How to Make a Wood Tube Out of Veneer

Use spring clamps and glue to create a veneer tube.

Wood can be bent into a circle if it is thin enough. This is routine for certain crafts, fine furniture or building components such as hardwood stair landings. There is even a product known as "bender board" that is made specifically to bend. When wood is bent into a circle, and bonded with glue, it will stay that way permanently. You can experiment with small versions of veneer bending by making a cylinder or tube from a piece of oak veneer.

Things You'll Need

• Oak veneer, 1/16-by-8-by-8 inches
• Glue
• Sticks, 3/4-by-3/4-by-8 inches
• Spring clamps

Instructions

1. Run a bead of glue along one edge of the veneer 3/4 inch from the edge. Stand the veneer on its side.

2. Stand one of the sticks along one edge of the veneer on the opposite side of the glue. It should be directly behind the glue.

3. Grab the veneer from both sides and begin compressing the ends of it inward, rolling it together with both hands until the ends of the veneer overlap each other by 1 inch. The dry end should overlap the glue end.

4. Hold the veneer together with one hand. Reach down with the other hand. Pick up the other stick and stand it opposite the other stick, sandwiching the overlapped, glued ends together between them.

5. Insert the jaws of a spring clamp down into the tube as far as they will go and clamp the two sticks together smashing the glued ends of the veneer together between them. Place the tube horizontally. Reach into the tube from the other end and place the clamp on the sticks from that end. Let the glue dry for 1 hour. Remove the clamps. You should have a veneer tube approximately 2 inches in diameter and 8 inches long.

Tips & Warnings

• Different species of wood will bend at different rates. Some softer species will bend tighter without breaking. The measurements are for examples. Experiment with veneer bending before adding glue to see how easy it will bend.

• Recognize spring clamps by their bright orange jaws and chrome handles. There are different sizes. Select a size that fits into the tube.

• If you hear any cracking noise coming from the veneer when bending, do not compress it any more. Make the tube larger in diameter, or use a different species.