how to make a curved beam without glulam


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Old 10-21-18, 09:15 PM
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how to make a curved beam without glulam

Based in a remote island i won't be able to buy glulam but would love a curved roof.

Any ideas on how to make one. It has to be strong due to monsoons.

Any help appreciated, Thanks
 
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Old 10-22-18, 04:13 AM
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I don't have an answer but I do know the type of wood will make a difference as to how much of a bend can be made and how long it takes to set in. If you don't want to make it in several pieces then you need to rig up a fixture and a means of slowly and incrementally apply high pressure to the bend you need. Moisture needs to be applied also. In some cases steam will help. I remember in high school we did this but I don't remember how or what type of wood was used.
 
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Old 10-22-18, 04:22 AM
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While the flat side of a 2x can be bent I doubt you can bend the long edge - and that's what you need for strength. I think you'd need to cut multiple arcs out of larger wood and put them together to get the desired arc/length. Cutting another set but with the joints in different places and then gluing/nailing them both together would make it stable.
 
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Old 10-22-18, 04:51 AM
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Hi Alastair and welcome to the forum,
What do you have available for materials, 2x? and plywood?
Certainly possible to assemble some curved beams as shown and although they will be strong they would lack the engineering to tell you how strong.
Have you talked to any engineers?
Does your design need to meet any building requirements.

Bud
 
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Old 10-22-18, 04:54 AM
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I think you will need to make a gluelam on site. Create a form in the shape you want. Then glue and clamp your wood to make a beam.
 
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Old 10-22-18, 05:58 AM
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Saw some videos of steam bending - looks fun .. will maybe see if i can do it

Glulam - i have been told that it pretty much has to be done by professionals ..
 
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Old 10-22-18, 06:02 AM
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I haven't talked to any engineers yet - any size wood is available in these woods that i haven't heard of ;
Black Chuglam, Thingam, Pyinma, Koko, Mohwa, Gurjan, Badam, White Chuglam, Lachini, Red Bomwe, Posa

the design needs to be strong to meet with monsoon winds ..

thanks for your replies
 
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Old 10-22-18, 06:14 AM
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LOL, that list certainly tells me I'm out of the advice group, never heard of them. And that points to the need for local guidance. They would not only know the local materials but the local load requirements. Even a good architect could probably specify what you need.

Enjoy
Bud
 
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Old 10-22-18, 06:45 AM
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Watch some videos on how to build curved stair railings. This will give you the basics for laminating a curved beam using thin boards bent and glued together,

Overall length of beams needed might be helpful for us to visualize the scope of the project.
 
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Old 10-22-18, 06:53 AM
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will do, thanks - would need to be 6.5 meter lengths to make the beams needed for the 5 meter wide house design.
 
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Old 10-22-18, 08:01 AM
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Also read up on boat building where gluing multiple pieces of wood together into complex shapes is common. 10+ years ago I made some large curved beams and it was amazingly simple and didn't require any specialized tooling. The biggest thing is the form to set the shape you want and a method for clamping the wood in place until the glue dries.
 
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Old 10-22-18, 09:15 AM
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ok , basically i need to start practicing these methods.. where there is a will there is a way ..

thanks - will post in future to show how i get on.
 
 

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