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Hey there everyone! I am a new luthier and have built three acoustics. One out of mahogany back and sides and two out of indian rosewood back and sides. I use a particle board form to clamp the sides into after soaking them in boiling water for an hour. This process worked fine for all three of my guitars. However, I am beginning to build a fourth guitar out of ziricote back and sides. I've heard that this wood can be a bit tricky to bend. I am afraid that my process won't work with zirciote. I have heard that introducing too much water to highly figured woods can spell trouble. My process is very fast and you don't have much control. With a bending iron you can go slow and have more control over what you are doing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Instead of boiling the sides, mist them down and bend them onto your forms using an old clothes iron as the heat source. Heat the waist area first, and once you get that clamped down to your form, the rest is easy.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Boiling wood actually dries it out.
Try Rogers methid.


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Ken