Carpentry and Woodworking - Bending Wood for Step

Around 6 months ago I had to remove my bottom step to replace the ceramic flooring. I finally decided to put the step back on. The issue is, the decorative front wood part had to be destroyed when taking it off so I really don't remember what size wood it was. Here are some pics before demo to help visualize:

http://www.ipga.com/step.asp

What I do know is the wood (guessing it was plywood but no idea size) was kerf cut to make that almost 90 degree bend. I have never bent wood and would love any and all suggestions on what size plywood, if it is plywood, and how to get it to bend. I do have the actual step back on. It only needs the front side to be complete.

Thanks a bunch!

Yep, that's gonna be kerf-cut all right. Too bad that you did not take some overhead pictures after the tread was removed with the riser still intact. I would guess that 1/2" or 5/8" might be about the right thickness. You will need some framing behind the curve - probably 2x6's - that support the step and have a quarter-circle perimeter to allow the kerf-cut wood to be wrapped around it.
It's a bit more complex to describe the wrapping process than space allows here. It will take something like a sliding compound miter saw or a radial arm saw to cut the grooves parallel as well as square to the bottom edge. If you can locate a stair manufacturer or a cabinet shop, ask them to show you how they do it.

I would guess that 1/2" or 5/8" might be about the right thickness. You will need some framing behind the curve - probably 2x6's - that support the step and have a quarter-circle perimeter to allow the kerf-cut wood to be wrapped around it.
Thanks IBM. The step is up. I did put it back up this past weekend and did use 2x6's for support. It's very strong. The entire curve is framed pretty good as well to hold the curved wood in place. The quarter-circle actually is still in tact at the top. I left the old one there, which is in great shape.

Basically all I need is to figure out size of the plywood, figure out how the heck to kerf cut it and then the easy part of tacking it up.

I thought about Kerfing on my 12" miter saw that is not compound but as I said, have never done it before and I'm sure the sliding miter is much better to use as I can visualize the Kerf cut from the old wood I had to remove.

most good lumber yards (not the big box stores) carry bendable plywood. It comes either bendable vertically or horizontally.
I did a curved step in my FR and used 2x to frame it, then just 2 layers of 1/8 masonite as a riser "face" since it was going to be painted.

I thought about Kerfing on my 12" miter saw that is not compound but as I said, have never done it before and I'm sure the sliding miter is much better to use as I can visualize the Kerf cut from the old wood I had to remove.

You won't be able to use your miter saw unless it's of the sliding variety, a regular miter saw, whether it's a compound or not, is designed to cut all the way through the workpiece, even some of the sliding miter saws will not allow you to raise the blade far enough above the table to accomplish the kerf cuts. You'd be much better off doing the kerfs on a table saw or a radial arm saw.
Also, you could check with your local millwork house, many of them carry the kerfed riser in stock, depending on the species you're looking for. Also a cabinet shop would be able to do the work for you too.

Thanks all for the tips.

Step is still sitting there with no facing as of yet. Been too busy with other rooms to get to it but this week I plan to get it done.

Like I said, it's all up and very strong. As I looked underneath at the quarter-circle perimeter, it's pretty consistent all the way around with 5/8 spacing where you can see where the old facing was before the staining. I don't know why I never looked. It was painted white as you can see from the pics. I still wonder if it was plywood. Almost had to be, no?

Anyway, my thoughts were to talk to cabinet shop and if i gave them all the specs and cut it out on construction paper, perhaps they could cut it out for me. I know, it's the easy way out. But what you can you. I'll practice my kerf cutting later when I get a radial arm saw.

BTW...BobDeRitter, I was just in Parsippany a couple weeks ago, boy was that a nightmare to get around. :)

Radial arm saw. Yes, there are a few places that still sell them and some of the older DeWalts are available used. They have been substantially replaced with sliding CMS. I have an old Ryobi 8-1/4 RAS that is not made any more.

IBM, I have seen the Dewalt's; they are nice but kind of expensive considering they all are used. With sliding CMS being in vouge now, the RAS is not as available as it was in the day.