IT.... COULD.... WORK!

I hope you read that in Gene Wilder’s voice from Young Frankenstein, it’s a favorite refrain in my shop. I put the red oak I recently purchased to the test with the Helix bend and it passed with flying colors. As I examined the bend, the width of the growth rings was more obvious than ever and seemed to confirm my selection. Real science dictates that I am supposed to have control group of slow growth red oak to compare, but I’ve seen enough of that stuff break of in my hand to not want to take the time.

I was watching a movie a while back and saw an arm on a chair with nearly the identical form. It was a bent lamination, which I could tell by the way the bend behaved. It just folded like a napkin. So why bother making with with green wood? Isn’t it just adding more risk and effort? I’m glad you asked, so did I.