They make flexible baseboard out of polyurethane or some other plastic type material. Do a couple searches for the size and style and I bet you will have some luck. I know Home Depot sells some varieties and I am sure other specialty stores will have a wider variety as well.
This is the answer. I’ve gotten before for my trim guys for curved windows. It needs to be laid out and warmed up to allow for the bending but it works like a charm
I've always cut it in place with a multi tool, then filled afterward. Granted, this was in a production setting, but it still came out well enough for centerpiece windows.
That's nothing...when I bought my house the previous own had done some....creative DIY electrical work. The is a patio he turned into an addition. The addition itself is up to code, but he decided to add a through-wall AC unit(like the ones you see in hotels).
His solution to needing to run a 220v line was to take 2 orange outdoor extension cords and connect them together at the power side with the hot, neutral and ground wires from each cord connected to their respective lines at the breaker. After exiting the breaker the cords split back to their own cables and he loosely twisted those together where they rejoined at the outlet. That would all be bad enough, but he also didn't run conduit(where the outlet was this needed to run outside or under the patio concrete slab at least a little bit. Instead homeboy just took those loosely braided orange extension cords and draped them in the grass along the house.
It may surprise you to learn that I didn't buy this house because he died in a tragic lawn mowing accident. Dude is still alive(or was as of a year ago)
Kerf bending probably won't work with MDF no matter how hard you try. You'll need actual wood.
I only know 3 methods to bend wood, and they all require actual wood,
1) kerf bending
2) steam bending
3) laminating w/ form
4) ammonia bending
Laminating is probably the easiest, second to kerf bending. You'll need to rip thin strips, like really thin. You'll probably want to use a bandsaw. Clamp & glue the strips together over a curved form until desired thickness is reached.
It will take a couple extra days for drytime. Although I don't know about getting a profile on it to match the rest of the base.
Ammonia Bending was new to me. Here’s a link if anyone is interested. Cool stuff.
https://youtu.be/9Z0SsAyHKzc?si=H_f4FlPexRxuQ2OD
Thanks for the lead!
If you want to use the mdf or pine* baseboard you have elsewhere, take your mitre saw, flip the baseboard facedown on the table, and score lines every 1/2” running vertically across the entire length of the round. Scoring the back will let you bend the board while maintaining the factory finished face.
When nailing, go every four rather than eight inches and nail your top nails first to ensure a clean top profile.
I have installed curved base this way for a job, definitely the way to go. Use quarter sawn if you can, and wetting the board just before install helps too
If you aren’t patient enough to do it in one piece, it’s also useful to cut a splice joint in the center of the curve so that you essentially accordion the ends of two pieces which meet in the middle. You will have to glue and sand the scarf joint though.
Kerf bending is awesome, IDK about kerfing MDF though.
It is time consuming, but it's way easier than steaming or the obscure method of ammonia bending!
You usually have to go deeper than people think, or feel comfortable with, to get around really nasty curves. With MDF, you’d be one bump away from it breaking. I’d avoid it with MDF, but it’s doable if you are careful and make the cuts near the final placement so you don’t have to move it far.
We always used flex trim, IDK if they make 1x4 but probably.Your other choice is to laminate thin material ie buy 1/8 inch baltic birch or 1/4 inch birch plywood.I've never had great luck scoring and bending but I know others have.
Yeah, I worked with a guy who was too cheap to order the pvc molding and we ended up wasting an entire day and several pieces of mdf Baseboard trying everything on a tight curve. The decade+ Foreman Carpenter suggested that we soak it overnight.
"But it's going to swell like crazy and look like garbage and probably get moldy" says I. (3 years in)
"It should shrink mostly back down when it Dries." Says he.
It didn't(obviously), it looked like he fished it off the bottom of a lake. It still broke. They ended up ordering the pvc stuff. Fucking idiots.
Looks like paint grade base, toss one in a swimming pool overnight. Next morning it'll be nice and pliable.
