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I have a Fox side bender nearly finished, but have a question about springs. After some searching (north of that expensive border) I found some, and have bought two options for the springs that pull on the end cauls, one seems about right, one very stiff, so I will experiment with those. But I am not clear on the purpose of the vertical springs hooked to the aluminum cross bar that keeps the half-mould from sliding around. Are those springs meant to pull the aluminum bar, and the guitar side, tight up against the waist caul, i.e. a strong spring, or are they only meant to bring the aluminum bar up out of the way so the half-mould can be slid in and out easily, so a weaker spring? Or is there something else I have missed? Thanks - Bruce W.

I don't use them I opted for a bolt to pin the pattern into the machine

When I built mine, I had the same question, and never did bother with the spring. John's idea is the simplest solution, a bolt to pin the mold to the frame, no need for a nut, I suggest using a bolt with enough of a smooth shank long enough to present unthreaded metal to both holes, the mold and the frame. One hole, half a buck, next problem, please.

I hadn't considered the bolt till I read John's reply, above. So simple a fix.

the first thing was a dowel but it was too weak when I did a cutaway and the carriage bolt works easy to get inexpensive and you will never wear it out

Well, here is the final product, built from the LMI plan. The only changes of note are a thicker (1/2") aluminum bar as recommended by John Hall for this plan, and the use of four "swivel pad eyes" to anchor the end caul springs. They are not really necessary but kind of tiddly and I couldn't resist. Stainless to boot. (The slot for the aluminum bar is cut too low, which is a - um - mistake . . . ) I ended up using the heavier springs I had bought for the end cauls; they were actually scaled from the plan as to length, diameter and wire size (given no other specs). They are a bit heavy to pull but not as heavy as I feared. I decided to use the vertical springs, but they're a bit lighter than the plan I think. From responses here (thanks) I may find I do not need them and may remove them. Springs from Home Hardware in Canada, screw press from Amazon.ca, pad eyes from Fastenal. Next step is to get up the courage to bend some nice walnut sides. Bruce W.

Looks great Bruce. I used my Bend-O-Matic for the first time last week and despite being a bit concerned all went smoothly. I had a Walnut practice side that was flat sawn so I was skeptical that it would bend, but it worked like a charm. Then I did my EIR sides, a great feeling to get those done.

The bolt is a good idea - in my excitement I just used a couple drywall screws for my first setup :-)