new project, needs new method

[tvrgeek]

My next project is a Chinese style " floating cloud" round curio shelf. About three feet in diameter. I think they were originally steam bent, about 1 x 3/4 inch square for the front and back hoops.

Never done steam. So I do not know what woods are appropriate. I assume I need a form for it to cool and dry on. Building a 5 foot steam pipe should not be too hard.

Or I could do about three or 4 layers cold mold, but not quite sure how the edges would look if I left it a light natural look.

The challenge will be cutting the dados for the shelves as the hoops are not quite parallel to each other. The front tilts in at the top.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Kelly]

Sorry for this late reply, but I just saw the tread.
I have used a lot of bending techniques for furniture. It sounds like you are talking about something like the first pic, an oval open display case.
The second 2 pics are a full round cabinet with twisted cherry veneer.
Both were done with 1/8 bending plywood around forms in a vacuum bag. I don’t know any other way to do it. That’s if I understand your project.
Glass shelves sit on shelf pins, drilled using a piece of pegboard as a jig.
All this is pretty ambitious if you haven’t used curves before. There is a lot of literature out there about these techniques .