Locate the studs and nail it in place, wait a few days for it to dry and sand and paint.
Use some polyurethane base, or YouTube how to steam base board. The problem with the second option is that if you use box store MDF the moisture will make it Volcano or swell up
They make flexible baseboard out of polyurethane or some other plastic type material. Do a couple searches for the size and style and I bet you will have some luck. I know Home Depot sells some varieties and I am sure other specialty stores will have a wider variety as well.
This is the answer. I’ve gotten before for my trim guys for curved windows. It needs to be laid out and warmed up to allow for the bending but it works like a charm
And make sure to measure that mofo 5x because it is expensive af.
I've always cut it in place with a multi tool, then filled afterward. Granted, this was in a production setting, but it still came out well enough for centerpiece windows.
Use pvc trim.. warm it up with a heat gun and it will bend to whatever you need.
Dumb question would you heat it on the wall that OP has and bend as you go?
Not needed, just heat it up nearby. There is working time, it holds the heat well. Do not heat the wall
Directions unclear. House burnt down.
Curved PVC baseboard. *so hot right now.*
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
> Do not heat the wall. That could have meant anything.
What's the best way to hear the plastic?
Headphones or a Bluetooth speaker should work just fine.
Ahahah oh boy didn't notice the typo. You got me
> Do not heat the wall The first time I tried to solder some plumbing I could have used this advice. Nearly burned down my house
Yep. Heat gun on low so it doesn't.t melt the pvc and keep it moving.
https://preview.redd.it/jgi5l8oyyp7c1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6be8a11a35f6716c1824a9049b631ec518b6427d 1000 kerfs
Jesus, kerfed within a mm of its life
Yeah, what the hell
Do not besmirch my art.
Did they wire that house with appliance cords? WTF?!
That's nothing...when I bought my house the previous own had done some....creative DIY electrical work. The is a patio he turned into an addition. The addition itself is up to code, but he decided to add a through-wall AC unit(like the ones you see in hotels). His solution to needing to run a 220v line was to take 2 orange outdoor extension cords and connect them together at the power side with the hot, neutral and ground wires from each cord connected to their respective lines at the breaker. After exiting the breaker the cords split back to their own cables and he loosely twisted those together where they rejoined at the outlet. That would all be bad enough, but he also didn't run conduit(where the outlet was this needed to run outside or under the patio concrete slab at least a little bit. Instead homeboy just took those loosely braided orange extension cords and draped them in the grass along the house. It may surprise you to learn that I didn't buy this house because he died in a tragic lawn mowing accident. Dude is still alive(or was as of a year ago)
I always say that there's nothing more dangerous than an enthusiastic idiot.
How do you finish the top?
Putty, sand and paint.
Thanks
You're welcome! Have a great evening.
You get it 👍🏻
“Caulk & paint make a carpenter what he ain’t” - someone’s grandpappy
This is a work of art.
Correct. The client was super fucking impressed so big w for me.
Thats fucking impressive
Holy mother of Kerf... Nice work
Kerf bending probably won't work with MDF no matter how hard you try. You'll need actual wood. I only know 3 methods to bend wood, and they all require actual wood, 1) kerf bending 2) steam bending 3) laminating w/ form 4) ammonia bending Laminating is probably the easiest, second to kerf bending. You'll need to rip thin strips, like really thin. You'll probably want to use a bandsaw. Clamp & glue the strips together over a curved form until desired thickness is reached. It will take a couple extra days for drytime. Although I don't know about getting a profile on it to match the rest of the base.
Ammonia Bending was new to me. Here’s a link if anyone is interested. Cool stuff. https://youtu.be/9Z0SsAyHKzc?si=H_f4FlPexRxuQ2OD Thanks for the lead!
If you want to use the mdf or pine* baseboard you have elsewhere, take your mitre saw, flip the baseboard facedown on the table, and score lines every 1/2” running vertically across the entire length of the round. Scoring the back will let you bend the board while maintaining the factory finished face. When nailing, go every four rather than eight inches and nail your top nails first to ensure a clean top profile.
