kerf kore

Another alternative to bending luaun or bendy board are Kerfcore products.
Kerfkore comes in 4x8 by ¼”, ½” and ¾” thicknesses. It is composed of particle boar, MDF and plywood. The face paper is a black impregnated paper, and is also available with a brown backer paper. Good for fast and accurate cuts, works well when repeatability is needed, and allows laminates to be mounted flat and then curved.

Ultra-lite is similar except that it has a foam core. It is not available in the ¼” thickness either.

Timberflex comes in a 4x8 or 8x4 (depending on bending orientation and in ½” 5/8” and ¾” thicknesses. It must be formed and then laminated, however, its exterior surface is stainable or paint ready.

Flexboard is the economical alternative. It only does a 10” radius though, so it can’t be bent as tightly as the other choices. It has a hardboard face, and weighs about 2 pounds per square foot.

These also have a new product called foamkore. This is essentially two hard panels (hardboard, luaun, poplar or birch ply, laminated on either side of a piece of foam. You may note that I described this construction in an earlier post, and have been using the technique for a while. Though if labor dollars where an issue it could be worthwhile to purchase the material pre-laminated.

Econokore is a 2 ply material – mdf / poplar ply laminate that is available in 3/8” ¼” and ¾” thicknesses.

You can get more information on these products at:
http://www.kerfkore.com/index.html