The Greatest Source of Wood Bending Information Ever!!

[Tony_in_NYC]

I got nothing. Little help?

Ok. I bent both wenge and sapele. Both were 0.085" thick. Started the bend at 250 F and finished at 300 for 5-7 minutes. Allowed the wood to cool back to room temp and cooked it for a second round at 300F for 10 minutes and had virtually no spring back.

Please add your bending info and experience with different woods.

[Darryl Young]

John Mayes shared this on a forum so I don't think he would mind it being passed along:

Bending Sides by John Mayes (temp recommendations).rtf

[David L]

I had a dream last night about bending some sides but somehow I don't think that counts.

David L

[Ken Hundley]

I cracked a remark about this regarding taking notes in another section, but it's true....I never do, but have been caught several times when I prolly should have. I will be bending some sides this summer, after I finish a few other projects, and will do a full description of my process then. Otherwise, the best I hope to contribute for the moment are either my scathingly brilliant color commentary, or the occasional "Oh yeah, here's what I did in that situation...". It'll happen. Patience young grasshopper.

[deadedith]

Bending too, will I be. Report to Forum, I will.

[David L]

I have a brand new bright and shiny bending iron and should be attempting my first try at it soon and I will report on the forum about how totally inept I will be at it.

David L

[deadedith]

Well gee, I'll chip in something wry if I can, but it will be black and white only..:-(

[tippie53]

There are times that you just get bad wood . I find the wet paper technique helps with ebony and some of the figured woods. Martin puts a touch of fabric softener in the water when they bend. About a tabelspoon per gallon.
The key is getting the heat to allow the cells to crush and also thar your wood has no cross grain

[kencierp]

Here's some bending tips that work for KMG:

Never use a bending machine that is not hooked up to a thirty minute shut off timer blankets or bulbs!

Have a spray bottle filled with distilled water handy -- do not use tap water its full on staining minerals.

If you do get tannin stains they can be removed with "Oxalic acid" which is deck cleaner.

Use parchment paper to wrap the sides it seems to trap the moisture better than Kraft paper.

Pre-bend the waist curve on a pipe -- not important on a "D" style but is a quantum improvemnt when bending tight small body guitars

Always use a metal backer when pipe bending ours is .020" aluminum -- very flexible

Wear heavy leather gloves when pipe bending and you will be able to apply good and necessary pressure to the metal backer

Our temperature settings were determined by using a thin piece of pine -- you should be able to dwell in the same spot for a few seconds without scorching the surface

[Darryl Young]

Ken, I'm not sure exactly what "parchment paper" is or where to get it. Is this like butcher paper?