A Small Shop
SawBendTwist started as an idea to try to build something unique out of wood in a very small work space. There was no room for a table saw, no room for a router station, no real room for anything. I’ve been a lifelong woodworker and have always been pretty creative, but never enjoyed nitpicky joinery and structural design. I messed around with a few ideas until I stumbled upon a method to bend wooden laminations without steam and without forms or vacuum bags. I’d always been drawn to the look of laminated wood and in particular, the natural finish of contrasting layers of different woods. I started experimenting with hardwood strips that I ripped outside on a jobsite tablesaw. My first result was pretty unique and I realized I had never really seen anything like it before.
A New Process
Following that initial success, I built a custom strongback; basically a giant peg board built out of plywood with dowell pegs. With some pretty simple tools, some glue and packing wrap to clamp the strips, I built my first full size piece by bending and twisting my laminations around the dowell pegs. That initial piece is still hanging in my living room. Since then, I have doubled my work space to a whopping 200 sqft., built a much larger form and invested in some new equipment to increase efficiency. However, the best addition to the shop was my awesome wife who stepped up to handle the sanding and finishing. Despite still being crammed into a small space, we can now design and build very large and complex bentwood forms and sculptures. We look forward to working with new and old clients to push the limits of wood lamination and build custom, modern designs tailored specifically to their space.