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Hello boys,
After looking at Todd's guitar that took the unfortunate tumble, sorry, sorry, sorry, i was struck by how great his purfling looked on the top. I love the herringbone purfling but I want to know how you bend it to fit the sides. I can bend some of my marquetry (sp?) purfling if it isn't too wide but the herringbone seems way to wide to bend. Any suggestions? How do you guys do it?
Thanks for any suggestions.

Keep on keepin on,
Homeboy

Here is my method which changed after I was reprimanded by Mario . I used to split it in half and install it until Mario demonstrated that all you need to do is bend it as it is installed along with the binding.
Cut your binding/purfling channels and install the herringbone and binding at the same time, taping tightly as you work around the guitar. The binding will support the bending of the purfling as you go, doing a small section at a time and taping tightly. No need for water or heat just keep it tight as you tuck it behind the bent binding. After it is installed and inspected for gaps, flood the purf/binding with just enough CA to do the job. Not too much or you'll have a mees to scrape off. You could really use any glue you want as you go but this is my method.
Best of luck.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I agree. I like Herringbone. When I saw Todd's guitar it reminded my of that.
I bend mine by hand on my bending iron. Herringbone is very easy to bend. Keep the heat pretty low and and go slow. You don't need water, but you can use it if you want.

Here is a picture of my first guitar. You can get a nice matching rosette too.
SteveS39006.5204282407

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"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton.

I just did two tops with herringbone. I taped four pieces together, spritzed with water and ran them through the bender just like I do my bindings. Bent easy, ehld the shape well, and installed with no problem.

Ron

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Ron Wisdom

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I also just bend the herringbone dry, with no heat. I used to mess around with the bending pipe and the Fox bender and special forms, but it turns out it really isn't necessary. Here's a simple rosette where I just installed the herringbone and purfling lines dry, put some "Hot Stuff" on everything and Voila! The 5 minute rosette. It is a good idea to seal the rabbet with shellac before gluing, so add time for that!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I also used to mess with heat and water untill Mario set me straight. Keep even presure on it and you can bend it dry with no heat. I have had better success that way than with water and/or heat. For a tight cutaway spliting that section might be needed.arvey39006.7607523148

Thanks for all of the advice guys!
I'll have to try on my next build.

Keep on keepin on,
Homeboy

I tried it dry, but prefer it the way TJK does it. I just spritz with some water, and run a heat gun over it while clamping. Takes 2 minutes, and I found it much easier to install...

-Mark

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In general I am not pre-bending any purflings. In most cases you can bend them to shape while gluing them and using the binding for support.

For wider purflings I have had very good luck bending in the fox bender before installation. It works better than one would think.

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I have used the Fox style bender with wet Hbone, worked well and bent it on the bending iron with good results. I recently purchased a set of the prebent from SM and it was also nice. I have never tried the Mario method but sounds like it works even better.

Mike

If Herringbone bends as easily as rope purfling, it should be a breeze, i didn't use any water when bending mine or so little. Love the look of Hbone too!

I install and bend mine dry except for the tightest bends where I use heat from a Monocote sealing iron to coax it a bit. The sealing iron can be found at any hobby shop that sells radio controlled airplanes.

Al