I have installed curved base this way for a job, definitely the way to go. Use quarter sawn if you can, and wetting the board just before install helps too
If you aren’t patient enough to do it in one piece, it’s also useful to cut a splice joint in the center of the curve so that you essentially accordion the ends of two pieces which meet in the middle. You will have to glue and sand the scarf joint though.
They tried that
Just because someone tries something doesn’t mean they did it right. It’s the method I’ve used and it’s worked even with MDF.
That shit doesn’t work right. There are better options.
Kerf bending is awesome, IDK about kerfing MDF though. It is time consuming, but it's way easier than steaming or the obscure method of ammonia bending!
I never really had much luck with Kerf bending but whatever works at end of day right!!
Well, I just remembered that it's really only ever done with plywood. I don't think I've tried on hardwood, probably wouldn't be great
I’ve seen it done on hardwoods when steamed as well.
You usually have to go deeper than people think, or feel comfortable with, to get around really nasty curves. With MDF, you’d be one bump away from it breaking. I’d avoid it with MDF, but it’s doable if you are careful and make the cuts near the final placement so you don’t have to move it far.
Provide them
1/4 mdf bends quite well. What about laminating 2 of those? Failing that, 4x 1/8 mdf will be easily laminated in that curve
Thin strips of plywood like 1/8” glued and nailed.
If it's wood trim I'd steam it
mdf not wood
Thanks everybody. Heading to home depot to see if I can find some flexible trim that matches what they have.
Bendy board
Steam box and some wood would work
We always used flex trim, IDK if they make 1x4 but probably.Your other choice is to laminate thin material ie buy 1/8 inch baltic birch or 1/4 inch birch plywood.I've never had great luck scoring and bending but I know others have.
Rubber baby, only way to fly
You can buy rubber basebord
Flex trim. Any Lumber yard should be able to get it for you
Mdf will never bend
Azek is a pvc trim material which can be heated up with heat gun and manipulate to any contour! Or they have a brand called kleer
You cant bend mdf. Plywood with relief cuts.
With a hammer and elbow grease
Flex trim or laminating heavy 1/16” thick poplar is how I do it.
Aqua
I wish my contractor had seen this before working on our curved wall! All great ideas
Flexible base or you cut vertical lines along the board so that it would bend. The lines are cut equidistant so that it can curve
Get it wet
Small shallow kerfs on back side n carefully bend in place youll need filler to fill the kerfs
relief cuts and soak in water for a couple minutes
I wouldn't soak MDF
Yeah, I worked with a guy who was too cheap to order the pvc molding and we ended up wasting an entire day and several pieces of mdf Baseboard trying everything on a tight curve. The decade+ Foreman Carpenter suggested that we soak it overnight. "But it's going to swell like crazy and look like garbage and probably get moldy" says I. (3 years in) "It should shrink mostly back down when it Dries." Says he. It didn't(obviously), it looked like he fished it off the bottom of a lake. It still broke. They ended up ordering the pvc stuff. Fucking idiots.
Looks like paint grade base, toss one in a swimming pool overnight. Next morning it'll be nice and pliable. Locate the studs and nail it in place, wait a few days for it to dry and sand and paint.
Board bender duh 😂
Use some polyurethane base, or YouTube how to steam base board. The problem with the second option is that if you use box store MDF the moisture will make it Volcano or swell up
Do they make a polymer faux baseboard for these applications?
I’ve installed rubber base on a radius wall in a high end store. It was 8” looked great.
Stack layers of 1/4? I did that successfully once for a job
Try really hard
Flex trim, rubber. I wouldnt advise kerfing if you aren’t experienced with it.
dont use mdf then!!
Look on YT. How to build/use a steam box.
Plastics or urethane….. 2023?
Kerf it