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When the wood is wrapped in wet kraft paper and then in foil, does it get sealed up or is the wood and paper just slipped into a "U" of foil, if you will?

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Aoibeann

Lillian, im not sure if that question was directed at me or not, but ive done it both ways... as you can see, with little luck .

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sweat the small stuff.

It wasn't aimed, just asked. When I read the comments about wrapping in kraft paper and then foil, I immediately knee-jerked to wrapping/sealing the wood in foil, just like I do when I'm doing chicken in a pouch. Then the comments about seeing steam made me think I might be getting thought processes mixed up.

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Aoibeann

Lillian, I think Todd just uses layers of each item, not wrapped.  The edges are exposed so moisture can escape and the sides can dry out during the process.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

todd, thank you for putting so much time into this. i wasnt sure how much water to use, so that little piece of information is definitely helpful. ready for round four... DING!

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sweat the small stuff.

I love this place. Thanks so much Todd. Your explanation is very clear and so are you pictures.

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Aoibeann

I bend the lower bout then the upper then the waist . I do use the ram to provide friendly friction so I can align the set into the press.
NOTE   Let the set COOL to room temp. I suspect you may be pulling early. Also a thickness should be .080 +/- .010

   water can also be the issue. I only use the wet paper on figured wood or something I am not sure about. The paper I use is brown Kraft paper soaked for about 1 minute. Once the wood is bent I blow out excess water ( be careful of the steam .
   Spring back is hard to judge and can differ from species to specie but I do know spring back is as much influenced to when you pull it and as much as how you bend it.
   The woods that I feel have the most spring back are
Mahogany    Maple     ;Oak.

On this I take the heats to 375 and hold for 3 minutes. then cool at 220 15 min
john hall

I Stink at smoking meat on windy days. Now with that said, I'll explain. I've smoked meat many times and it always turns out great. But once, I did it on a breezy day, and as it turns out, the wind took my heat away. Wind is not condusive to slow cooking meat.

Now back to bending sides. I have cracked three sets at the upper bout. Looked just like this oak practice side. Turns out, I'm inside my shop, it's hot summertime, my A/C is churning and my ceiling fan at the end of my work bench is keeping me cool.

But you being cool and your sides being cool isn't good. Crackkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk! When I finally figured it out, about step two is check for excessive air movement in the shop.

I see where you said outside, maybe in the garage, maybe on the patio, it doesn't matter where you bend if there is wind. I was inside and created my own breeze with AC and fan. A recipe for failure.

Everyone is trying to analyze your bending troubles, hopefully you'll find your answer in these responses which are very detailed and require not only studying, but practicing. You'll get it, we all do.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

well,this is my fourth and latest attempt. i must say, i am very happy with the results this time around. almost zero springback on the upper and lower bouts with some spring back at the waist. to be honest im not sure if it is springback or if i just need to do some more sanding on the waist caul. this last time around it looked like the caul was not making it all the way down. i think i need to do some more sanding at the longest outer edges. anyways, i used craft paper dipped in water this time and i think that was part of the magical formula. the other thing i did different this time was bending the waist last. just a bit of "friendly friction" as john hall put it. it seems like this pulled everything tighter. i also used some twine to tie the bottom spring slat down when i was taking the wood out. this kept the slat from pushing out against the freshly bent wood.

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sweat the small stuff.

Congratulations Heath, looks great!   

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

I've read this post with great interest....Lots of good info and tips.... I keep going back and looking at your bending jig....It looks great,but I suspect its also part of the problem...To much mass....I suspect that the initial heating is no problem....The problem comes when the bend is made. Most of the heat is transfered to the jig and the temperature drops off drastically and it takes a lot of time to get the temp back up...I used copper pipe between my forms and I can maintain 300 (or higher)degrees and complete the process in about five or six minutes....Just my opinion, its all a learning experience....Lab

Great.  Hope your future bends are as good as the last one.....Test tube baby....Blond hair, blue eyes, the perfect specimen....LOL...It a nickname  name that I've used for the past few years....I'm from Labrador. I plan on using the Labrador spruce twig as my trademark on the headstock....take care, Larry (LAB)

yeah, welcome larry. thanks for the observation, but i think i agree with todd on this one. it seems like more moisture made all the difference in the world. really great learning experience for me. im sure every step along the way will be packed with plenty of "learning experience" - read expensive and time consuming. but hey, im up for the challenge. nothing really great in life is free. thats for sure. thank you to everyone who walked me through this. you guys rock.

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sweat the small stuff.