Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Creating Curved Timbers

I am looking for information on creating curved timbers. Specifically sawing, laminating, and forming to a jig. Any pictures or links would be helpful? Thank you.

Grain-matched laminated curved timbers -- no info/experience???

glu-lam timbers.
Thickness of lamellae

Diameter (inches)/160 for Softwoods

Diameter (inches)/200 for Hardwoods

i.e. 20' (240")diameter/160=1.5" lamellae
i.e. 6' (72") diameter/160=.45
.45(16ths)=7.2 16ths thickness

what are you going to used curved "timbers" for?

these ratios go for any curved lam.

in addition, you always want an odd number of lamellae so your centerline does not end up on a crease.

mo,

I'm curious to know where your guidelines come from?

Are you sure it isn't radius/160 or 200 instead of diameter? I can't see bending 1.5" thick laminae into a 10' radius circle. that seems a little tight for that thickness.

after some digging, I've found that the AITC manufacturing standards give the maximum allowable thickness for the laminae as radius divided by 100 for hardwoods and southern yellow pine and radius over 125 for other softwoods. After some experimenting, I think you would need a very serious set up to move stuff that thick -- it is the maximum allowable.