hints for bending sides #2

[buckhorn]

I started doing a run of A style rims a few days ago.. I try to control costs, so I resaw all of my own ribs.. Started out with 3/4 in. piece of figured maple that was 1 & 3/8in by 42in. long.. That will be long enough for either an A or F rim.. I use a 1/2in blade on my 12in band saw that has 4 teeth per inch.. This allows me to cut slats at about .080 inch and get 5 to 6 slats per piece.. After cutting, I sand off all the saw marks and make them as smooth as possible before ever trying to bend.. The slats cost a little over $ .50 each so if there are any breaks I save them for other parts ( ya, cheep).. When working the tighter curves I sand them a little thinner, sometimes down to ,060 inch.. As said before, I use as little water as possible, misting as I bent.. The 4A and 5A figured maple can split and crack easily, so go slow.. I've wrapped the tight figure with foil while bending to generate more steam while using less water.. But doing this is hard to watch for any cracks that develop.. If you feel like it might be, put it aside to cool and try again latter.. Some times it might take a few times to get the bend right.. With lesser figure (2A to 3A) the cracking is not as hard to deal with, so it might go a little quicker.. But we all like that tight tiger-stripping.. Developing a since of touch will come in time ( after a few hundred) , ha ha.. I leave the parts in forms that are close to the shape of the parts until dry and rarely do they ever spring.. After drying, the parts are fitted to the final forms and I use screw clamps to fine tune the shape of the parts.. if not quite right, the parts are misted again and reclamped .. I usually use Tite Bond to glue and mark the contact points to avoid too much glue.. I've quit using inside spanners to clamp, and now use screw clamps to join the bent parts together.. Much more control this way.. My forms are 3/4 in. thick to give a good surface for the parts while glueing and drying.. I start glueing the S piece to the head block and after it dries, move to the large scroll piece that goes all the way to the first point.. The piece that makes the first point is then glued with the part to connect to the second point and then back to the head block.. The last piece to be joined is the large scroll piece to the first point.. I try to glue the same way every time and do so on the flat surface of my workbench to keep all parts square.. I hope this long post helps others with their own building.... Keith