Bending Honduran Rosewood

[Ben-Had]

First time with this wood. How thin is recommended on the back and sides and any change to bending temps. Anything I should know about this wood would be appreciated.

[tippie53]

I bent a number of these sets
.085 bends like you would expect rosewood to bend.

I do it like I bend any rosewood
start bending lower bout 225F
Upper 240 F
then waist
Thermometer between the blanket and top slat with damp paper.
Once on the pattern I take to 300 F hold for a min then set to 225 to 240 for the remainder of the 15 min cycle
let cool and place in mold
add frosting and enjoy

[Ben-Had]

Thanks John, my plan was between 80-85 for the sides but I wanted to be sure.

[tippie53]

you are on the money

[Tom West]

Tim: Basicly concur with John. HRW is a nice wood to bend in my experence but it is heavy so I would be tending to go on the low side to shed as much weight as possible.
Tom

[Ben-Had]

Well, this will be interesting, the new owner wants the sides at .070 and the back at .085. Guessing from the research I've been doing I can go that low.

[Darryl Young]

Curious, why would the "owner" be specing how you build the guitar?

[Ben-Had]

He's a pro player and fairly knowledgeable. Has a sound he is trying to achieve and wants to try it this way. We've discussed it at length. In the end I try to give the customer what they want.

[Darryl Young]

Interesting. Not sure I could do that. (meaning no problem having them tell me what kind of sound they want......but since I'm the builder, I would want to decide how best to get that sound). Of course, a lot of my enjoyment in building is making wood selections, and making design tweaks to see how it affects tone. Also, if it's a friend and you're working together that's different as well. So, never mind <smile>

[Kevin Sjostrand]

John, will be putting any of those sets of HR you got from that big billet you resawed for sale here on the forum?

Kevin