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In the past, I have seen detailed plans and instructions on how to build a side bending machine. The heat source was a bank of light bulbs. Has anyone seen something like this?

Kent

We no longer sell these I leave it out there for thought starters


Also "Google" jones side bender he has a very simple unit design never build one without a timer and make sure it has a waist support bar for anything tighter than a "D" size profile

I will not sell a light bulb bender . There have been at least 4 homes that were burned down from them. Please use a blanket for your own safety.

Thanks for the warning, John. Not only would I be out of a home, but the guitars would be lost too. Unless I really get into building a lot of guitars, it might be best to just have the sides bent for me, though it would be fun to try it.

Kent

you can try making the bending pipe , there are plenty of plans for them. I do custom bending if you need that service.

Kevin S (Ithink it was Kev) made a pipe bender, but rather than a torch, used an electric charcoal lighter. Worked great! Might be a little safer than an open flame, especially with a router controller to help control temperature. I made one too, just haven't tried it with the router controller.

Yes, I have a home made electric pipe bender, and it works great. The diameter of the pipe is fine for a dred, but is too big for the waist on an OM or smaller guitar, so I will have to use a smaller pipe (and torch) to get the smaller radius bend. I used a dimmer switch to control the temp, which works fine, however I have found that full on works best to get enough heat for my set up. A thinner wall pipe you would probably need to turn the heat down. My pipe is 1/4" wall aluminum.
It only cost about $20 to make, I would recommend it to anyone. There is nothing like feeling and smelling the wood as it gives and bends. I don't think I will ever use a bending machine.

Ken, I've seen pictures of Macacuaba that have the same red and tan sapwood coloring, just not the wild grain. Wish I new "for sure"!!!
It is however, rare. Have you ever seen any wood like it, before or since?????

Kevin

No I haven't, and I love working with it! It machines and scrapes beautifully. It is a little oily on a saw blade, but luckily, we don't do that much sawing on them. Smells like coconut when it works, and scraping the fresh wood radically brings the color out! I will have to do one final scrape on it before putting any coating to ensure I get the best color presentation. Should look great with a wild tulipwood fingerboard and flamed maple binding!