What heat blanket do you recommend? Thank you!
Heat blanket
- Thread starter mineymole
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Pegasus Guitars
Well-known member
I do sell them, but truthfully I'm not sure they are any better than the cheap Chinese ones on eBay. I've never used one of those, but they are a lot cheaper. Mine are U.S. made and cost a lot more. I can attest to them lasting a long time, but maybe the Chinese ones do too. Main thing with blanket life is how you treat the blankets. Never let them run without a heat sink, which is what the mold becomes. Don't clamp tightly directly onto the blanket. I get many years of constant use out of each one. --Bob/Pegasus Guitars & Ukuleles
I have one from Bob and can say it was worth every penny and I much prefer give him my cash as he is a great guy....... besides shopping "local" just makes sense to me....
What other vendor of anything is going to say what he just said???? He is very knowledgeable, humble and a great asset to the overall community.....
BTW: He has some great wood as well so you might as well get a set or two with combined shipping while you are at it.....
What other vendor of anything is going to say what he just said???? He is very knowledgeable, humble and a great asset to the overall community.....
BTW: He has some great wood as well so you might as well get a set or two with combined shipping while you are at it.....
Michael Smith
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Make sure you get a 6" wide one so you can bend both sides and once.
Pegasus Guitars
Well-known member
Thanks for the kind words guys. 6" width is an option, but not always the best for everyone. It's a personal choice.I work with a lot of curly wood and working 1 side at a time with a 4" wide blanket works best for me. For cutaways, a 4" blanket is almost mandatory. When you are bending wood binding by itself, a smaller blanket is also easier to work with. I sell both sizes about equally, so obviously there are many advocates for 4" and 6" blankets.
Yes! Everything I've bought from Bob has been superior. All koa is way expensive and if you're going to spend the money you might as well buy it from someone who knows what he's doing and gives you good value.
OP
OP
I have access to an LMI heating blanket but the socket is strange and doesn't look like it works with the controller suggested above and the controller available from LMI is expensive!
I guess that gets into the other bit of it...The controller.....
The LMI type are awfully tempting with those fancy digital read outs etc.and if you can afford one ...well more power to ya.....
I went the cheap yet effective route and plugged mine into a router speed controller which then goes through a timer (just in case) before plugging into the outlet.
I then use a digital thermometer to watch the temps as I go and I can adjust the temps on the speed-controller.
Hope this helps....
The LMI type are awfully tempting with those fancy digital read outs etc.and if you can afford one ...well more power to ya.....
I went the cheap yet effective route and plugged mine into a router speed controller which then goes through a timer (just in case) before plugging into the outlet.
I then use a digital thermometer to watch the temps as I go and I can adjust the temps on the speed-controller.
Hope this helps....
Is your digital thermometer the Non-contact Digital Laser kind? Also, what timer are you using?
Thanks
Here are some links to the timer and thermometer
https://www.amazon.com/CDN-DT450X-Digital-Pocket-Thermometer/dp/B0021AEAB2/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1546298066&sr=1-4&keywords=CDN+DT450X+Digital+Pocket+Thermometer
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LBHBSP2/ref=psdc_495340_t1_B00LBHBPKK
Not much too it....pretty simple....Unfortunately, I am not able to attach pictures all of a sudden so if you want DM me your email and I can email it to you.
Hope this helps you!
https://www.amazon.com/CDN-DT450X-Digital-Pocket-Thermometer/dp/B0021AEAB2/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1546298066&sr=1-4&keywords=CDN+DT450X+Digital+Pocket+Thermometer
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LBHBSP2/ref=psdc_495340_t1_B00LBHBPKK
Not much too it....pretty simple....Unfortunately, I am not able to attach pictures all of a sudden so if you want DM me your email and I can email it to you.
Hope this helps you!
I sent you the email but thought I would try again here just to answer any questions by those who are searching for the same info. looks like it works now.
Here are the photos of gear I use to control my heat blanket which I got from Bob @ pegasusguitars.
The timer is meant to just be a fail-safe in case someone was to forget they had it on or walked away to deal with an emergency...ya know just to be sure you don't burn your shop down
The Router speed controller just works to control temps
The thermometer I slip into the sandwich I put in the bender. I find there is a perfect place to place it just in front of the waist or upper bout area.
The way it is wired is basic. Fist you have your (male) three prong plug that plugs into your wall outlet. That is wired to the line side of the switch. The load side of the switch has a female three prong plug & this is where you plug in the router speed controller. The speed controller then has a plug where the router would plug in & this is where I plug in the heat blanket. Simple & way less expensive.
You do have to fiddle a bit with it to get it dialed in but it works just fine...Remember ALWAYS HAVE A HEAT SINK IN CONTACT WITH THE HEAT BLANKET WHILE ON! Your bending form is a heat sink when in use, but when practicing (which I recommend) before actual use make sure it is contact with something that can absorb the heat. I use a guitar sized blanket for my ukes so when I place it in the bender there is about a foot of excess blanket.... I lay this excess on brick with something holding it in contact with the brick (like another brick) as a heat sink for that section that is not in the bender. All this heat-sink stuff just keeps your heat blanket from over heating & burning out prematurely.
Hope this helps!
Here are the photos of gear I use to control my heat blanket which I got from Bob @ pegasusguitars.
The timer is meant to just be a fail-safe in case someone was to forget they had it on or walked away to deal with an emergency...ya know just to be sure you don't burn your shop down
The Router speed controller just works to control temps
The thermometer I slip into the sandwich I put in the bender. I find there is a perfect place to place it just in front of the waist or upper bout area.
The way it is wired is basic. Fist you have your (male) three prong plug that plugs into your wall outlet. That is wired to the line side of the switch. The load side of the switch has a female three prong plug & this is where you plug in the router speed controller. The speed controller then has a plug where the router would plug in & this is where I plug in the heat blanket. Simple & way less expensive.
You do have to fiddle a bit with it to get it dialed in but it works just fine...Remember ALWAYS HAVE A HEAT SINK IN CONTACT WITH THE HEAT BLANKET WHILE ON! Your bending form is a heat sink when in use, but when practicing (which I recommend) before actual use make sure it is contact with something that can absorb the heat. I use a guitar sized blanket for my ukes so when I place it in the bender there is about a foot of excess blanket.... I lay this excess on brick with something holding it in contact with the brick (like another brick) as a heat sink for that section that is not in the bender. All this heat-sink stuff just keeps your heat blanket from over heating & burning out prematurely.
Hope this helps!
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