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I have always wondered how you get your sides in the bender at just the right spot if you cut and profile them before bending. I always cut one edge dead flat and bend full width, obviously I have a lot of hand work doing it this way, but it affords me some wiggle room.
How is it done accurately the other way?

Thanks
Lance

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Lance...I make a waist mark on the wood, paper and slat and line that mark with the slot on the Fox bender before turning the screw. In addition, the flat side (top) is lined evenly with one side of the bending form. When doing the 2nd side, the flat portion is lined evenly with the opposite side of the form.

This requires lots of concentration and care before starting the bend...don't ask me how I know

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Exactly as the man says, make a mark on the waist and use that to line it up in the bender. I actually only profile the back before I put it in the bender and use the straight side as a reference, then when the sides are bent, and the blocks in, I use my flexible template (heavy paper one)to put the profile on the top edge.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

[QUOTE=JJ Donohue] Lance...I make a waist mark on the wood, paper and slat and line that mark with the slot on the Fox bender before turning the screw. In addition, the flat side (top) is lined evenly with one side of the bending form. When doing the 2nd side, the flat portion is lined evenly with the opposite side of the form.

This requires lots of concentration and care before starting the bend...don't ask me how I know [/QUOTE]

Yup! Same here.

Hank

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Hank Mauel

Lance, I do it the same way as JJ... only difference I use a clothes pin cut to about 1/8 length wise, then I use a rubber band since the spring will no longer work.
I mark the waist part on the wood and after its wrapped in Kraft paper I place it in the bender with the flat area (top) leaning flat against the side of the bender. Now I clamp the waist mark with the clothes pin and use that as a locating pin. It goes right through the side bender waist slot so I know EXACTLY where the waist is at all times. After I start bending the waist I remove the pin....

peterm39015.5336574074

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Ok, that is what I thought.

Thanks for the verification...
I wondered if I were missing something.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I make marks on the side of the bender that tell me where the tail end of the rib should be. I leave the rib a tad long at the neck block end for trimming after the bend.

I just guess where the rib needs to be in the bender(I can "guess" it to within 1/16" by now...) and then re-adjust it if need be after the initial bend. While it's hot and pliable, you can move the sucker around plenty and re-bend it all you want(though the re-bend is very, very minimal...).

I also use a simplified version of the bender most of you use. I never have understood why benders need to be so complexe....

Mario, I am leaning toward a simpler bender too, I have always liked Mike Doolins bender, solid form, and it indexes off the but end. IIRC he starts his bend at the lower bout all the way over to the upper bout, locks them down and then does the waist.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I'm like you Lance I bend while the sides are rectangular and cut my profile after. I once profiled first, and thought I had my mark dead perfect to the waist center but as I screwed the waist caul down the slat apparently moved a bit as I did and the waist center was about an 1/8th off of the marked center and I just barely had enough to make the turn to the center of the neck block. Granted I was working with side slat that was just over long enough to make the side to begin with and that affected the critical-ness of this placement but it also meant that the apex of my profile was 1/8" off of where intended. I had to solve this by sanding anyway so I just decided from then on to profile after bent and glued to the blocks. Yep it may be more work but for me it gives the wiggle room needed if all is not perfect.

Simple bender here also, only ever use the level of technology necessary to get the job done. This is my simple style, I just make a new one for each body shape. Never let me down, plus you get to feel the wood bend, just like with the pipe, always a good thing especially with difficult woods. Put the swivel ponit for the bout cauls as close to the circle centre as possible.



ColinColin S39015.591875

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Lance,

I use my molds to profile after bending:



My back profile is sanded/shaped into a removable spacer, then I trim:


That's a Dremel attachment which works quite well for this application. I've also got a 1/16" slot cutter set up in a lam trimmer which is faster, but I prefer the Dremel setup.

After trimming, I glue in my head and tail blocks, already trimmed to size, then linings just proud of the edge. A minute or two on the motorized dish sander and I'm done. Eliminates any indexing error caused by pre-cut sides slipping in the bender (a problem I used to have).

Best,

Jim

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

I forgot to give credit to Charles Fox for my side profiling method. I saw him do it this way 12 years ago; I've been doing it this way ever since. The mold takes a bit more work, but it's worth it in time/aggravation saved later. At least for me

Best,

Jim

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

My bender is just like Colin's except I have springs for the upper and lower bout hold downs. I bend just like J.J. said. I've bent 6 sides in mine and haven't had any registration problems at all.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

[QUOTE=JWarwick] I forgot to give credit to Charles Fox for my side profiling method. I saw him do it this way 12 years ago; I've been doing it this way ever since. The mold takes a bit more work, but it's worth it in time/aggravation saved later. At least for me

Best,

Jim[/QUOTE]

I think we all forget to give Charles credit for the way most of us do stuff.
I saw Charles' set also a long time ago and always thought that'd be the cats meow for profiling sides but just never got around to it. Maybe someday I'll change.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Lance,

When I was putting together my Steel string guitar building DVD I debated whether to bend the sides full width and do some hand work or to profile them before bending. BTW, I never cut to length before bending.

I figured for first time builders it would be easier to bend full width and then do some hand work thus allowing the "wiggle room" you spoke of. However, in my guitar building classes I have my students profile their sides before bending as I am there to supervise. Tolerances can be a little closer in a classroom situation.