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I have 2 guitars coming up on my building schedule that are both being made of flamed Tasmanian Blackwood. I've not built with TB before and am wondering how it bends. One of the guitars is to have a round cutaway and I have been starting to wonder if the Flamed TB will make the bend required for a cutaway. For bending I have a Fox style bender with the cutaway ram and heating blankets. I also use Super Soft 2 on most woods I bend.

Anyone have experience bending a Flamed TB cutaway.

thanks

Josh

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Josh House

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I have done maybe 6 with TB. I am sure will be told I have done them wrong, but so far in few years none have come back or problems. Where I am sure others will find I am out of my mind and touch with reality, is I have never in few hundres sets used super soft nor a themometer. So don't know if this helps you or not. I bent like koa or maple to me and not any different than any other figured woods I use. I use mostly snakewood, koa, coco maple and other figured and oily woods. Personally I don't like EIR unless a customer does then I love it. As far as a temp guage of some sort and super soft if feel need it or want to make sure in your own mind then use it. I am sure others will tell you proper temps and how to use the other stuff

Blackwood bends so easily that you'll be pleasantly surprised. If the pieces you have for your rims is very figured and short, then you need to take care just as you would using any other type of highly figured timber. I'm teaching a Ukulele building class at the moment, and everyone is using some really figured Blackwood, and they are all managing to hand bend their sides with out any drama's. The waist and upper bout on a Ukulele is as tight a bend as you'll get on a guitar cutaway.

One thing that you need to keep in mind is that Blackwood will turn green with contact with some metals when you're bending, so use some kitchen paper or similar to isolate it from direct contact with al-foil etc. If you should get some green discolouration, don't despair, it's just on the surface, so will sand or scrape away. It doesn't go all the way through.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
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Cairns, Australia

Easy as Pie Josh,

As Allen said, make sure you isolate the wood from any metal otherwise you'll get staining, but it sands out easily enough. I would recommend 2 layers of craft paper on either side of the wood before it touches any metal. Minimal water too.

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Thanks for the tips guys, especially the one about keeping the TB from contacting the metal slats. I had forgotten that could stain the wood.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
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House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
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