made at the site of the intended bend, which will make it possible to make the bend more easily. Then the workpiece is installed in the required position, and the resulting cracks are clogged with adhesive.
Why are these bending methods used?
Using the above methods, you can give smoothness to the shapes. They will maintain their position even after the material dries. Thus, making arches for doors and rounded wall shapes became very easy. But especially widely bent plywood used in the production of furniture.
This makes it possible:
Do minimum quantity angles that can cause injury. This is especially true for those rooms where children are constantly present. Because their restlessness very often leads to contact with corners.
Make the interior more aesthetically pleasing and meaningful. Because it is more interesting for the eyes to look at smooth lines of transitions, rather than their sharpness. This design move helps to calm down and improve the overall mood.
Making the finished structure more monolithic and eliminating the heavy load of fixing parts. This allows you to greatly enhance the strength and reliability of the finished structure.
Plywood sheets are truly an excellent material, suitable for both finishing and making furniture. Its comparative cheapness and improved technical properties made it a worthy rival to simple wood. What is especially noteworthy is that plywood has an excellent ability to bend into a variety of shapes, which wood cannot boast of. Thanks to this, the interior is filled with special aesthetics.
Most people, when they hear the word “chair,” imagine a product made of natural wood – large, massive, strong. And this is not surprising: this furniture is distinguished by durability, reliability, and everything that is valuable to the consumer. But times are changing, many buyers are coming to the conclusion that using natural raw materials to make furniture is impractical.
Natural material is expensive, a lot of waste is left during production, and the final product has quite a noticeable weight. Plywood chairs do not have such disadvantages, which is why they are in great demand.
Advantages
Special plywood is used to produce chairs. Buyers can be sure that this furniture will serve for a long time, will be durable and resistant to negative influence various factors environment. Plywood chairs (whether it is a regular seat, a transformer or a rocking chair) have positive aspects. They:
- regardless of the low weight of the source material, they have high strength, reliability and stability;
- are produced in the most different versions: from an ordinary-looking piece of furniture to a unique designer creation with curves and carved lines, a curved back and seat;
- differ in shape and size, allowing the buyer to find the most convenient option taking into account the characteristics of the room area;
- have a low cost, which significantly increases the number of buyers;
- imply restoration and repair if, during use, the product has lost its attractive appearance;
- easy to use and maintain and can be coated with varnish or stain;
- mobile: they can be moved, transferred from room to room, transported to other installation objects, and put away in a corner when not needed.
When choosing plywood chairs, it is important not to fall for the trick of a dishonest seller.
For the production of chairs, plywood of the first or second grade is used. It is predominantly bent-laminated, meets existing GOSTs and SanPINs, does not harm human health, is environmentally friendly and is approved for use in the furniture industry.
Styles
High-quality furniture plywood guarantees different appearance interior items. In this case, it is not so important what type of material it was made from. stylish product(bent, carved, layered). With skillful work with any type of material you can get beautiful designs, fit perfectly into the most different styles interior Plywood chairs are relevant in interior styles classical and modern trends.
For example, country and eco approve of everything natural: floor and wall covering, textiles, interior items. Plywood chairs of traditional shapes and colors will fit perfectly into the decor of this style. They can fit into the classics, even if the style prefers natural raw materials with imitation wood.
If the highest grade veneered plywood was used to create the chairs, decorated with various decorative details, plywood chairs have the right to decorate the interior of the directions vintage and baroque.
To successfully fit products into other interior compositions, you need to play with color through painting, varnishing, and pasting with a special film. When purchasing, it is important to choose products that are designed in the desired colors, have the appropriate shape, decoration and texture. For any design specialist, working with plywood furniture will not be difficult. Such products can harmoniously fit into any style, having a sense of taste and a special vision of style.
How to choose?
The opinion that a simple chair does not play a special role in the interior and is not an important component of the furniture composition is erroneous. This furniture is one of the key elements of the interior furnishings. More often, chairs are sold complete with a table, which without them looks lonely. These interior items are related to each other: when looking for new chairs, you need to choose models that fit the existing table.
For different functional zones are produced different chairs. For example, for a kitchen, the key selection criteria are durability and ease of maintenance. If you have a bar counter, you will need bar accessories. Outwardly, they should resemble stools with elongated legs. Most often, such chairs are made without backs, although sometimes there are models with back support.
Despite the opinions of skeptics who believe that plywood is not suitable for backs, any furniture maker will confirm that From this material you can do anything that is subject to the designer’s imagination.
Regardless of what is most often installed in the living room upholstered furniture, these accessories are not uncommon. They are extremely necessary when guests gather in the house: this way the rest is comfortable for everyone and there is no need to huddle on the floor or sofa if there is not enough space. However, the purchase must take into account the combination of products with general view rooms. It is necessary that all furniture and parts internal filling looked harmonious with the overall decor of the living room.
Special attention It is worth paying attention to the choice of models for children. A highchair for a child should be beautiful, useful, convenient and harmless. It's no secret that children spend a lot of time sitting at home or on the computer.
A children's chair should be special, with an orthopedic back and proper distribution of the load on the spine.
Modern chairs for children's rooms are distinguished by positive and original colors, so every parent can please their beloved child with a chair depicting their favorite cartoon character or fairy-tale character.
