Has anyone tried to bend Richlite or Paperstone by heating or some other means?

Thanks in advance,

Andy

I have not tried it, but I would doubt you could get much of a bend. It would be similar to thick phenolic regular laminate, which is not postformable. The thickness is going to work against you Andy. What kind of bend are you looking at?

The idea of thick phenolic is similar to laminated plywood beams. I think the adhesive used to be similar as well.
Bending, as Wags said, would be tough to impossible.

Coming from a carpentry background, couldn't you cut grooves into the back of the material to assist the bend?

Norm, yeah, you could kerf cut the back, but the bend will likely show the cuts.

I am not sure the radius, but it is good size. It is not like a 5" radius, it is more like a 20' radius.

I have seen 1/8" thick masonite, and that would bend kinda like a skateboard ramp. Wonder if I could laminate a few of those together in a form to create the curve. I would need to get the exact same material in 1/8" though and I am not sure it is available.

The kerf idea might be possible. I would have to do something with the top where the kerf ran through. Maybe a cap of some sort.

Andy, you would be gluing up layers in order to hold the form radius you were bending.

Think laminated beams. They pre bend the layer of ply and keep adding to thicken the product. They adhere them in the radius form and the adhesive holds the shape when released. Works the same with solid surface, really..

That's what I am thinking about doing.

I just attempting throwing a piece of 8"x60"x1/2" Richlite in the oven for shits and giggles. I had it in for an hour at 325 degrees. Heating it did not have any benefit at all. I think the kerf cut is the best option like Norm had mentioned. Have you attempted it yet Andy?

Hey Anthony, I tried to bend it by leaning against a wall for a week (just practice). It did bend a little but not enough to make a contoured radius on the apron like we wanted.

Used solid surface instead to create the curve.

I would think that the paperstone may show stress cracks / lines if you tried to bend it too much. I would do like you did and use solid surface.

If you get another project like this, I have heard that people have been able to bend engineered stone pretty well. You would probably use a thermoforming oven for it. I've also seen people use horse troughs filled with water. They boil the water with a weed burner and that's enough heat to give the material some flexibility after you let it swim for a while.