One great thing about plywood and veneer is bendability. Veneers are easy to bend, relative to steam bending solid wood, and the finished piece can be very strong. Another great thing about plywood? Manufacturers are beginning to make pre-fab shapes for builders, eliminating the bending step of a project altogether. One such shape is the hollow wood tube. Made
en masse in a plywood factory, pre-fab wood tubes are perfectly round, have strong seams, and have clean veneered surfaces.
Since I make wine racks, and I'm looking for a good design for a counter-top wine rack, I took a special interest when I became aware of the existence of wooden tubes.
One maker is
R.J. Woodworking. Another is
Lenderink. Both suppliers make tubes from very narrow to very wide, so you can make anything from a soda straw to a Greek column.
Obviously, working with veneered wooden tubes will present challenges. One challenge in particular jumps out at me: drilling through a tube at an angle, or off-center. Once my samples arrive, I will begin exploring milling techniques, and I will report my findings here on the blog.
