Official Luthiers Forum!

Bender done and am ready to order some spring steel. I am a little lost on to which type of spring steel to use. McMaster-Carr has Spring-Tempered Steel or Blue Spring Steel or Stainless. There are about 4 different types of stainless they sell in 6 inch wide sheets.

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http://goatrockukulele.com

I don't use spring or stainless, so far. In a pinch I got some scrap galvanized sheet metal cheap from a metal fab shop, 26 or 28 ga. I think, had it sheared. It's not bad so I keep using it and am not in a rush to buy the traditional metals plus it never rusts. Sure, it keeps a bend but it always bends back nicely by hand or with a rawhide or rubber mallet with no problems. Thought I'd mention this as just another way to skin a cat.

René

I use spring stainless. One set of slats works for every body shape.

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Jimmy Caldwell
http://www.caldwellguitars.com

I got really confused about slats for my bender so, like Todd I just got some from John Hall. They weren't expensive, and they work. John's already done the homework.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Todd-
How does spring steel apply more pressure? Surely none of the metals will stretch?
I've never had a problem, but I hang a 25 lb weight on the end of the slats when I bend with the Fox-style bender, so that may be the reason. It seems to me that if you want pressure/tension, you just need to put some weights/springs/pneumatic cylinders/whatever into the system.
I know that the spring steels don't have the problem of 'taking a set' but I don't understand the 'pressure' argument.

Cheers
John

Those of you in the USA are fortunate, as you can get .010 "Shim in a Can" from machine shop suppliers at a good price. This stuff is great for bending. I got mine when I got my bending system from Tom Durr (aka mandomaniac on this forum, or Doc's Mandolins @ http://docsmandolins.com/ ) . Tom keeps trying to retire from the bending blanket systems, but I refer so many people to him worldwide, that he just keeps putting them together for folks.

Bob

Shim in a can can be of a number of alloys. Tempered Stainless is a great material for bending machine. Blued Tempered spring steel is also fine but the higher iron and carbon content can have staining issues. I personally use the tempered stainless as I don't like to be playing with barriers .
Both will do the job. As a safety concern be aware that some galvanized material can off gas and doesn't have that much structural strength. The purpose of the slats is to work with the machine to create a pressing action and at the same time support the wood to keep it from deforming and warpage.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I made a bender that can be seen if you google "george Wilson guitar maker." It's like a fox bender,except I used 3/4" aluminum instead of plywood.

Anyway,I use stainless steel,common counter top grade,for the bending strips,and have had staining on maple sides that is a pill to remove. I think I'll try aluminum under the stainless sheet and see if staining is less of a problem. I'd bought a sheet of 1/32" Teflon,but I'm concerned about overheating it,causing poison fumes.