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Ask Billy........

Electric BBQ starter in some exhaust pipe.
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

I am of the opinion that everyone who wants to build guitars would do well to learn to bend sides by hand on a pipe. I'm not really a "traditionalist" by nature and I'm definitely not a hand tool purist or anything like that. I just think that bending wood by hand on a pipe is a great way to do it and a great skill to have.

For a hobbyist who is probably going to build less than a dozen guitars in their lifetime (I realize some hobbyists will build quite a few more than that, but I think you get my point), presumably of several different shapes, it seems silly to me to build a bender and different forms when you can just bend them all by hand. For someone who intends to get into guitar building on a professional or semi-pro level, it seems clear to me that bending by hand is one of the basic skills that will make life a lot easier.

Besides, it's fun! Really. It may be challenging at first, but challenge is a big part of what guitar building is all about, right? I'm not trying to chastise anyone for not being a "real luthier" or any such nonsense, I just think you're missing out on one of the coolest experiences in the process of building a guitar if you haven't bent at least a few sides by hand. It's not really THAT hard. For one thing, I think it gives you a much clearer sense of what you're asking the wood to do when using a bender, so it can help a lot with your success in using a bender if you decide to use one. Also, I think accidents like scorching and breaking sides are a lot less likely with hand bending because you're handling the wood directly and constantly checking on your progress - you can feel the wood relax and give, you don't force it beyond what it's ready to do, and you can immediately see/feel/smell if it's getting too hot because you don't have it all closed up in a bender.

It seems to me that the popularity of the Fox benders (and various others) has created a popular assumption that if you want to build a guitar, one of the first things you need to do is build a bender, and/or that bending by hand is this extraordinarily difficult thing that a beginner should circumvent if possible... quite mistaken notions, if you ask me.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

I agree, Todd. I have only, really, bent one set, but it was a great experience. I am no longer intimidated by the thought of it, like I was before I did ti. Taking your time, and checking often helps you not to get ahead of yourself. If you start too cold, you wait till it's hot enough, cause the wood won't bend, and you can feel that it's not going to bend. You aren't forcing it with a clamp of some kind. I have not used a bender yet. Probably will one day, but I really liked using a bending iron, and look forward to bending my next set.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Zac,

I have been bending with a pipe and you can do it too. It is a very traditional way to bend. If you do a search on the internet for a bending iron you will probably find some plans. My setup works but it’s kind of Mickey Mouse. I have a 3” pipe with some plain copper scouring pads as baffles but good air flow. I am using a $9.00 Harbor Freight heat gun that is funneled into the pipe using a little aluminum. Its stupid looking but it works. By the way the pipe is held in place with a vice.

Philip

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

I bent with a horizontal pipe until I set my apron on fire one evening, then I had a welder friend make me a vertical bender from a 4" steel pipe. I had him cap the 4", and weld a piece of 1-1/2" pipe over a hole near the edge of the 4"cap. Then I stole the burner and knob assembly from the outrigger burner of the family grill, which I mounted under the whole thing. By drilling evenly placed holes in the caps of the two pipes, I got just the right heat flow through the unit, and it has made for a really great bender. The heat is a lot more evenly disbursed over the walls of the pipes, and I've got a lot better control bending horizontally against the vertical pipes, than I did down over the horizontal pipe. I really like the dual pipe sizes. The 4" pipe is great, since it allows you to heat a larger area by rocking around a longer arc of pipe, and the smaller pipe is perfect for tighter bends and touch-ups. I was considering a Fox style machine, until I had this thing built, but now, bending sides has become a pleasure, and, I have yet to set my apron afire, which I consider to be a real plus.

Gene

How long does it take for the pipe to get hot enough to bend the wood using the heat gun?

I have tried using the heat gun with the first two builds..it takes approximately 10 minutes depending to the heat settings.

However I ended up buying an electric bending iron; mainly because of the risk of getting burnt from the escaping hot air. Also because of ease.