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Step 5Form Legs
Prepare for laminating the legs. Get your former and clamps etc. ready. I used a vacuum bag for this process. It wasn't my first choice as you can see from the picture of my former which has a ton of holes in it where the clamps were supposed to go. Being a college environment though I couldn't find enough clamps as the majority were in use..... I actually could only find the amount that is in that picture. 6mm MDF will bend to this radius pretty easily so you shouldn't be too worried about that end of things.
You will need a helper for this, it is next to impossible to do it correctly alone. I had to do 2 trial runs before I was satisfied that I had the process down.
The process is essentially the same if you vacuum bag or just use clamps. It will take about 45mins to bend one leg and then you will need to wait 24 hours for the glue to set. We are using Cascamite glue because the working time is significantly longer than PVA and because it doesn't creep. Creep is the way in which the parts you glued together can move slightly over time. This is a big no no for this project because of the spray finish and because we want a seamless look.
PVA working time is only about 20 minutes which is not long enough for us here. Cascamite is over an hour though.
Have your clamps and vacuum bag ready. Get some lengths of 2 stock to use as bars across the bag to pull it to the former so that the clamp heads don't damage the leg laminates and the pressure is evenly distributed. About the width of your former is the right length.
Mix up the glue as per the manufacturer's instructions. If you think you have enough glue, mix a little more incase because you wont have the time to go back to do this when you are in the process of laminating. Then if you have any leftover you can use it for cool casting projects!! Begin by laying your first laminate on the floor and covering it evenly with a layer of glue. Use a brush or roller to make sure it is even. Place the next laminate on top, line it up correctly (this can be fiddly and messy). Roll out a layer of glue. Repeat until you have all 5 laminates sandwiched together. Fast work is much better than slow here. Line up the laminates as best you can but don't be overly particular because they will be trimmed later anyway.
The process divides now depending on whether you are clamping or vacuum bagging. I will describe both.
If you are vacuum bagging you should now with your helper slide the glued up laminates into the bag and line it up as best you can so that the sides of the laminates are parallel to the sides of the former. Seal the bag, connect the vacuum pump and turn it on. If its anything like the one I used it could be a half hour pulling the air out of the bag. Put a bar across the middle and clamp it temporarily. I put the former in the bag too, but another method would be to just have the laminates in the bag and to lay the lot on top of the former. I don't remember the reason behind the way we did it. It may have been because the vacuum bag was too big. Anyway, next you wait and ensure that the bag doesn't get pulled in under the laminates. Pull it out quick if it does, you may have to stop the vacuum pump to do this. Even with all that vacuum pressure our pump couldn't pull the laminates to the former so we had to use clamps and bars to get the ends down. A super important point I forgot to mention is to have some sort of fabric in the bag at the hose connection and on top of your pieces to assist airflow. 24 hours later you can turn off the vacuum open the bag and pull out your first leg blank. Repeat the procedure to get your second.
If you are clamping then things are a bit simpler. Just put your laminate sandwich on the former, place bars across it and clamp. Starting in the middle is probably the best option. Trial run this and drill out holes in the former for the clamps if needs be. I think I used a 50mm hole saw to do this.
You will need a helper for this, it is next to impossible to do it correctly alone. I had to do 2 trial runs before I was satisfied that I had the process down.
The process is essentially the same if you vacuum bag or just use clamps. It will take about 45mins to bend one leg and then you will need to wait 24 hours for the glue to set. We are using Cascamite glue because the working time is significantly longer than PVA and because it doesn't creep. Creep is the way in which the parts you glued together can move slightly over time. This is a big no no for this project because of the spray finish and because we want a seamless look.
PVA working time is only about 20 minutes which is not long enough for us here. Cascamite is over an hour though.
Have your clamps and vacuum bag ready. Get some lengths of 2 stock to use as bars across the bag to pull it to the former so that the clamp heads don't damage the leg laminates and the pressure is evenly distributed. About the width of your former is the right length.
Mix up the glue as per the manufacturer's instructions. If you think you have enough glue, mix a little more incase because you wont have the time to go back to do this when you are in the process of laminating. Then if you have any leftover you can use it for cool casting projects!! Begin by laying your first laminate on the floor and covering it evenly with a layer of glue. Use a brush or roller to make sure it is even. Place the next laminate on top, line it up correctly (this can be fiddly and messy). Roll out a layer of glue. Repeat until you have all 5 laminates sandwiched together. Fast work is much better than slow here. Line up the laminates as best you can but don't be overly particular because they will be trimmed later anyway.
The process divides now depending on whether you are clamping or vacuum bagging. I will describe both.
If you are vacuum bagging you should now with your helper slide the glued up laminates into the bag and line it up as best you can so that the sides of the laminates are parallel to the sides of the former. Seal the bag, connect the vacuum pump and turn it on. If its anything like the one I used it could be a half hour pulling the air out of the bag. Put a bar across the middle and clamp it temporarily. I put the former in the bag too, but another method would be to just have the laminates in the bag and to lay the lot on top of the former. I don't remember the reason behind the way we did it. It may have been because the vacuum bag was too big. Anyway, next you wait and ensure that the bag doesn't get pulled in under the laminates. Pull it out quick if it does, you may have to stop the vacuum pump to do this. Even with all that vacuum pressure our pump couldn't pull the laminates to the former so we had to use clamps and bars to get the ends down. A super important point I forgot to mention is to have some sort of fabric in the bag at the hose connection and on top of your pieces to assist airflow. 24 hours later you can turn off the vacuum open the bag and pull out your first leg blank. Repeat the procedure to get your second.
If you are clamping then things are a bit simpler. Just put your laminate sandwich on the former, place bars across it and clamp. Starting in the middle is probably the best option. Trial run this and drill out holes in the former for the clamps if needs be. I think I used a 50mm hole saw to do this.
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