Australian Wood Review – June 2017

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Make the veneered plywood component longer than

required so you can screw the template to it. Alternatively,

work out where carcase elements will cover the screw holes

and hold the workpiece to the template that way. Make

sure to transfer the alignment marks from the template to

the workpiece before the next step.

Using a template following jig for the bandsaw, cut the

curve on the bandsaw (photo 8) and then go to the router

table. Set the router up with a pattern following bit to bring

the edge true to the template (photo 9). Use a similar

procedure with the solid wood edge component (photo

10 ) with additional levelling blocks under the template to

make up for the narrowness of the wood component.

Now for the test fit and glue up (photo 1 1 ). Provided you

have taken note of the alignment (photo 1 2 )and haven’t

reversed one of the pieces, the two curves should go

together exactly as they did in this test fit up (photo 1 3 ).

The importance of the template lines now becomes very

obvious. It is very difficult to construct a curve that is

completely symmetrical around the centre line so if you

get one of the final components upside down the fit will be

poor. In addition, if the curve is not part of a circle, there

will be a sweet spot where the fit will be exact. But if you

move the alignment by only a few millimetres, the fit will

be poor.

This template method will also work for sinuous curves

which would be a great feature in say a tabletop. The

method would also be ideal for making matching curves

for a two part laminating form. In that case the laminates

would be clamped to the first template component and

then the second template component would be brought

in against the outer laminate. This method would be

especially useful when making laminating forms for

tapered laminations where it is often difficult to get the

two parts of the clamping form to match up exactly.

Next issue we will look at some methods for making curved

drawer fronts and curved aprons.

Process photos: Donovan Knowles

1. Fine Woodworking Magazine 2005 #179, 68–71


2. See Drawing and Fairing Curves, Damion Fauser, AWR #88, p.58.

28 Australian Wood Review

TECHNIQUE

11 Glued up cabinet base.

12 Close up of the join between the veneered ply and solid wood

components and showing one of the alignment marks.

13 Test fitting the cabinet parts. Note the excellent fit between

the veneered ply and the solid wood edge in the cabinet base.

Peter Young is a studio furniture designer and maker who

lives in Brisbane. In issue 93 he wrote about the ‘myth’ of

bandsaw drift. Email Peter at [email protected]

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