Stupid Luthier Trick #2

[JLT]

Not so much stupid as silly.

At a scrap metal dealer, I found this slug of aluminum rod about six inches long and four inches in diameter, a cut-off from god knows what. I sawed it half with my metal-cutting bandsaw so that I had two pieces, semi-circular in cross-section. Next, I drilled two holes through it. Then I got an iron (ironing board type) from a thrift shop, tapped two holes into the plate, and bolted the aluminum half-rod to it. The result was an electric bender that I've used for many a guitar and mandolin. With the temperature control built into the iron itself, I've been able to dial in the exact temperature I need.

The only drawback was that it was difficult to bend tighter curves for mandolin use. So I found another slug of aluminum rod that was about two inches in diameter, sawed and drilled it likewise, and bolted it on to the point of the iron's plate.

The pictures show it supported by a hand-screw clamp for the purpose of taking the pictures, but it usually just clamps into one of my shop vises.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Very clever. It is interesting to see what all we can come up with for our building guitars and often at very little cost.

My first electric heated bending pipe cost me under $15 to make and I still use occasionally in addition to my Fox style bender.