Bent Plywood Monitor Stand

I had been using a slightly modified box to hold my monitor on. But as you can see, my screen is slightly too heavy for the boxes and so it needed to be updated.

So using plywood and slicing it in close cuts, I should be able to make it bend. This is called Kerf Bending

Plywood

Ruler

Pencil

Circular saw/Table Saw

Wood Glue

Clamps (but tape would work)

Sand paper (60grit or higher)

This could be seen as the most intimidating part.

I have created a spreadsheet that will do the calculations for you.

The things you will need

• The radius of the curve you wish to achieve
• The degree rotation of the curve
• The thickness of your wood
• The thickness of your cutting blade

LINK HERE FOR CURVE CALCULATIONS

The setting up stage is going to be one of the biggest parts of this job.

The maths is outlined well on this video - YouTube Link

I've created a Google sheet that you can enter your values in.

The measurements you require are:

1. Thickness of the wood
2. The radius of the desired curve
3. The number of degrees of the curve
4. 90 degrees = 1 quarter of a circle
5. 180 degrees = half of a circle
6. 360 degrees = 1 full circle
7. The thickness of the cutting blade

* Ensure all measurements are in the same unit.

The values you will get are:

1. The outer circumference
2. The number of cuts required
3. The cut spacings

For example:

My job had

• Radius = 80mm
• Wood thickness = 12mm
• Degrees = 360
• Cutting blade = 3mm

This meant I had to measure out 13 cuts on each end of my board, drawing a line every 40mm

For the cutting, you don't want to cut through the whole board. Your aiming for approximately 1 to 1.5mm remaining.

I dropped my blade down so it had 11mm of clearance. Leaving 1mm of uncut wood.

I cut along and I lined up my marks with the edge of the sled. This meant it didn't cut on the line but as long as I was consistent and slid my board along 40mm every cut (each line marked on the edge) then the gap will be right

Now is the time when you should lightly sand off the pencil markings on the inside roll of the wood, otherwise it will be very difficult to remove later

I haven't done much experimenting with bending of wood. I lightly wet the wood but it was so flexible that it may have been fine without it.

I read somewhere that some people use ammonia and others steam it but this worked with a bit of water on the uncut side.

Once I had tested for the bends, I glued (with PVA wood glue) down each slice and then rolled and clamped the prices in place. Wipe off as much excess as you can because cleaning in the 'tube' is difficult later

I used the leverage of the clamp to 'roll' the price while also squeezing.

Tape may also be another workable option as it didn't require much force.

There isn't any way around it.

Sanding, only a light sand is required to remove any excess glue and pencil makes.

I didn't sand off the marks before gluing up and that made this step more painful.

It wasn't perfect but took about an hour and suits my needs perfectly