Bending plywood is relatively simple. Plywoods with Type A bond phenolic glue lines can be soaked or steamed to assist bending. Minimum safe bending radii are obtainable from the PAA technical literature. It is not possible to obtain a compound curve when bending flat plywood panels. Moulded plywood is required for unsupported bends or compound curves.
Moulding is controlled in the manufacturing process.
A small number of specialised manufacturers produce moulded plywood. Factory manufactured scarf jointed plywood is available from limited sources. The scarf joint is fabricated with the same bond durability and quality as the plywood. Allowable bending stresses must be reduced by a 0.8 multiplying factor. Compression and shear stresses are also unaffected.