Flare port design

[streetbeater07 0]

hey guys, anyone know how deep the slits should be cut on a mdf flare port to get it to bend? And what should I use to strenghten it back up afterwards? thanks

[streetbeater07 0]

bump......

seen a lot of these designs, know someone knows. or is it a secret?

[weasle421 1]

trial and error as different formulas of mdf are gonna act different

and most just use good wood glue to fill and strengthen

[streetbeater07 0]

trial and error as different formulas of mdf are gonna act different

and most just use good wood glue to fill and strengthen

hey thanks man you're very helpful.

[streetbeater07 0]

ok so how do you determine when to start the kerfs so that it falls in line where a normal square port would be? I know that ill have to start bending a couple inches before so that it flows into the port, just don't know how to figure out exactly how many inches though....

[mlstrass 1]

What you're referring to is called kerfing. I've done a fewports like that and did the cuts 1/2" apart and 5/8" deep, so leaving about 1/8" of wood. And MDF is the worst stuff to bend, so go easy and practice on some scrap first to get the hang of it and see how tightly you can bend it...

[KU40 173]

ok so how do you determine when to start the kerfs so that it falls in line where a normal square port would be? I know that ill have to start bending a couple inches before so that it flows into the port, just don't know how to figure out exactly how many inches though....

I think it would be pretty hard to get this right. I'd say the best thing to do would be to leave some extra room on either end of the board, put the kerf in, then cut off the ends to where they need to be so that the ports lines up.

[helotaxi 46]

If you're bending on a circular profile all you have to do is figure the arc length. This is going to be 1/4 of the circumfrence of a circle with the same radius as your bend for a 90 deg bend.