Bill Thomas

Woodworking Essentials: Bending & Shaping

Bill Thomas

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  • In-depth Instruction; over 172 mins
  • On-demand video access anytime
  • Bonus downloadable PDF resources
  • Access to class Q&A
Meet your instructor, Bill Thomas, and preview the three techniques you'll learn for bending and shaping wood: milling, laminating and steam bending. Then, learn how to transfer a sketch onto your wood using graph paper, a grid and French curves; great for creating legs with decorative curves and more!
Start creating curved wood as Bill demonstrates milling the stem of a boat to illustrate his technique. Learn how to transfer a paper pattern onto a thin board to make a wood pattern, ensuring the curve is fair. Then, discover why you need to cut the stem into two pieces and glue them together for added strength.
Make beautiful table legs with elegant curves as Bill takes you through the special considerations you'll need to make when working with joinery. Pick up professional marking tips for notating mortises, outside edges and aprons, then see how to make two curved cuts on a single leg.
See how easily laminated wood bends and discover the adhesive you should use so that it doesn't bend back! Bill walks you through creating a custom jig around which to bend your pieces, demonstrating how to glue up your strips and clamp them onto the jig. You'll even learn how to design your jig to compensate for spring back.
Delve deeper into laminating curves as you learn how to build a shower rod that bends 90 degrees. Learn how to transfer your design onto a piece of scrap wood and then build a jig right on top of the pattern. Bill offers lots of tips for refining and adjusting the jig so that your wood doesn't break. Then, bend your stock around the jig and let it set for an amazing, circular creation!
Learn how to steam wood into shape, a great technique for curved pieces you want made out of a single board. Then, see how to build your own steam box of any size as Bill discusses the types of woods to use when steaming and what types to avoid.
Watch in amazement as Bill bends a 3/4" white oak board into an elegant chair arm. You'll learn how to build a jig on which to form your bent wood and pick up professional tips for steaming and handling hot wood. Then, see how to create traditional shaker boxes as Bill wraps a thin piece of steamed wood completely around a form, nailing it in place with brass tacks.
 
 
7 Lessons
2  hrs 52  mins

Learn to bend and shape wood as professional woodworker Bill Thomas guides you through a variety of methods. Start with how to mill and cut wood to shape, and get tips for creating joinery along the way. Then, discover how to bend wood with laminating techniques, and bring sophisticated curved creations off your form. Bill also will guide you step by step through creating a steam box of any size, and steam-bending curved pieces skillfully – even traditional shaker boxes! Plus, for each technique, Bill will teach you to create and use full-size patterns and custom jigs to achieve excellent results every time.

Bill Thomas

Bill Thomas is a professional woodworker with more than 35 years of experience designing and building custom projects for a wide range of clients. For nearly two decades, Bill has been teaching in his shop, and at woodworking and boat building schools. Bill also uses writing and photography to share his knowledge, ideas and designs in various magazines and websites.

Bill Thomas

Bonus materials available after purchase

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