Quasi Rag Top Guitar

[MiKro]

You can use TONS of different woods. The OLF "official luthier's forum" has a BUNCH of sponsors who deal almost exclusively in acoustics wood: ie: sides for bending up the wazoo. And like Rich said... since you want shallow sides, I'm sure if you go "what single sides without matches do you have lying around?" they'll jump on that and give you a sweet deal. Cause they can't really sell a SINGLE side, and that's pretty much what you want, and then to cut in half. HOWEVER, I WOULD recommend cutting it in half and then bending it... I just forsee cracking when the bandsaw sawing down's pressure is put on the already bent pieces...

Chris

Chris,

The technique for bandsawing this type of lam has been used for many years in the woodworking industry. Bent laminate post type lamps are done this way in order to route a slot in both pieces for a metal tube to run through for the electrical wire, then they are glued back together to form a bent post. This is partially what allows them to be UL certified. so if the the thickness is 1/2" or better I would not hesitate using a good bandsaw and blade.

Just my .02

MK

[peterhanson]

Awesome, our shop put a new blade on the band saw recently so the quicker I get done with this first solid body i'm working on, the quicker I can use a newer blade. Luckily Christmas break is coming up which should allow plenty of work time. Then again, if worse comes to worse, i'll just cut before i bend.

If they are identical then I would cut them, stack them and use a side bending machine(very easy to make).

so is this so called side bending machine, is it just a jig in the shape of the guitar sides, and to use it i would just bend the wood on to this jig using steam and heat? then after i bent each portion of the wood on to the jig, i would clamp it in place?

Edited December 19, 2006 by peterhanson

[fryovanni]

Awesome, our shop put a new blade on the band saw recently so the quicker I get done with this first solid body i'm working on, the quicker I can use a newer blade. Luckily Christmas break is coming up which should allow plenty of work time. Then again, if worse comes to worse, i'll just cut before i bend.

If they are identical then I would cut them, stack them and use a side bending machine(very easy to make).

so is this so called side bending machine, is it just a jig in the shape of the guitar sides, and to use it i would just bend the wood on to this jig using steam and heat? then after i bent each portion of the wood on to the jig, i would clamp it in place?

Yep, that is the idea. I have a pile of pics from our acoustic builds thread in a gallery. Look for the side bender pics(should be several).cick

[peterhanson]

Rock on, so how long would i have to keep one piece of wood in the jig before i could laminate another on? would i just have to check once a day until the piece i have on the jig no longer moves? Is there a thread already documenting this? becuase i'm assuming that i would:

at first soak the wood

then put it in the jig using an iron to bend the sides to fit to the jig

then clamp it and wait till the piece stays that way

and is the foil in the jig pictures to keep the wood moist?

well if i soak the piece of wood before i bend it, won't that affect wood glue?

this is harder than thought.

Pics to the jig are awesome, that helped a bunch.

Edited December 19, 2006 by peterhanson

[fryovanni]

As an example; using a side bender like the one in those pics to make a non cutoway (sides are mirror images). I take a 5" wide sheet of metal and place sides and binding(wood) on the sheet( spritzing the wood with water as I stack them). Then I take a second sheet of metal and place it on top of the stack. Then I seal the sides with tape(I just use regular masking tape- the seal does not need to be perfect, just help contain steam). Then I place the "sandwich" on the form and start heating it up. I slowely turn the screw to lock the waist in place(you want to allow the heat to rise before you bend it too much). Then I work spung blocks down each bout until it is fully seated on the form. Now the main thing you need to achive is sufficient heat(heat is what allows you to bend wood, water only acts to help carry the heat evenly into the wood). Most wood will soften and become flexable between 250 and 300 degrees f. You are actually heating the substance(lets call it glue) that binds the wood fibers. When it is hot enough it softens and the wood becomes loose or flexable. As it cools it sets back up and the wood fibers are in effect re-glued in the new shape. Depending on your heat source bending times will vary. With heat lamps(say 3 200watt) you are looking at 45min. to and hour, with heat lamps and a heat gun maybe 20 min., if you use heat blankets 5-10 minutes. Some let the wood cool for an hour then bring it up to temp a second time to ensure the bend took well. Then leave the wood in the frame overnight and you are set.

Bending irons or pipes are another option. They require a bit of prctice, but the idea is the same. Get the wood to temp. re-shape, and let it cool in the new shape.

Soaking wood does soften it up a bit, but is not the same as heating and re-shaping the wood. After heating and re-shaping the wood is not under tension trying to hold it's new shape. This is important for an instrument. You don't want to build in stresses that will hamper the performance or lead to possible failure.

Peace,Rich

BTW; Go read through the Acoustic builds topic(in the acoustic hollow body section). Several guys are bending sides and give explanations as to methods. It may give you some insights on different methods.

Edited December 19, 2006 by fryovanni

[peterhanson]

Excellent, this is why I come to this beloved forum. I'll check out the acoustic section for sure.