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Advice on bending figured wood

 
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arkfiddlem
Junior Member


Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Posts: 2
Location: Arkansas

PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:15 pm    Post subject: Advice on bending figured wood Reply with quote

I would like to get some suggestions on how to best approach bending the C bouts in the tight spots. I have had good results with wood that is not highly
figured but I can't seem to get the good stuff bent without splitting. I dampen the wood (not soak) before I start and add some water as I go.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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jessupe goldastini
Member


Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 169
Location: sana' rafaela'

PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. the iron....if your using it out of he box...while they look all nice and smoothand perfect, you will find that if yoU run gauges and straight edges over them you will find small hills and valleys that if smoothed out will create niether high or low spots on the iron....if the wood lays PERFECTLY flat against the iron within the arch you will achieve success quicker more consistantly, small imperfections in the iron surface translate to uneven presurre displacement when the wood is being bent...snap....if you do not have the skill to smooth and polish out the heat sleeve do not attempt to do so..you will make it worse by making flat spots and such, take it to a custom motorcycle shop that does chrome and stuff, one of those guys will be able to do it for you...

2. to soak or not seems kinda debatable, most don't s it seems,i feel a light soaking improves playability and increases the time fame to which the wood can stay in one place, i water swell my corpus sevral times prior to finish anyway so not much else to say about that....

3. start with the tight corners

4. use long strips, they are easy to "overbend" wich also will help reduce clamping crackage'

5. the "cold hold" once a certain amount of bend has happend, remove it from the iron and "hold it cold" slightly tourqeing it past what it is bent to....wait till the wood cools in your hand....wood when heated and heated will be bendy....but unless it is allowed to cool down in "binded" position...it will always want to relax.....and by the time you try to clamp it... it will have cooled and be brittle again, thus leading to breaking

6. STUDY YOUR WOOD GRAIN..understand that the figured stripe will be stronger than the wood cells in between.... when appyling presure try to concentrate the force on the stripe.....you will be tempted to us the " in betweens" becuase they start to give easyier...don't be fooled this will lead to weak stress points...again breakage'...

7. use a strap, this will allow for heat transfer to the back of the wood and distribute heat more evenly, aiding to ease of control...when good i think them not needed, also stiff metal object,{ i use a meat cleaver, for sevral reasons..ahahaha} may help in concentrating the presure, particularly at the very end....

jessupe
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MANFIO
Super Member


Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 458
Location: Sao Paulo

PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And ribs may be 1.2 (or a bit less) milimeter thick... Too thike flamed ribs are difficult to bend...
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Jack H.
Super Member


Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 346
Location: Israel

PostPosted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do not soak but i do use a touch or water to help get a bit of steam.
Slow and steady pressure and a lot of practice, although I guess I have a natural feel for it, have not really broken a lot of wood.

Good Luck.

Jack
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Andres Sender
Super Member


Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 275
Location: N. CA

PostPosted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 3:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most people bend too early, and then keep trying to re-bend wood that's been through a heat cycle already, which tends to be more difficult on the tighter bends.

I've found a count of at least 7 seconds on a well-heated iron to work well before I bend. The Johnson/Courtnall book recommends 10 and that's fine. Don't just 'use' a strap, haul on that sucker to ensure contact and support. Make sure your iron is securely clamped before you do that. Heat on the flatter radius and then pull around to the curve.

Get an iron that actually allows bending the proper shapes--i.e. it should have a radius on it that is a bit smaller than the smallest radius you plan to bend.

Some people have success with heating the rib flat and then rolling it onto a shaped caul, that does give support on both sides at the crucial area.
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mapleleaf_gal
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Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 73
Location: tucson, az

PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2007 2:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i will make my c bouts 1 mm thick so i can easily bend the tight corners. this is still thick enough. the rest of the instrument, i'll make more towards 1.2 mm thick.
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arkfiddlem
Junior Member


Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Posts: 2
Location: Arkansas

PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks so much for the ideas. I am currently working with some very troublesome ribs and am experimenting with your suggestions. Keeping the wood on the iron longer does help. Having the proper iron temperature is
a bit tricky. Too much burns; too little is hard to bend. Thanks again.
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