I've had the idea in my head for better than a year but never got around to testing it out until today. A few weeks ago when I visited Coastal Enterprises' operation in California I asked Chuck Miller if it was possible. He affirmed my notion to heat Precision Board up and then bend it to conform to a curve shape. His advice was to let the heat soak in real good because the Precision Board is a good insulator and doesn't transfer it well.
Today when I went into the house for lunch I popped a good size scrap into the oven and turned the heat to 200 degrees. Fifteen minutes later I threw on a pair of oven mitts and pulled it out of the oven. It easily bent and then hardened quickly without memory of it's original shape. As per Chuck's advice I didn't overdo it... but with a teeny bit more heat I suspect much more of a bend is possible. Keep in mind my experiment was done with 30 lb Precision Board.
With our upcoming pub project I can now easily achieve what I need. I'll do the routing first and then heat the pieces up to bend them, clamping them over a buck to harden. The curved mantle pieces I designed are now possible with a minimum of material going to waste. I have a few more ideas in my brain as well that may benefit from this new found technique!
More fun is in the works...
-dan
