The bender's highest temperature is approximately 500вЏ. Use a drying rack to hold the sides in shape as they dry for a couple of days. The fibers become rigid again after cooling and drying, and the curve sets permanently. Fibers on the outside of the curve stretch, while the fibers on the inside compress. This makes the fibers flexible so they'll stretch and compress evenly as the thin wood conforms to the curve. When wet wood touches the heated iron, steam is created inside the wood. As you compare to your side-bending pattern, be sure you're checking the straight top edge, not the contoured back edge. Mark them 'Top, Treble and Bass, and Neck' to keep track of which is which. The bass and treble sides are mirror images, and must be bent opposite to each other. Most guitar sides have book-matched grain, and are cut in a tapered shape: The edge which glues to the top is straight, and the back edge is contoured. Spray bottle: An empty spray cleaner bottle makes a good 'spritzer' for wetting wood. Use a permanent marker, and choose a surface that can withstand repeated contact with the wet wood. When bending, check your progress by placing the sides, top-edge down, onto this pattern. Side-bending pattern: On a large flat surface, trace the curves of both the bass and treble sides. A drying form could also be guitar-shaped, and cut from corrugated cardboard. We recommend a simple rack made of plywood and dowels. Side bending strap: This thin stainless steel strap gives uniform support to the wood, and minimizes kinking, warping, and breaking.Д¬ooling form: Some sort of form to hold the bent side in shape as it dries. Surface thermometer: To monitor the bending iron. Gloves: To protect your hands from heat and steam. 005' will be sanded away during the building process. 085' before bending it because it bends more easily, with less chance of breaking. Some builders will thickness-sand it down to approximately. 095', sealed from moisture, and stored flat. Our side wood is thicknessed to approximately. Curly maple and figured rosewood (particularly Brazilian rosewood) bend just a little bit easier than curly koa. Figured curly koa is particularly tricky to bend. Hardest woods to bendДЇigured woods are the most difficult to bend. These woods are somewhat brittle and resist bending if the conditions aren't just right. Plain mahogany and walnut are next in difficulty.

Rosewood has resins that make it pliable, and maple is tough, so it holds together well. Plain Indian rosewood and plain maple are the easiest to bend. They have unique responses to water, heat and the severity of the curve being bent.

Each type of wood used for instrument building bends differently. Even professionals sometimes break a difficult piece of wood. It's a good idea to try the technique on scrap wood until you get the feel of the process. An optional extension can be attached for bending particularly tight curves (useful for F-style mandolins, for example). We recommend that you use our stainless-steel bending strap to support the top of the wood being bent. Side-bending pattern to check your progress.

View All WOODSTAX - Shop Tonewood by the PieceД¬ooling form to hold the bent side in shape as it dries.

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