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Well ,I cracked the side when I tried to bend a cutaway.The wood is Mad Rose .85.Any tips from all you xperts.I`m thinking a lot thinner in this area .Also maybe a person could bend it to the shape of the other side and then come back and re-bend to a cutaway.There was someone selling sides seperate from backs.Anyone remember who?Also has anyone ever repaired the cracks and re-bent.Maybe try to straighten and then re-bend.
Searching for answers.
                James W B

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

Allied Lutherie sells sides separate for IRW.  I don't know about Mad RW.  Others are going to have to advise on fixing or bending new.

Kirby

I take it you are doing a venetian - if thats the case, then yep, I would go down to about .075 - others go even thinner, 65-70 if the bend is really tight, mine arent, I refuse !!! You could always back it up with an internal veneer as well, black always looks good.

Allied can likely help with other mad rw sides.

As far as gluing and rebending, depends on how bad it is ... most likely not. Can you make that one into a florentine - been done many a time.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I guess a florentine might be possible.Its like a 000 cutaway..Not sure what to do.Thanks Tony.
                             James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

When bending the tight curves I thin to 1mm and use a bending iron. The main shape is done on a side bender but I don't trust myself to complete the tighter curves in the device.

Low and sure wins the race with water being added each time to the bending iron.

You can get a pretty tight curve this way.
Guitar001

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Michael Lloyd

“I was born to ignorance, yes, and lesser poverties ...
I was born to privilege that I did not see ... I didn’t know it, but my way was paved” – John Gorka

Thin the tight curve down to about .070". Bend hot. Use a metal backer to press the board to your pipe. Be patient--put gentle pressure on it, while rocking a little from side to side, until you feel the wood yield.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

A couple more thoughts. Following what Howard said, I keep a bucket of warm water handy and keep dipping the side into the water as I go. Some folks put a dripping wet wash cloth on the pipe and bend over that. Once done bending on the pipe you can true up your bend using your outside mold as a bending caul (provided you have a venetian shaped mold). Don't worry to much that you have thinned your side as it is still surprisingly strong at the horn. If you are still concerned about strength glue in a piece of veneer as Tony suggests or use a colour of bias tape that matches your sides better.

I've had success bending a venetian cutaway on flamed quartered curly maple using a fox bender. The key is your stainless slats have to start dead flat in order to provide enough pressure so that the side doesn't snap at the horn and the deepest part of the cutaway.

Using a hotpipe is safer though

You guys never cease to amaze me with your knowledge.Next time when I`m not sure I`ll ask questions first.Thanks to everyone for your help.This really is an amazing community.
               James W B

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee

James, for me the knowledge came from the school of hard "snap" as I've broken my fair share of sides doing venetian cutaways.

Anthony, I know the feeling. I just finished a curly Euro maple set, using my version of the LMI fox bender (bulbs only, and 5/8"-10tpi threaded rod for the screws). After blowing out a curly set on the hot pipe, I swore never again. The best thing about the bender is that it quantifies the procedure for me - takes the guesswork (terror?!) out. Paint, then wipe off, distilled water on both faces, then wrap in foil. One turn per minute 'till the waist bottoms, then one turn per minute 'till the cutaway bottoms. 50 minutes for the bass side, 60 minutes for the treble. (I thin curly to .065" in the tight bits and 075" on the rest.)

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Dave
Milton, ON

Dave you manage to bend venetian's in a fox bender with bulbs? Wow I am impressed as I would never dare doing that without a heat blanket.

Anthony, I talked with Gerrald Sheppard a while back after seeing a terrific article about his work in Sep/06 Woodcraft Magazine (absolutely beautiful guitars). He bends with bulbs and was very generous with his advice. I've done a test set and two good sets so far - all came out smooth as silk. I use 3-150w bulbs, then switch to 200w for the upper when doing the cutaway. (...and they said it couldn't be done.....)

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Dave
Milton, ON

So should I try to bend the cutaway side the same shape as the other side,and then bend the horn and the rest of the cutaway?
                        James

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James W Bolan
Nashville Tennessee