Heat Blanket

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matrix12x

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Hi All,
Does everyone order custom heat blankets? Or do you end up using light bulbs as heaters in your bending machines (fox benders et cetera)?

The heat blanket looks like a much more elegant solution. I was thinking of this with a timer.

The lightbulbs as a heater looks way less expensive.

Just wondering what everyones thoughts were. I have only used my heatpipe in the past and wanted to try something different.
 
A bender heated with light bulbs will heat the bending form. The wood sides are heated only as they come in contact with the metal exterior. A better result can be had by heating the wood itself with a heat blanket which is then coaxed over the form. Decide which way you want to go before you build the bender as construction may be slightly different depending upon which method you choose.

And never, ever, ever, think about building a bender without installing a timer!
 
A heat blanket and a bender is the way to go. Always use a timer and never go anywhere until the whole process is done. There have been many stories of burning shops down because of heat blankets. I purchased a candy thermometer for temperature control but the new timers have a heat control on them. LMI was kind enough to make a custom ukulele blanket for me last year and they know carry them on there website along with timers.
Heidi Litke
Red Sands Ukulele
redsandsukuleles.com
 
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Might anyone have a heat blanket they no longer are using for sale?
 
You can buy heat blankets for much less from omega. I'd also look at the Watlow website for a dealer in your area. You don't need all the expensive gizmos to make it work. A proper dimmer switch and timer will do the job.
 
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Sven said:
At least in Sweden, a dimmer capable of 1200 W was very very super much expensive.
Click to expand...

I use a commercial dimmer that was made for heat lamps that are often found in hotel bathrooms in the US. They also make one with an integrated timer but you can't control the temperature. I'd love to see Timbucks control unit. I've thought about adding a thermocouple setup.
 
There's an interesting "how-to" in the current issue of Make Magazine: Sous Vide Immersion Cooker. Looks like the temp control part is much like (couple of modifications) the control system of the new LMI Bender. Cheap way to use a pid/thermocoupled controller for a heating blanket et al. Putting one together next week--and thank you Tim, I'd forgotten about all those timer/relay projects that I have laying around! By the way I think the Makezine website has the build instructions available. We'll see how it works.
 
I got my blanket from MEI. Back when the AUD was about .70 to the USD it was around $114 AUD landed on my door with a J type thermocouple. It's 38" X 6" and 1200 watts. It gets very hot very quick.

The timers and controllers are very expensive for 240 volt. Ridiculously so. I use to use thermometers to gauge where I was at, but now I've done it so many times I plug it in and set my stop watch for 2 minutes. When it goes off I bend sides and turn off blanket. Un-plugging it from the wall. The entire process takes just 2 1/2 minutes.

There is absolutely nothing else going on while bending. Don't want to be distracted by anything or anyone. Works for me, but if I lived in the 110 volt zone I'd have a timer / controller for the shear convenience at the bargain price they are offered there.
 
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