Curved-Stretcher Accent Table

Most of the woodworking projects I build have parts that are straight, flat, and square. But every so often, it’s nice to break out of the box and throw in a few curves. That’s just what this accent table is all about — curved stretchers. Getting pieces of solid wood to bend like this may seem impossible or at least complicated. But don’t worry. It turns out to be a simple process that doesn’t require any special tools or materials. The trick is that although they look like a single board, they’re not. To get the wood to bend, each stretcher is cut down into thin, flexible strips. These strips are then coated with glue, wrapped around an S-shaped form, and clamped. The result is smoothly curved parts. With a little clean up, they’re ready to use.