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Spent the whole day trying to bend binding milled from a plank of bloodwood that I've had in the shop for a few years. Very hard, very dry, and Very brittle. I've had the worst luck bending the stuff without it snapping. For comparison purposes, I've bent darn near everything else I've got... walnut (bends like playdough), cocobolo (also bends really easily), the bubinga sides bent without too much problem. But the bloodwood is killing me, and I really like the look.

The bloodwood that I'm using is fairly straight grained, kiln dried (could that be it?), and to have any success, I'm thinning it down to about 1/32" (anything thicker has proved to be immpossible for me), thinking that I could double it up after bending. But I still occasionally get a complete through break, with little to no warning, after bending the rest of it with little problem.

Should I give up on bloodwood, or should I try buying some that is sold for the purpose of binding, and give it another go? Could I possibly just have a really brittle piece?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Colin

I've resawn the stuff and it's tough.

Runout comes to mind. If your bindings have grain running short at an angle, it weakens it. Add to that the fact it's tough material and you have a problem.

Your story reminds me of my first really flamed set of maple bindings. Only took sixteen pieces to bend four and one of those had a minor seperation at the waist an SJ which is tighter say than a Dred.

My bet is you can find some that will bend easier than what you have. You can always wave this little white flag and come back with a vengeance when you get a new board of bloodwood.

Good luck, I mean that too.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Bloodwood is used all the time for binding. How are you bending it? Iron/pipe or bending form with blankets? Are you using metal slats for support?

Wood can act wierd. Sometimes theres just a bad piece.

Super-Soft II might be a solution.

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Waddy

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Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Bloodwood can be brittle. Like Bruce said, watch for runout in both directions, try to pick the straightest 4sawn pieces and/or resaw your bloodwood billet accordingly. I've had excellent luck bending the stuff with the common form / 2 blankets setup and the pipe for cutaways, bindings at .065" (tape at least 4 at a time for support) and sides at .075". Too thin (and too hot on the pipe) and the material falls apart, though.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I just bound a guitar with it and had some of the same problems you are having. When I switched to supersoft, it solved most of the problems. I didnt wait for the SS to dry like you are supposed to, I just used it to wet the wood, then bent it with a pipe. It took a litle more heat than I am used to bending with. Because the wood doesnt soak up the water like other woods, you have to keep spritzing the wood to keep it moist.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Thanks for all of the advice... I just ordered some bloodwood binding (more than I need) to give it another shot. There is definitely a bit of runout in the grain of what I cut. I am bending over an electric bending iron, spraying with water (soaking didn't seem to make any difference) and other than the bloodwood, the bending has gone well. So I'll try some new, purpose cut stock before I give up, and go with another wood.

Thanks again, Colin

I agree with the comments above, just bent several pieces of Brazilian binding on a hot pipe and
it turns out, for me at least, that the keys were grain runout or lack thereof, the amount of moisture (I soaked mine
in a water bath for a few minutes before I started) and then the right amount of water sprayed on the wood
as it dried. Clamped up the pieces in the form promptly and left them for a couple of days and had no problems.
The nice thing about these woods for binding is that a small splinter in the binding can be easily repaired. I had
no twisting or warping but clamping firmly in the form probably helped.
I've got a really basic set up for bending, a simple galvanized pipe and a map gas torch and I'm ready to go. Heat
adjustment is critical. No expert here but that's how it works best for me. I'm a much bigger fan of these wood bindings than I used to be. Should have come around a lot sooner.
Best
Bruce

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Bruce Herrmann
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."