plans for bender

[tippie53]

there are different alloys of stainless. I use and sell a tempered Stainless . Been using the same set for about 8 years and I built many different shapes. Most people seem to order shim stock , that is not the alloy you need. Stainless has much more support for the bending than aluminum but if you are using a solid bending pattern it doesn't matter.

[SKBarbour]

Ran a single peice of the stainless through the bender and it formed quite easily to the bender. Though I dont have the blanket and the wood in with it but I don't see it being a problem. I can always use the stainless on the bottom for support and try a peice of thin aluminum flashing on the top to protect the blanket. I don't see where it will be a problem changing shapes, unless it is drastic shape change. This is a pretty decent grade of stainless(301 stainless I beleive) which is a grade that I've used in several piping systems at work. Not sure of the difference between shim stock and other stainless metals though.

[tippie53]

I don't use a gauge but get a sized alloy .015

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Probably should start a new thread for this.....but...

I played around with my light bulb bender last night. I discovered (actually someone else discovered, I just realized what I would have already known had I remembered what I had previously read) that it is important to pre-heat the slats by wrapping them over the form to keep the heat confined. Without doing this, it takes FOREVER for the slats to heat up, but doing this preheat, they heat up very quickly to sizzling temp. I realize that a fair amount of heat will be lost while unclamping, opening up the slats and slipping the wood inbetween, but it has to be a better place to start then just laying the slat wood sandwich on top of the form, wide open and try to bring the heat up (which is what I did in a practice run with some cutoffs).

As I parouse the net, there is quite a bit of info on bending with this type of bender, band many different ways that it has been done over the years, most of which seem to work, so I know I should be able to make this work too.

I plan to try a practice run with a real side of mahogany tonight(not for the guitar I'm building) tonight.
I will start a new thread with some pics and hopefully some positive results after that run for anyone who is interested in doing the same kind of bending.

Kevin

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Yeah, I'm a plower at heart Ken.
What about covering the form with one of my SS slats. I should then be able to get by with using one slat on top of the wood..or, no slat on top at all?? I sure like the idea of seeing the wood while I bend it.
Who is going to use the rods/pipes for more than one mold????
Not moowa!

Kevin

[tippie53]

.015 is what you need for support. Lighter than that you may have kink and it won't support , also what alloy you use will me a lot. Standard SS Shim stock is not the right alloy.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Well I may regret trying the .008" SS stock. I'm trying a practice side tonight, and will find out. If it is too light, I'll use the two stacked and go get me some 28 or 30 gauge galv for the outside slat. One of our customers is a big A/C outfit, should be able to get a piece of scrap cut for free I would think.
I do think my springs are too tight on the bout cauls so I'm going to relieve some pressure there tonight before I use the machine.

Kevin

[Darryl Young]

Let us know how it goes, what temps you use, etc.

[tippie53]

You need to try what will work for you. In most cases the waist will be about 12 inched from the neck joint , actually a tad less . Allow some trim room. Ken Promotes pre bending the waist , I never heard of that before but you should try it.
How I do it, is make a story pole so you can hook it into the waist cawl slot , on the pole make marks for your different guitar bodies so you know where the neck joint is. Then bend the lower bout , upper then lower. You can do this without the wood and see how the slats lays on the pattern.
Bob Gleason of Pegasus Guitars taught me that trick in 2005 and I have been using it ever since. This made my bending results more accurate and repeatable . This is your chance of discovery and keep the mind open to see what works best for you .

[naccoachbob]

The plans were sent to Kyle yesterday. From Texas to Virginia is a lot faster than from Va to Tx! I lived in the next town over from him for 15+ years and it was always 5 days going to Texas, 3 days coming back. Go figure. Must be the winds.
Good luck Kyle, and I don't know who's next on the list.
Bob