Side Bending

I have thicknessed and bent the sides for my guitar.  There really is no way of describing the bending process in words.  A person just has to do it to discover that it's not that difficult.  The tools I use for bending are pictured at left.   

The first step, however, is to mark the sides.  I put them side by side, as a book-marked pair, and marked the waist bend on both.  Do it with something that won't wash away as you soak the sides.  Because I begin with the waist, and I would encourage people to do that, if it's marked you will avoid bending two left sides and the two ends will align with grain patterns.

The stainless tray was fashioned for me by students at the college, and it has come in very handy because it is side sized.  I soak the sides to be bent in hot water and a cap full of Downy for about an hour or so before bending.   The Downy, or any fabric softner, does just that, it softens the fibers so they bend more easily.   The bending iron was a gift from my kids.  I had an elaborate pipe and blowtorch set up before, but I would encourage purchasing the bending iron.  I clamp it in my bench clamp, and let it heat up as the sides are soaking.  When all is ready, then just bend.  I wrap the bend in a wet cloth, press it against the iron, rocking it slightly, until I feel the fibers loosen and the bend taking shape.  I use the clamping jig as a template, and when it is right, I clamp it into place to cool and set.   I don't worry about a bit of spring back if the side can be clamped into the mold without excessive forcing.   I then clamp it in the mold, and mark the centerline to cut off any excess from each end of the side. 

You can see the sides in the mold in the photos to the left and right.  Before gluing up the sides, one needs to fashion the head and tail blocks.  The tail block is made from bass wood.  Other woods could be used, but I like bass wood, in part because it does not have a resonant overtone, and in part because it is light in weight.  The head block is made from mahogony.  Usually, I would use some left overs from the neck, glued up into a block of the right size, but this particular block I purchased from LMI.   You can see the mortise for the neck tenon in the photo below.  I cut it in multiple passes on the router table with a 3/4 inch straight bit.  I will cut away the excess side material later clear the mortise.

When I glue up the sides, I have the soundboard side flush with the top of the head and tail blocks.  That keeps everything at the right angles, no pun intended.   When the glue has dried, the next step is to arch the back.  In the photo below, you can see the preliminary arch.  I usually divide the guitar in half along the center line, and then plane along the side with my block plane, along each side, starting with short strokes near the block, then taking longer and longer strokes, until the side is planed flush with the block.  When I have glued in the kerfing, I will take away some of the peak as I level the kerfing.