This is our latest Puzzle Screen design. It is made of molded Bamboo and Luan veneers and finished with a water based lacquer. The first step in doing a molded ply design is making a mold, but since I didn't take any pictures of the mold making process, I'll have to show making a mold in another post.
Once the veneers have cut to size, registration holes drilled, and corners rounded, they are ready to begin applying the glue.
Detail showing my registration system for holding the veneers and cover sheet (caul) in the correct position during the molding process.
We use a vacuum bag system for doing most of our bent ply designs. The veneers and mold are placed inside an industrial weight polyurethane bag and vacuum pressure presses the veneers over the mold.
After the pieces come out of the vacuum bag, they are prepared for the trimming process.
Trimming the rough glued edge off of the pieces on the table saw.
Rounding the corners with a router and template.
Cutting the slots with a dado stack on the table saw.
The pieces have all been trimmed, slots cut, sanded, and are ready to apply the finish.
Detail of finished screen.
