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I have no problem with the top purfling strip that goes between the binding and the top but the purfling strip that sits along the side, both above and below the binding does not want to bend through the waist as it's trying to bend along the wrong axis.

Can't explain very well but I think you all experience this phenomenon and I was wondering how you deal with bending the purfling into the waist areas, bending the 'wrong way' if you will? Do you bend the purfling like you would a side or binding? Do you go real slow hoping it won't break (always does for me)?

Any suggestions appreciated

Larry

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Same as ToddStock, I glue to the binding first then it gets bent on the bender when I do my bindings, never had a problem.

Mike

Yeah, I can see how that would be the way to go. 2 things - the binding is already pre-bent from LMI - without the purfling - and I don't have a bender. It even seems that bending it apart from the binding would be a pain. Maybe there's a way to set up a jig of sorts and bend with water or??

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You can also tape it between your bindings without gluing it, just tape it up tight every couple inches and it'll bend that way. I've only done it once but it worked well.

Guess that doesn't work so well without a bender, though...

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Larry, did you try on the hot pipe?

[QUOTE=Serge Poirier] Larry, did you try on the hot pipe?[/QUOTE]

Don't have a hot pipe but that can be remedied and I'm not being very clear about the dilemma. The purfling will bend VERY easily into the top and back purfling routes because it is standing straight up and it wants to bend that way quite easily. It doesn't need pre-bending or even very much force to get it into position for gluing.

It's when the purfling is laid flat into the side routes, below the top binding and above the bottom binding, that it doesn't want to bend along that flat axis. It goes pretty well until the waist where it will just break into small pieces as those smaller radii are trying to be fitted.

If it was glued to the bottom of the binding before bending then it would be cake, but with 2 separate pieces and no bender it creates a bit of a challenge for my rookie brain. Even with a bender one would have to lay the purf on edge and try to bend the curves, which is maybe how it's done?

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I do like the others and glue it to my binding then bend. My guess is that with out some type of heat source your kinda stuck, hate to say it though. Maybe some of that super soft stuff people were talking about in another thread a few days back?

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Larry your being very clear with you situation. It just seems that people are giving you "their" way of dealing with it.

Here is what I would do.

First make up something round that can get real hot for a bender (pipe, empty soup can.... with 100 watt bulb in it), you really need some heat to help with the bending.

Is the purfling wood or plastic? Watch out for the plastic, it will of course bend considerably easier than the wood and will melt of course if to hot.

Than I would get 2 pieces of scrap wood and thickness them to the same general thickness as the purfling line is tall (the vertical dimension) now sandwich the purflings between the two pieces of scrap and tape in 3-4 places. This will now give you support for the bending of the purflings.

Now spray with water and start bending. Bend at the waist first so it fits in nice and snug. Than bend the upper and lower bouts. Make sure you have enough length of course when you start your first bend to get all the way to the tail and top of the body plus an inch or so extra just so you can get the joints correct.

Hope this helps some.

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Hesh, can you tell me where you are getting the 10-10-10 purfling material. I have been looking for some of that.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Dave,

LMI have 10/10/10 purfling matierial here. In b/w/b or w/b/w.

[QUOTE=Rod True] Larry your being very clear with you situation. It just seems that people are giving you "their" way of dealing with it.

Here is what I would do.

First make up something round that can get real hot for a bender (pipe, empty soup can.... with 100 watt bulb in it), you really need some heat to help with the bending.

Is the purfling wood or plastic? Watch out for the plastic, it will of course bend considerably easier than the wood and will melt of course if to hot.

Than I would get 2 pieces of scrap wood and thickness them to the same general thickness as the purfling line is tall (the vertical dimension) now sandwich the purflings between the two pieces of scrap and tape in 3-4 places. This will now give you support for the bending of the purflings.

Now spray with water and start bending. Bend at the waist first so it fits in nice and snug. Than bend the upper and lower bouts. Make sure you have enough length of course when you start your first bend to get all the way to the tail and top of the body plus an inch or so extra just so you can get the joints correct.

Hope this helps some.[/QUOTE]

Rod. I'm pretty sure that will be the ticket (wood w/b/w) and as long as I can get the waist bent properly the rest will be a breeze. Thanks for the tip and thanks to all for the feed back.

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Larry;  I tried to tape my side purfling between two binding strips and bend it over a pipe.  When I taped it in only 3 or 4 places the purfling bent but it puckered on the inside of the bend.  I now have wavy purfling in the waist.  Next one I am going to tape the heck out of or preglue it if I can figure out a way to clamp it over the whole length.  If anyone can suggest a good clamping setup please post it.

[QUOTE=russ] Dave,

LMI have 10/10/10 purfling matierial here. In b/w/b or w/b/w.

[/QUOTE]

Thanks Russ! Geeze, how did I miss that....

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Larry, Rod said it well, sorry for being late my friend!

Yes, a heat source is a must, even for purfs, they bend easily on long curves but not always in tight curves, i posted my hot pipe pic a while ago, all you'd need would be a light bulb, a pipe and a flange plus a light bracket, i'll try to post a pic to demonstrate,







I since put a real light bracket fixture behind so that the bulb and tube stays dead in the center of the pipe, hope it helps

Serge