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I'm about to get started on a 000 that will have highly flamed mahogany sides and back. I intend to use the bending form and blanket/kraft/foil. For those who have bent it, is there anything in particular I need to watch out for, other than the typical stuff associated with figured woods?

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Brad Tucker

Thickness!
No more than .080 (2mm)

And the speed at which you bend at!
Those curls have some serious transition grain !
Go slow and listen to the wood!

mike

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Mike Collins

What Mike said and in addition, if you can wait a few days, you might want to give Super Soft II a try. My pal JJ and others report great success using SSII to bend highly figured woods.

The sides on the guitar below were bent at .080, lightly spritzed with distilled water, wrapped in craft paper, and bent in a Fox bender with a blanket.

okay, I'm a little "green" I guess...what is Supersoft?????

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"We might not be big but we sure are slow"

Thanks. I had read about some of you guys using the SuperSoft for tight bends, curly stuff and whatnot. This one is a non-cutaway model and didn't really know if the SS was an absolute necessity. .080 is my intended thickness, and bent as above. Normally, my lower slat is attached to my mould, and I bend top to bottom like this: steel slat, blanket, foil, kraft, wood, kraft, foil, and the slat which is already screwed to my mould. I was mainly concerned about the potential for grain blowout at the waist. I may get some of the SS-II and use it anyway, because this mahog is not cheap!! So, no more than .080 and slow, and have the wood zen thing going.....be the wood.

Reeves,

As I understand it, SS-II is a wood veneer pre-treatment that allows for more flexibility in the wood.

Thanks for the advice

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Brad Tucker

Where can one find Supersoft II? Sounds like a very good thing to have around. For me even unfigured Honduran Mahogany can pucker from time to time and it makes me want to go...

thanks
SR

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"We might not be big but we sure are slow"

Highland Woodworking has it. Here

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Stores that don't sell Viagra are a good bet..... Not that I go to those places mind you..........

Some of the top names builders also will mix in a few drops of liquid fabric softener into the water that they lightly wipe the wood with prior to bending. I know Kim Walker does this and he explains why in Gourmet Guitars Volume II I think.

Found maple bends like the others. We/I use a 3 slat setup and one blanket. Use baking parchement paper which is what I guess the kraft is, I use Reynolds though. I gave up on foil and only spritz it lightly.

I have a dumb question. I understand the use of SSII but I'm missing how it is used 12 hrs in advance? I have read the usage prescribed by the maker ,as it applies to a flat veneer and it staying flat. Now my question, how are you applying it? Are you soaking the sides ( if so how long), wiping it on over a period of time (how often) then allowing to dry (or what), What part of this am I missing? I have some really nice BE maple side material that I don't want to screw up and would love to know the actual procedure of this. Just Respectfully asking those that know the secrets.
Thank you in advance,
Mike

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I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

Guess will stick with the bakers parchment. No stain on wood, although it does stain paper, can do mulitiple sides sometimes 6 in a day with one sheet folded in 1/2. Right about the holding water, but don't want much water on the wood anyway and do want it to go away when done. With that said, it was by me and still by boss bending mostly really curly maple and mostly for archtops rims. Works well on the coco, koa and ziricote, but not as many bends with sheet as it stains the sheet of parchment some so if going say from coco to lighter wood, I would make a new sheet up. If using same woods do several sides at a time.

Thanks on noting the difference, I honestly thought after all this time and several years it was just a brand thing.

One thing that has not been mentioned is using two heating blankets as in John Mayes's video. I started doing that a while back and it's pretty amazing how well it works. I go blanket/slat/kraft/side/kraft/slat/blanket. I would guess it would work great with figured woods.
Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.