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Ten years ago I bought 100 b.f. of quartersawn old growth U.P. white oak, intending to use it solely for craftsman style furniture. Never considered it for guitars until I saw Haans' beautiful parlor guitar. So, my question for him--or anyone else who's built white oak guitars--is, 'Any caveats regarding bending the stuff? And what temperature seems to work best for it?'

As always, thanks in advance.

J

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

White oak is the 'standard' wood for (steam-) bent frames (aka 'ribs') in boatbuilding in N. America, so you shouldn't have much trouble bending it, especially if it was air-dried. I'd bend it wet.
Other than that, I can't offer any first-hand advice. I've got a bunch of oak guitar b+s sets but haven't built anything with them yet.

Cheers
John

It's the easiest wood I ever bent. I sand it down to .090", spray it with SS2, let it dry for a day, wrap with a paper towel, spritz with water, and go at it. I get the rib up to about 250 degrees, bend the lower bout, then the upper, and by the time I start cranking the waist, it's around 275-290. I let it cool down, plug it in again and run it up to 250 for 10 minutes, and let it cool down again. Then I take out the blanket, upper slat and the paper towel and re-clamp in the bender overnite.
That's it...

I don't use Super soft , this wood bends well and easy. 275 is a good working temp for it.

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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

John, SS2 is good insurance for a tight bend. I didn't use it on the first parlor, and had a few slivers of cracks at the waist. Probably just fine without for a dread, but they don't have a waist...

Oak, white or red, ash, walnut, cherry: all woods easy to bend. Haans, .090" is stout!
I'd thin white oak to .075" without fear, and would just damp but not soak it.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I have some White Oak that I will be trying soon, but I have to say, unequivocally, that my local air dried Green Ash is the easiest wood that I have ever bent for guitar building.

I thinned it to 2mm, then dampened it, wrapped it win foil, and let it sit for about an hour. When I unwrapped it it was like wet leather. I could bend it cold, no added heat, just by pressing it to the mold with hand pressure alone. Add a few cauls so that it dries without any cupping and it sets very well. I was even able to get it to take a very tight cutaway bend.

I'm going to prepare a test piece of the Oak to see if it will behave similarly.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Great suggestions all. Thanks so much. I was wondering about faceting or lifting dangers because of the strong medullary 'flakes' like in lacewood. Anyway, think I'll give it a shot in the near future.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Just an afterthought. John A: Your reply reminded me that as a boy I used to watch my grandfather steam ribs for the lapstraked boats that he built. When he pulled them out of the steambox you could almost tie them in a knot. Couldn't remember if they were white or red oak, but probably the former since it's less prone to rot than red.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

Having bent wood for guitars over 10 years , I never needed SS2. In most cases I agree it may help for some people , my breakage rate is under 1%. I have more trouble with Flamed maple. In 3 years it is the only wood I broke. The runout in the figure is hard to control. Most well quartered woods will bend nicely but when you get into high figure you need to have a good process down for bending.

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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

Wet + hot = easy bending with Oak. It basically flops onto the form.

I would skip the Supersoft -- you won't need it.

You can bend ridiculously thick slabs into fairly tight curves with ease in Oak.... My Oak Ditson (About like a 0 size) had 1/8" thick sides... Bent easy... Could have left it thicker if I had wanted.

The main caution with Oak is to keep it away from Steel and Iron things when bending hot and wet.... The tannins in the Oak + contact with Iron + water = Ebonize.... Clamping damp Oak with Iron C-clamps = big black dots on your Oak.... Ask me how I know...

Thanks

John