Batch Build Tenor

Pete Howlett

Pete Howlett

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With all the sides cut and thicknessed it's time to do a quick hand bend. I don't know about your experience but when I use my Fox bender for the sopranos I build, start to finish set-up and bend time is usually about 15 minutes with a fingercrossed hope that the sides won't crack!. On the clock, this hand bend took just 14 minutes.... total time including glue-up was about 20 minutes all told.

 
Thank you for the video Pete. Found it most instructional.
I picked up a used bending iron a while back and am inspired to try at after viewing this.
Knowing the correct spot on the iron learned from experience no doubt.
Another good point picked up was having the iron vertical so you an see both the bend and the form.
All good stuff. More awesome than a hot dog.
 
Nice demo Pete. You keep this up and we can shut this part of the forum down. Won't be any need to say anything more.
My methods are a bit different but not for the faint of heart. I set my timer for 4 minutes and the actual bending time is somewhat less than half of that. How hot you got that pipe and how red is your belly when you're finished?
 
If ever I inherit I'm on the first flight to hawaii and a lengthy instructional in your workshop Chuck!
 
Great vid Pete. I'm gonna trying your method. I like the vertical, hands on, eyeball bending in this vid. Never did warm up to my home made fox bender. Too removed from the process itself. This method feels more natural to me..

thanks once again for sharing your expertise....e.lo...
 
Pete Howlett said:
If ever I inherit I'm on the first flight to hawaii and a lengthy instructional in your workshop Chuck!
Click to expand...

You'd be more than welcomed Pete. Of course I'd have to kill you on your way out.

The trick really is in the electricity I use. This home made stuff is really much better than the ready made variety.
 
Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:
Nice demo Pete. You keep this up and we can shut this part of the forum down. Won't be any need to say anything more.
?
Click to expand...
Now how much fun would that be Chuck. You know you'd miss all us NewBs with the same questions over and over, the why this and why that and especially those that appear attempting to turn the art of uke building into a science.
I know it's frustrating at times for guys like you and Pete. Your sage wisdom is valued even though it may appear ignored at times. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so a video must equal a chapter in a book. None of that could ever replace the dynamic interaction that takes place here.
 
Awesome vid Pete. I learned something new as always, the shooting board trick should improve my builds, or at least take some time off them. Thanks once again Pete.
 
If you try this at home, make sure you try it on some scrap wood first. This is another case of Pete making something look easy. He is cutting across the grain of a fragile piece of wood. That plane is very sharp and is set to make a very fine cut. Anything else and the blade can catch, and if it catches you will split the side.

Brad
 
Sharply fine set plane and a shooting board - basic fundamental cabinet making practice. If the stop on the shooting board is set properly splitting won't happen. I use my planes on their sides on shooting boards more than I do freehand.
 
Takes me back to School..58 years ago Mr Page our wood work teacher...showing us kids how to use a shooting plane and board..I remember the plane was an old wooden type about 2' 6" long.;)
 
Ahh the great British educational system which had woodwork at the heart of the curriculum - the 3 Rs... reading, writing and wroughting (work that one out!). I used to teach woodwork, sharpened all workshop tools including the bandsaw and bench saw blades and had pupils cutting dovetails... And that is what I want to emphasise in these videos - the place of hand tools and hand skills in this process. Newbies rush in haste to acquire power tools, jigs, benders and heat blankets thinking it will make good ukulele. Despite what you can do with these essentil-for-me tools, what produces results is my attitude, my training and the constant repition of processes that edge me towards producing better ukulele.
 
As I recall it's a pretty over engineered design that involves for some reason a gradient? Maybe that it is to get the full width of the iron over the length of the stroke - not necessarily a good idea when most plane irons are not flat... I've just shot part 3.
 
Pete Howlett said:
I used to teach woodwork, sharpened all workshop tools including the bandsaw and bench saw blades and had pupils cutting dovetails...
Click to expand...
I remember my 7th grade wood shop teacher. One day a kid cut his finger using a band saw. Mr. Larrson told him to clean the blood off the machine and then go see the school nurse.

Pete Howlett said:
And that is what I want to emphasise in these videos - the place of hand tools and hand skills in this process.
Click to expand...

It took me close to 2 hours to bend my sides. Then I had to scrape off a couple scorch marks.
Very nice video. Thank you.
 
I remember struggling with my very first session on a bending iron - a gas heated pipe mounted horizontally. I hadn't a clue and just couldn't get it right. I sympathise....
 
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