Bent wood photo display stand. Trendy bendy!
Keeping it Simple
My favorite kinds of projects are simple ones. Not necessarily easy-to-make projects, but ones that embrace the aesthetic of simplicity. This project intentionally defies complexity: it’s a bent board with a slot in the edge.
I have made a few bent-lamination projects before. My most successful attempt was a quilt hanger last year. This time I wanted to simplify the process more by eliminating the need to plane any wood and just ripping thin strips of wood on my table saw. It doesn’t really matter how thick they are, mine varied as I moved the fence over for each cut. The thinner you slice the boards, they easier they will bend, but it may require laminating more pieces together to build up the completed thickness of the piece.
For my two photo stands, I used five strips of wood each. I cut the middle strip “shorter” than the others to create the slot into which photos would sit. This is a great way to use some of that scrap wood you’ve been saving. If you are ambitious, I have a sneaking suspicion that these would sell fast at craft shows or maybe even Etsy. Plus it would have a pretty decent profit margin.
What to Call it
As I mentioned in the video, I couldn’t figure out what I would call this project so I enlisted help from my followers over on Keek. Nearly 100 people offered ideas. One of my favorites was from cbeer69 who suggested merely calling it “Dave”. I love the simplicity of that! Unfortunately, very few people are likely to find my video on YouTube by searching for Dave.
July 5, 2013 @ 1:57 pm
To improve your ‘profit margin’, couldn’t it also be worth trying to cut the slices on the bandsaw rather than the table saw? If you’re cutting a 1mm slice on a saw with a 3mm kerf, you’re losing three times as much wood as you keep! If you cut it on a bandsaw you could probably get at least two slices for every one you get out of the table saw, if not more.
I’ve had a lot of luck using a wide blade, adjusting my bandsaw to have minimal ‘drift’ and/or adjusting the fence to match, and then just moving the fence (with a sacrificial panel over the side, just in case) about a millimetre from the (leftmost set of the) bandsaw blade and just pushing wood through against the fence the same as I would on the table saw.
July 6, 2013 @ 6:57 am
Definitely would be better. I just don’t have very good luck resawing on my bandsaw. I end up with really jagged and uneven faces that need to be planed down.
July 6, 2013 @ 9:09 am
These kind of custom framing is beneficial as you can adjust pics according to your need. I have recently done mine custom picture framing Houston Texas and i really like the designs they given to us.
July 5, 2013 @ 2:34 pm
Where’s the slot for the SD card?
July 5, 2013 @ 3:01 pm
very beautiful!! whaoo!!every friday a good project
July 5, 2013 @ 10:41 pm
Very suave, must have a go at this.
Thanks Steve.
July 7, 2013 @ 5:52 am
Photo Serpent
July 7, 2013 @ 6:00 am
Soon to follow after the “Inspiration Project” comes the sequel, the “Perspiration Project.”
That is when Steve uses a sweaty T-Shirt to paint with.
July 26, 2013 @ 2:08 am
as usual great videos!!!!