Official Luthiers Forum!

Have you seen this video? The commentary is crap but the rest is interesting. The intrigueing bit is the side bending. I thought no-one used boiling water anymore (apart from Boucher, also in Quebec). But what's the magic ingredient in that boiling water that makes the side go into the mold like that?


By the way, there's a similar video on the French site, Laguitare.com. That's also quite interesting because it shows them using a neck extension under the fingerboard. The commentary's in French, of course.
The video is about halfway down the page.
http://www.laguitare.com/2008/godin_princeville_2.html

Mr Norman was part of Goden guitars when they started, that group has a lot of different names on the guitars, Goden, Seagull,Simon & Patrick, Arts & Luthiery, Norman and they make cases. That clip is from the How its made show on Discovery Channel Canada

Fred Tellier

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Yes, as someone who's chosen so far to do side bending by hand, I'd be very interested in knowing what that 'special ingredient' is!!! (was there a post a few months ago about it?) I haven't used boiling water yet either, but considering how long it's taken me to get my sides 'near' correct, I'd be willing to fab a vat like the one in the video, and use it. Or soak the sides for a few seconds, and then proceed to the bending iron set-up.

TIA,

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

I recall people saying glycerin helps. Or they could just be boiling them in a vat of Super Soft! I find the purpose-built machinery to be pretty slick.

Godin's an interesting company. They're freaking huge (much larger than Taylor and Martin combined, in production numbers). They're also, so far as I know, the only guitar company in North America that can put together a guitar at almost-Asian prices. They're making some odd sacrifices to stay in that price range with their lower end stuff now, though. Still, the number of hours they don't put into a guitar is pretty amazing.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

The guitare being built is a Seagul. I believe Seagul sides are made of plywood. So maybe the 15 minutes in boiling water is just enough so soften the glue and make the sides so flexible.

Just a thought...

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

The video on the French site (not the same video, much longer and in 3 parts) shows the sides just being dipped into the boiling 'water' for a few seconds. They say that all the Godin group acoustic guitars (Richmond, Seagull, Art & Lutherie, Simon & Patrick, Norman and Lapatrie) are made in the same factory at Princeville. I don't think they'd make a battery of rigs like this just for the plywood ones.

Why not?

And I'm not sure but I think all the Godin guitars I've seen had sides made of plywood.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

The top of the line Seagulls are solid. There are 7 models with solid back and sides. Mahogany, Maple, and EIR.
I have one of their "plywood" back and side guitars and it is great. $350 guitar and the set up was perfect.
Link

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Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.