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Some people say that the best experience comes from the "School of Hard Knocks". Repairs to a guitar is one thing but repairs to a bending jig (not once, but twice) is another.

Initially, I made my bending jig for a 4" spacing between the sides. When I opened the box of bending goodies from John I removed the heat blanket and discovered it was 5" wide. So I added spacers to the vertical pieces of my jig to accommodate the blanket. I then went on to thickness sand the sides and was hoping to do the bending today. However, when I unwrapped the other goodies in the box I found out the metal slats wouldn't fit in the jig because they are 5 7/8" wide. AAARRRRG! That's not the best way to gain experience but I guess it will have to do. This is only a minor setback although it is disappointing.

We need a Mistakes to avoid section (LOL).

add me to the list of "been there, done that" for many similar moves. Your jig looks very nice. I went with John's full setup and when I 1st got it, I thought, hmm I could've made this but then as you discovered, his design, engineering, and getting it all just right is where I found it worth every penny so I didn't have to rediscover all of that.

I imagine you could cut the slats down to size.

good luck!

The "standard" bending forms are, I think, 6" wide.

6 in is a standard.
going off that standard can get expensive.
you can rework your bender easy enough.
all of this is a learning experience.

Ah yes....I just spent the last three weekends (and four different approaches) making a dust hood for my sander. I do "enjoy the process" but this one stretched it pretty far. On the upside I discovered why Jet changed the design!

I fixed it by adding extra spacers, new end blocks and some eye bolts instead of rubber bands.
Also tested the heating pad & controller. Lots of smoke coming from the metal slats.

Well, after my first bending attempt (read blunder) I can write a second verse to my bending blues song. As you can see, I got a failing grade from my first class at the school of hard knocks. I had problems with the eye screws bending and pulling out during clamping the lower bout. I wasted too much time trying to fix that and also bend the upper bout while the heat was climbing on full. That's when I smelled the wood burning (LOL). Anyway, I need to repair my jig for the third time to accommodate using springs for clamping the end blocks. Phooey !

Hi DG,

Are you wrapping the side in butcher paper soaked in water or is it just the heating blanket, the sides and the metal slats? These side benders are really a steaming process. You can bend sides with just heat using the heated pipe technique but that's a different beast.

And do you have a thermocouple or some way to measure the temperature on the wood?

Morecowbell wrote: ↑Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:31 pm Hi DG,

Are you wrapping the side in butcher paper soaked in water or is it just the heating blanket, the sides and the metal slats? These side benders are really a steaming process. You can bend sides with just heat using the heated pipe technique but that's a different beast.

And do you have a thermocouple or some way to measure the temperature on the wood?

I wrapped both sides of the wood wet using a roll of white paper I have on hand but didn't use any aluminum foil. I also sprayed the wood using distilled water. Actually, the paper survived better than the wood. The main problem was I didn't realize that the temp controller was still on full while I fiddled far too long with the wing nuts. I will replace the eye bolts system I used with springs for my next attempt. That way I shouldn't have the clamp blocks coming loose. I live in the country and need to find a source for some suitable springs.

I have two options for the thermocouple connection. Both have digital readout and I tested them for accuracy before use. This problem is entirely my fault and it sure won't happen again. On the bright side, I got a nice piece of tortified wood out of this - it's always better to laugh rather than cry.

foil is not needed
you better get a controller and a thermometer so you can control the heat that blanket will get over 450F degrees and that is near wood flash point so
For Safety
USE A CONTROLLER
USE A THERMOMETER

I like to use windex with amonia but you can use water and add a table spoon to a pint of water

so Slat wet paper wood wet paper Slat Blanket on top.

thermometer should be under the blanket and on top of the slat do not place the blanket against the wood. The wood grain will raise in the pattern of the heat elements and show up later under finish

apply some pressure at the waist for friendly friction , then lower bout gets bent first then upper then waist
take heat to about 325F when you hit that dial your controller to hit about 225 to 250F for 15 min then unplug and let cool
that actual amount of time is about 4 min and you should be done. If you need to call me