The Technique of FURNITURE MAKING

SAW KERFING

This traditional method is not now used to any great extent in production furniture-making, but it still has an important role in smaller workshops, as it is often a more economic method in one-off work than laminating. In practice a series of saw cuts are run down to within about 1/8 in (3 mm) of the outer face (319:1) according to the wood species, and the closer the cuts are the easier the wood will bend, with hard oak requiring a spacing of 1/4 in (6 mm) or less. There is a tendency for the bend to form a series of small flats at (A) not discernible in the white but magnified under a gloss polish, therefore highly finished surfaces should not be bent by this method. It is, however, useful for bending sheets of stiff plywood or laminboard and 319:2, 3 show its application to lengths of very hard English maple moulding (A) which warped badly after they had been worked. Saw cuts were run in 319:2 down to the dotted line (A), the moulding G-cramped/C-clamped down to a level surface and small glued wedges inserted as 319:3. Plenty of time was allowed for the glue to harden and the straightened moulding gave no further trouble. (See also Restoration, repairs and wood finishing, Part X).

LAMINATING