Bending sides.....

[reb0964]

I was told soaking them in water for a few hours that they bend nice to the heat. That is the way i made my first 3 but not sure if best way,,,i have a friend that builds guitars and he said he sprits water on the sides from a spray bottle,, How do you guys do it?? Russell

[nelson_luthier]

Thin as you dare and dry as you can. I do spray the sides about five minutes prior to bending just to keep scorching at a minimum and spray a little more if I smell wood starting to cook. I find that soaking makes the wood kind of mushy. It bends well but doesn't feel as solid once it cools and drys.

Greg

[Bill Snyder]

Try taking a look at this old thread. (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=7;t=39225;hl=bending)

[Dave Cohen]

Russell, I'm gonna be bending some sides within a week or so. I'll call you if you want. With curly maple, I just spritz the side and bend. Most luthiers I know do likewise, though there are a few notable exceptions. Some woods do well with soaking, but I don't think that curly maple is one of them.

[markishandsome]

I find if i soak i get lots of warpage, especially if the slats aren't well quartered.

As a lifelong tightwad, I use a wet sponge instead of a fancy-schmancy spritz bottle, and an old leather belt instead of a stainless steel bending strap. Your results may vary.

[Rob Grant]

I cut my binding material (usually New Guinea Ebony) pretty thin and pre-bend it "roughly" to fit the sides. I then try to dry it while maintaining the shape before I glue it to the ledge. I use superglue for binding. I often find that damp binding has a tendency to affect the grain penatration and thus the bond strength of the glues I use.

[Rob Grant]

Sorry guys, I just noticed we're talking SIDES here! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Dave Cohen]

Iirc, the fancy-schmancy schpritz bottle - a plant mister - was about $1 or $2 at the local hardware, & well worth it. Nothing wrong w/ a sponge, but the f-s-s-b is convenient and no mess.

[Larry Simonson]

I bent my first sides of curly maple a couple of weeks ago and learned 3 things, all of which were described in an earlier threads, I should have studied a bit more. These were: (1)heating the wood to just below the scorching point where you can feel it give , (2)using 0.08" instead of 0.10" thick sides , and most of all, (3)patience. I am not sure of the importance of spritzing, thou all the steam produced may help conducting heat into the wood. It seemed to me that when I got them hot enough they just suddenly gave up their fight to stay straight.

[nelson_luthier]

It seemed to me that when I got them hot enough they just suddenly gave up their fight to stay straight.
It's like magic, isn't it? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Greg

[reb0964]

Dave, that sounds great..would love to come by and take notes,,give me a couple days ahead of time to work my schedule around that...thanks alot

[Chadmills]

Just to mention an alternative, I've used cold bending for violin/viola sides in the past. You need formers to bend around but these can be bandsawn from 2x4 or whatever quite quickly. Soak the wood in water (perhaps with a bit of washing-up liquid added) for about five minutes, then clamp the side at one end of the former. Have a paintbrush to hand to keep the timber wet, then it's just a matter of patience and feel. You just keep "asking" the wood for a little more, giving it a moment or two to get used to the idea, then ask again, and gradually wrap the wood around the former then leave it a day or so to dry out. It's very much a matter of feel, the wood keeps saying "I can't" and you say, "okay, but maybe just a little more" etc! Each bending takes maybe 5-10 minutes. I think there may be an archived thread in the bowed instruments Library over at mimf.com. (You have to sign in to see the Library link.) The main objections are relative slowness, and more springback than hot bending, but once the wood has done the bend once and dried, it's happy to do it again. I had no breakages when bending birdseye violin ribs by this method. I've mainly gone back to "hot" because it's more fun!
Tom

[markishandsome]

Iirc, the fancy-schmancy schpritz bottle - a plant mister - was about $1 or $2 at the local hardware, & well worth it.

I know, I know. I was just being a wiseacre. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Gibson A5]

I didn't have to buy one of those "fancy-schmancy schpritz bottles". I just went in the house and when my wife wasn't looking I took one of hers. I've had it ever since! You know the old saying, "better to be forgiven than to not have had a schpritzer at all"
Bill P.

[DavidB]

When the Windex is all gone the empty bottle can have a new life.

[Drew L]

I'm going to hijack this thread a bit, but I think it's relevant so I'll ask it here.

I'm about to order wood for my #2 (and probably #3 and #4 while I'm at it). I hear a lot about the preparation needed for top and back wood and that's something I'll leave to those that have the knowledge to do it correctly. For side wood, is it as simple as going to my local store, finding a nice maple board, and resawing it into the appropriate strip sizes? Aside from surfacing these strips and getting everything set up, do I need to do anything to this wood before I start bending?

Thanks in advance.

[billhay4]

Drew,
I'd get sides along with the back just for the reason of color and grain consistency between the two, as well as making sure you get well-dried, top quality wood.
Chadmills,
Your cold bending technique intrigues me since I have a great deal of difficult bending wood. I wonder, however, if a combined technique might help with the spring back. That might entail doing cold bending, placing the sides in a form, and heating them at that point until the lignen relaxes, and then letting them cool.
What do you think? Has this been done?
Bill

[Chadmills]

Interesting idea Bill, I haven't tried it. Guitar makers seem particularly keen on their heated side forms so there must be something about it! Maybe do some cold bending then put the whole thing in the oven for a bit. Wouldn't do to use rubber bands to hold the sides though! There's also the option of allowing for springback when cutting the forms. I just checked over at mimf, there is at least one lengthy discussion on the topic in the Archive Library, though as I said, you have to sign in to see the link. I wouldn't want to stand alone on what might seem a controversial technique!
Tom

[nelson_luthier]

You will be far far happier if you select some quarter sawn material for your sides. They bend easier and you can go thinner with the same strength as plane cut. Your back and top should not be perfectly quartered though. Rather, the grain should angle slightly away from perfect quarter. Come square to the face of your arch where the feet of the bridge meet the top and you are just about perfect.

Greg

[Antlurz]

As far as the cold bending, I did one earlier this year with ribs of quilted Big Leaf maple. A form of cold bending was the only thing I could get to work on this particular wood without it snapping on the radical runouts.

The way I did it took either two or three days to pull off, with lots of little adjustments and wettings, but once I realized how well it worked and resigned myself to the fact it was just slow and going to take some time, it worked just great.

Ron