Official Luthiers Forum!

Does anyony have any tips for bending tight radius horns smilar to that on a
strat? I have a heater from stewmac that seems to work well normally but I
can't seem to get that tight of a bend. My sides are about .090.

Just a P.S. I've come closest using cherry and poplar.

I would take the sides thinner, especially in the area of the tight bend. If the sides were at .080 it would not seem much thinner but the differences are night and day in that it would be 1/10 as thick and go much easier.

Some woods bend easier than others, and figured woods are generally more difficult to bend than plain woods.

I thin the areas for the tightest bends on curly maple mandolin ribs down to about 1.5 mm (.06”) while the rest of the ribs are 2 mm (.08”). These areas are also backed by solid wood blocks, so they are plenty strong. Violin ribs are normally in the 1.2 mm range (.045”). Remember that the tighter the bend the stronger the rib, just like folding a piece of paper.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin