Official Luthiers Forum!

i had my 1st experience bending a side today. i used practice wood from stewmac(mahagony). getting ready for my real try with EIR. i didnt break the wood, everything went good. i followed hesh s tutorial. the setup of my bending machine is total 7'' wide leaving only 5 1/2 '' on the inside of the sides. i have 1/8'' x 3/4'' x 7''aluminum  cross bracing about every 2'' with the 1/8'' side facing up. i think like 12 or 14 total the whole length of the side. i noticed on the practice wood there was a little kinking were the braces are. the braces are flush with sides. do you think i should narrow the total width to 6'' so the ss slat have more contact with the real curve of the sides? less on the bracing. or also add sheet metal covering along the sides and braces? my side profile is for a dreadnaught shape so its not that tight of curves. i thought my broblem would be breaking would not this. oh the practice wood is only 2' long so it didnt get pulled down all the way to the ends. so i dont know if that would make a diff or not

I would, as you say, make it 6" wide. You shouldn't ever need anything wider than that. Also, I have a third side form in the middle. I've bent more than 100 sides on mine and neve got a facette. I think your slats are following the shape that the metal bars make rather than the shape of the side form.

thanks guys .i plan on fixing it this weekend and giving it another try. well see what happens

Looks like fun!!! I practiced with some mahogany recently on a hot pipe and did pretty well. Now I have a side profile like yours that I may give a shot (thanks again to Todd Stock!!!). Let me know how that EIR turns out. It's nice to hear from someone who is roughly at the same point I am - the "what I would do differently" is fresh in the mind . Thanks for sharing!!
Christian

_________________
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian