1st attempt at bending

ChrisRCovington

ChrisRCovington

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 20, 2011
Messages
506
Reaction score
2
Location
Baltimore, MD
Hello all,

I made my first attempt at bending anything today. I got some basswood for lining and thought I'd give it a go. Now I understand basswood bends like butter because it is so soft but I have to say it went really well. No major cracking or anything. I'm not 100% sure I'll be using the basswood for lining or not. At first before it really dried out it kept springing back to straight but once it dried it kept the nice figure 8 shape. I was suprised. I'll try to take a few photos when I get home. I'm on my way to building an ukulele. Yay!
 
When I bend by hand I also have a pedestal fan running so that when I get a bend to where I'm happy with it, I'll hold the part in front of the fan to help cool and dry the area out a little. Then move onto the next area. It's also regularly over 30 C in my workshop, so a fan running is handy for all kinds of things.;)
 
Clamping the newly bent bindings into your form overnight helps them to retain their shape.
 
Unfortunately we don't often have to cope with 30 degree weather here in the UK, :D , but I can agree with saltytri. I clamp newly bent sides into the mold overnight and let them dry thoroughly and the morning after there is virtually no springback at all.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. We've had weather up around 40 degrees C (104 F) here where I live. Things dry out quick in that sort of heat :)
 
Yep...you need to put it into a form after bending to set for a few hours. Some woods will really spring back while drying....Mahogany, I'm looking at you!!
What type of bending setup are you using?
 
I'm working with a set up like the one shown on the Sprucehouse site here: http://home.comcast.net/~ukeguy/sprucehouseukuleles/LUTHERIE7.HTM. I got a form and mold for a Martin style 0 soprano. The form has a small box I made under it with a light bulb inside. I also soaked the linings in hot water (saw that on a Kamaka factory video) and that seemed to help really soften it. At some point I will likely upgrade to a heat blanket but that is if I have any aptitude for this art at all. I had some extra basswood that was long enough, thick enough and wide enough for sides so I bent that today just for fun :) I'll see how it looks when I get off duty tonight. Maybe I'll make a basswood ukulele... I'm sure it will sound GREAT! :rolleyes:

Here are some pics of the linings. They are dry and hold their shape pretty well honestly. I'm happy for my first try. When I get some mahogany in we'll see how well I can really do!

lining.jpg
 
Ok I bent some basswood sides. Easy to bend and I'm sure it won't sound very good but hey, any practice is good for me right? I wonder if I put some CPES on it if I could make it decent enough to play? Nah I'll just wait for some real tone wood. But it has been fun to play with. Maybe I'll make a top and back just to work out some details. Anyway this is what I came up with..

basswood sides 1.jpg basswood sides 2.jpg basswood sides 3.jpg

Don't laugh at me too hard. I know they aren't great but I'm having a ton of fun :)
 
thats awesome man. nah, ditch the CPES and start bending mahogany etc.. its not that hard. i use to worry about bending when i first started just to find out that its not that difficult.having a really seamless tight body-neck fit, gluing wood bindings,
finishing..now thats some tricky stuff.

i think having the right thickness, knowing how much moister to addor ommit (on figured woods)and letting the wood do 1/2 of the work is the key.that or just buy a damn silicone blanket lol.
ChrisRCovington said:
Ok I bent some basswood sides. Easy to bend and I'm sure it won't sound very good but hey, any practice is good for me right? I wonder if I put some CPES on it if I could make it decent enough to play? Nah I'll just wait for some real tone wood. But it has been fun to play with. Maybe I'll make a top and back just to work out some details. Anyway this is what I came up with..

View attachment 40712 View attachment 40713 View attachment 40714

Don't laugh at me too hard. I know they aren't great but I'm having a ton of fun :)
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Hey thanks, I've got to talk to my wood guy. He's had a lot going on. I'm really looking forward to working with some mahogany.
 
Why would we laugh? That certainly beats the hell out of my first side bending attempt I can tell you! Nice work Chris.
 
Thanks shiftysquirrel. It is basswood so I don't think it is much of a challenge to bend (I'm not sure I really even needed heat or water to bend it lol). When I get some mahogany we'll see if I can really bend or not! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Changed U-Bass strings for the 1st time, ever
Replies
2
Views
212
KohanMike
KohanMike
Papa John
For Sale Pono Bn30DA 1st gen. w/TKL case and Waverly tuners
Replies
2
Views
624
Papa John
Papa John
G
What do you play when 1st asked
2 3 4
Replies
69
Views
2K
uketorik
uketorik
T
1st build complete.
Replies
14
Views
664
TheDudeAbides
T
T
On my 1st Bender!
Replies
2
Views
331
TheDudeAbides
T
Top Bottom