hints for bending sides

[buckhorn]

The last few weeks I've been restocking rims and parts for rims.. I use a 1in. piece of conduit with a propane torch for heat.. The conduit is partly pluged to keep more heat in, and keeps me from burning up all of my shirts.. the smaller tubeing heats up pretty quick and saves on propane.. I use as little water as possible especially with figured wood, misting with a spray bottle.. Too much watter will cause the slats to warp, crack, or outright break.. The slats are in the ,06 to .08 inch thickness.. Thickness is not written in stone though, as the tighter bends can be less on the scroll and with the "S" pieces.. The parts that are glued to the blocks and points are plenty strong any way.. I started making forms out of 2x6 following the curve of the pieces.. While still warm and damp I place them in the forms and clamp them with screw clamps and allow them to dry.. After drying the parts are pretty stable but can still be touched up with the hot conduit and water.. Sometimes, with highly figured maple, you might have to do this in a couple of stages.. Yes, I have broken my share of 4a and 5a slats, I guess it comes down to feeling how the wood reacts to the heat and water.. I've had pieces bend like butter but some pieces have to be done several times.. The wooden slats all react differently with heat and water applied.. Yes I've scorched parts at times, but with a little sanding it all comes out without much trouble.. If you find scorching is too bad, turn the heat back a little.. I hope that these few tips will help others with their own builds.. I've been building and selling parts since 2001 and have gotten so much help over the years from other members .. Just want to give back....Keith

[Tavy]

Nice moulds there!

I use an electric binding iron rather than propane, but the method is similar: I wipe down with a wet cloth (just wet the surface no more), then wrap in aluminium foil, seal it up good with tape and then bend that as close as I can get to final shape. Then rip off the foil, damp down once more, and clamp in the mould till dry. There's some slight spring back when you take the clamps off, but I try to arrange things so I can fit reverse kerfing while still in the mould - after that it's completely rigid.

[GaryTimmons]

I've been using an electric blanket, mandolin rib size from LMI. I didn't want to spend the money because I figured I could bend the sides easy enough just with a 2" pipe and a torch. It worked OK. But I watched someone use the blanket and I've never used the pipe again.
I lay the side on a piece of aluminum foil spray it wet, wrap it up like a trout with the seam folded a couple times at the top. Lay the blanket on top to pre-warm then clamp it in the mold for about 10 min then tear the folded over bit off and let it steam out. Total time around 15 min. I'll take it out of the mold remove the foil and reclamp it up with the blanket for another 15 or so till it's bone dry. The plywood box consists of a dimmer switch and a timer with outlet.