Hey guys,
I'm working on a tril lam ( hick, maple, osage ).
I need to bend 5, 12" long, 2.5" wide, 3/16" strips of maple to match the handle contour.
These will be stacked on each other. After gluing and shaping the tapers the whole mess will be sandwiched between the core and back lams.
I'd like to minimize the spring back I'll get if I just glued them to the curve.
..who knows.maybe there wouldn't be much spring back with that number of glue lines.
I'm also thinking that when I shape the taper into it some of the stress will be relived and straighten a tad as well.
so....I'm thinking about bending them prior to gluing.
The maple is pretty clean wood with a very slight bit of curl in some pieces.
Would it be best to use dry heat for these or to steam them before clamping them into shape?
Thank you