# Laminate bending tips for strip creation



## bobbotron (Jan 7, 2010)

Hi there,

I'm a fan of laminate bending - a while I made a set of wooden fenders for a bicycle from old slats from a wooden blind, it turned out pretty well. I'd like to do more of this, but I'd like to make my own strips of wood. Do you need to use a "glue line" table saw blade to get smooth enough rips when making the laminate strips? Any other tips on making good strips for laminate bending?


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## Ralph Barker (Dec 15, 2008)

Assuming the strips are wide enough, you can also use a thickness planer to get them smooth and of consistent thickness. Hand planing is another option, often with depth guides clamped to the sides of the hand plane.


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Laminae certainly need to have consistent thickness in their length which can be difficult to achieve with hand tools. When I've done laminations I've tended to run the strips through a thickness planer (discarding the front/rear 4 to 6 inches to avoid snipe). In order to mak a thicknesser perform with 2 or 3 mm thick stock you need to put a false bed of something like 18mm (3/4in) thick melamine (MFC) onto the machine before starting and avoid aything with knots or wayward grain as those bits can explode when the cutter head gets to them

Regards

Phil


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