My version of the Doolin style bender

[Gary Gill]

This is my take on the Doolin style bender. My reasoning for making this style is the sides can be cut to exact length and indexed at the tail end. I bought a heat blanket and controller from LMI and it works great. Thus far, I have bent six sets of sides, linings, and binding strips. The forms in one picture are my pear shape tenor, pear shape concert and a figure eight shape tenor. Thanks to Rick turner and others here who have shared information. I would appreciate seeing photos of other's Doolin style benders. Thanks

 

[sequoia]

A very sweet looking set-up Gary. I would send pictures of my Doolin style set-up if I had one for sure, but I don't have one. Would like to however... Hey, looks like you have a drill press in the background just like mine, I call it the "Taiwanese Monster".

 

[Gary Gill]

A very sweet looking set-up Gary. I would send pictures of my Doolin style set-up if I had one for sure, but I don't have one. Would like to however... Hey, looks like you have a drill press in the background just like mine, I call it the "Taiwanese Monster".

Thanks. Yes, the drill press is a Taiwanese Lincoln.

 

[BruceCrook]

I’m not a professional builder so if you read on keep that in mind.

That’s a well-constructed fixture, something you might see in a Stu-Mac catalog, very nice work. I like the spring tensioning aspect for consistent contact with the wood to the heated metal strap and your spring is long enough to get a linear pull through the entire process. Nice. While Googling the difference from a “Fox” style bender I found the image at the bottom of this link:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...ding-machine-fox-plans&highlight=doolin-style

That one bends with the side vertical and its edge against the base plate to maintain alignment. The Fox and Doolin style look to have a blinded view of the work. Is there an alignment feature built into these and what is the difference between a Fox and Doolin bender?

Bruce Crook
Amateur builder of 3 ukuleles (I used a bending iron, trimmed the length and sanded off the toasty spots afterward)

 

[Gary Gill]

Bruce, I will show it to you when you come over for the cookout.

 

[Pete Howlett]

I set my hand bent sides on something similar. My next instruction video will cover the accurate making of one of these.

 

[Kevs-the-name]

Cant wait for that video Pete.

I have tried miserably to produce a bender like this. (also tried quite miserably at hand bending too!)

 

[jcalkin]

Here's my take on the Doolin bender. I made this one for a friend. I have 3 similar ones in my own shop. They work great and take up little space. Indexing off the butt joint is the way to go.

 

[Pegasus Guitars]

I'm a fan of the Fox style bender, but I prefer to bend from the tail to get better side matching. So, I've adapted my bender for doing that. The attached photos should give enough info. Basically I built a Fox like bender and then a few years ago I laid it on it's side on the table saw and sliced through 1 side so that I could hinge it and be able to open the top. I put a hardware store piano hinge on it and a locking clamp on the top that holds it together when it's closed up. The extra aluminum things on the side are there to accommodate different springs because I use this jig to bend everything from soprano ukes to large guitars. Bending from the tail is the way to go IMO. These are easy to build and the hardware is cheap. Let's see if I can figure out the picture part of this!

 

[Timbuck]

I'm a fan of the Fox style bender, but I prefer to bend from the tail to get better side matching. So, I've adapted my bender for doing that. The attached photos should give enough info. Basically I built a Fox like bender and then a few years ago I laid it on it's side on the table saw and sliced through 1 side so that I could hinge it and be able to open the top. I put a hardware store piano hinge on it and a locking clamp on the top that holds it together when it's closed up. The extra aluminum things on the side are there to accommodate different springs because I use this jig to bend everything from soprano ukes to large guitars. Bending from the tail is the way to go IMO. These are easy to build and the hardware is cheap. Let's see if I can figure out the picture part of this!

I like that one..splitting it is a good idea. Top marks! What's the heat source?

 

[Gary Gill]

I'm a fan of the Fox style bender, but I prefer to bend from the tail to get better side matching. So, I've adapted my bender for doing that. The attached photos should give enough info. Basically I built a Fox like bender and then a few years ago I laid it on it's side on the table saw and sliced through 1 side so that I could hinge it and be able to open the top. I put a hardware store piano hinge on it and a locking clamp on the top that holds it together when it's closed up. The extra aluminum things on the side are there to accommodate different springs because I use this jig to bend everything from soprano ukes to large guitars. Bending from the tail is the way to go IMO. These are easy to build and the hardware is cheap. Let's see if I can figure out the picture part of this!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Pegasus Guitars]

Silicon blankets are the heat source.