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How do you bend binding, like ebony, to match the tight bends of a cutaway?

I'm using a fox style bender and I have a hard time bending around the horn portion of the cutaway.

Any tricks of the trade would be appreciated.

Thanks!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Joe, I bend mine on a Fox bender. Do you have a tower set up to bend cutaways? If so the only trick that has worked for me is to pull the slats up (as if toward the headstock) while cranking down the caul. If you look at the Taylor Factory Fridays video about side bending, they have the side under linear tension the whole time that it's bent. I think John How has incorporated this into his building system. I'm trying to but keep over thinking it (think pneumatic cylinders, etc.)
The main thing is that you need linear tension on the side at all times. Leave a gap and you're going to break it.

Paul,

My dender is a home made version. It works pretty good with sides but the thicker binding causes a problem. Do you wrap yours in paper?

Todd,

I get slight cracks on the horn area. That is a good point about getting them on removal. It could be. Usually I just put a little ca in the cracks and straighten them out a little until the ca is dry. Then I rebend the area in the bender. The the best way to do it I know but I have thrown to many away!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

If you have tight bends to follow, I recommend using African Blackwood instead of Ebony. It bends like warm plastic & holds a bend like no other wood I've tried.
I recently gave up on trying to get some cranky bloodwood bindings to go around the curves of an OM Venecian cutaway.
I've seen other folks pull it off, but I haven't had much luck yet with Ebony or Bloodwood. I save the more difficult wood for Florentine cutaways & avoid the frustration.

     I have the bending covered on my site. As for binding that is thicker? Most binding is around .060 that is thinner than sides . I do my sides at .080 +/- .005 and binding at .060.
    I also bend my binding at the same time I bend the side set. THis seems to help make them a bit more stable from twisting.
     One more thing , are you using light bulbs ? I have not ever got a cutaway to work with them. I use heat blankets for all my bending now . Light bulbs may work on standard shapes but you are taking the machine to the limit with them. Ebony also needs a good heat (325 to 350 ) to get a good bend
   good luck
john hall

This may not be what your after, but Hank Mauel turned me on to a product made from black fiber that is virtually indistinguishable from Ebony under finish, and it bends like plastic. Maybe Hank will chime in?

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Hey Lance... Can you get fibre that looks like bloodwood???

Lance,

Where do you get this stuff?

Randy

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
RS Muth Guitars Blog
Facebook Fan Page

Wow, Good stuff here.... Thanks all. I might just try some curly bindings this weekend. I would love to be able to use eucalyptus on this one. Maybe with the suggestions here I'll give it a try.

Lance, the fiber stuff sounds interesting. Maybe someone will post a source?

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust