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This is nothing ground breaking but I just wanted to share. These days I work more with birch plywood and SPF than tonewoods but such is winter and its low humidity.



The bending form was made from a tracing of my Larrivee OM. I built it from the old LMI plans (that feature light bulbs as the heating source) but I'm using a heating blanket I bought off Amazon, along with the threaded press for the waist caul. Speaking of which, I'm repurposing an old banister for the cauls.

Looks good Neil. It should work.
Make sure you use a thermometer of some type it would not trust any temp markings the dial controller
there. I made my own controller unit that is like what LMI sells, for about $70 in cost. Works a treat.

Here is my controller, inside and out. :)

Kevin Sjostrand wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 6:22 pm Looks good Neil. It should work.
Make sure you use a thermometer of some type it would not trust any temp markings the dial controller
there. I made my own controller unit that is like what LMI sells, for about $70 in cost. Works a treat.

Thanks, Kevin,

Yes, it's a bit rough but it's functional. I'll definitely be on the hunt for a meat thermometer. The goal is to mount this on a rolling workbench that I can take outside. I also need to check the charge on my fire extinguisher. In the meantime, I'm fiddling around with several different size springs and mounting hooks to find the right fit for the bouts.

I have a question for you all. I'm having some difficulty getting the springs to cooperate. I bought the same size that is used on trampolines. I have another that is more flexible but it's too long. What size should I be using?

you can find them here
https://bluescreekguitars.com/product/b ... e-springs/

Springs from John at Blues Creek will be the right ones for sure. I live in Canada, and when I built mine (from the same plans) I ordered the blanket and slats from Blues Creek because I couldn't find a Canadian supplier, but the shipping from the US was really expensive. So when I actually built the thing, I hoped I could source all the hardware locally. Springs were difficult to find at first, but then I found I could order them through our local hardware store (Home Hardware in Canada) and, to my surprise, after I had already bought them, I found that auto supply places carried a selection in stock. Mine is a little more complicated also because I added springs that I could use on a ukulele form in the same bender. The picture shows mine with guitar springs hanging loose, and additional springs for a ukulele form, which sits higher on a raised platform. Works great - this and bending advice from John have lowered my stress level when bending enormously. Bruce W.

I was able to make the springs I had work, but I will be in need of radius dishes and have no desire to make my own. 😉

In the meantime, I did buy a dowel at Lowe's and using some scrap plywood made new cauls for the bouts.

If you need/want more tension on those springs drop the attachment point lower and more central. You want those calls to exert pretty good pressure on the sides so they push down tightly over your form.

If you need/want more tension on those springs drop the attachment point lower and more central. You want those calls to exert pretty good pressure on the sides so they push down tightly over your form.