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I want to start building my 1st guitar. Reading websites, etc., I feel intimidated by the bending process. I will probably NOT get into making numerous guitars, in that this one is a present.
Without spending gobs of cash, can I build a bending apparatus? I am a woodworker and have tools to build jigs.
What are my 'reasonable' options? I have read that some units are not worth the effort, so I would only want to 'invest' in something that 'works'.
My design for the sides involves a cutout rather than the standard shape sides (I am still learning the lingo).

A bending pipe can easily be made with a piece of truck tail pipe and and a few scraps of wood. The heating element can be an electric charcoal starter or a propane torch. I chose a charcoal starter. I also use a Harbor Freight Router Speed Control for controlling temperature, and a grill thermometer to keep track of the temp. The tail pipe section was about 2 feet long, with a flared section at one end that was about 6". I divided the other 18" in half, and cut it with a hack saw. Then I slit a 1/2" slit the length of piece without the flare, and squeezed it together and pushed it inside the piece with the flare. then I cut vertical slits in the flared end and bent them out and screwed some of them to a board with a hole in it. Put a jar lid in the end, and stuck the charcoal starter in the back. Works great. Here's a picture.

Total cost, less than $40 for all the parts. Works great.

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Waddy

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Hi Alan,

I don't know where you live, but John Hall is giving a 2 part workshop on Friday, June 12 at the A.S.I.A Symposium held at East Stroudsburg, PA. John's workshops are titled "Wood Bending & Set-Up Guitar Sides" (2 part workshop).

I will be there. I also look forward to David LaPlante's French Polish workshop. Info can be found here http://02b5a68.netsolhost.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Glenn

Alan,

Seriously, as hard as it sounds, it really is not terribly difficult. The very first time I used a bending iron, like the one Waddy illustrated here, I made this. If I can do it, you can do it. Certainly, there are parts of building that take practice and some careful consideration. Anyone can bend wood! Just go slow, feel what the wood wants to do, measure against your plan frequently and stop just before you hear any cracks.

Oh, and my advice is to keep it simple and conventional, both in design and materials - you will thank yourself when it is done and you have successfully made an instrument.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck