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http://www.flutedbeams.com/musicalinstruments/guitars.html
I had not seen this website previously and just curious about personal reactions.
Nelson

None. I stay away from ammonia which is too agressive for me and, as far as I know the only way to bend wood if you don't want to apply heat, steam, etc.

Very interesting and quite impressive. Never heard of such a thing. To be fair Markus, the company implies that no ammonia is used (though they don't particularly state this). From the website, I gathered the process relies on compressing the wood from its ends, causing the wood to, in effect, collapse upon itself allowing for expansion while bending thereafter. If they gave me a free set of black walnut sides, I'd give it a go. But at $160 a set for just sides, I'll continue to bend as usual. Black walnut bends quite well anyway.

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Aaron Craig

Looks a lot like "Bendy Wood" to me, which is an architectural product for curved banisters, and moldings, and such. It is made by using heat and pressure to change the properties of the wood, pressing the fibers in on themselves, so when it is bent cold, they are able to slide against each other. I'm not sure there isn't some compromise to the "musical" properties of the wood in the process.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I missed that detail where they mention how they bend their wood (just saw the mantraic repetition of "Cold Bend TM" ).

But now I found it:
Cited from: http://www.flutedbeams.com/discovery/manufacturing.html

Thermo-mechanical? Steamed? Hot?
Sounds like temperature involved...

But well, as long as it bends it's ok
Interesting technique anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cold+bend+wood&aq=f
Lots of videos for those with fast connections.

Just like I said - Sounds like Bendy Wood. Go to their website, and see. http://www.bendywood.info/index.php?lang=english Been around for 5 or 6 years, but not for "guitar woods". Same process, Wet Heat, then longitudinal compression. You can't tell me it doesn't change the properties of the wood. I have a couple of pieces in my shop, and you can bend them into a 3" or 4" circle, and they will stay there, then you can bend them back. That's the property I wouldn't want. When I bend a side, I want it to stay bent!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Like a lot of "innovations", it is a solution looking for a problem.
All the (domestic) woods they sell bend rather easily, even when a little thick.
Besides, I can't imagine the weight supplement with such thick sides. So, what is the point?

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

It's really cool stuff though. I played with some at the show a few year ago. I tied a knot by hand with a 1.5x1.5 piece of oak or maybe it was maple. Supposedly, after you let it dry, it stiffens up and is just like regular wood. If I had time to do sculpture or crazy furniture, I'd think about it. I'm with Waddy though. I bet it effects tonal qualities.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Wonder what some of the issues might be when trying to use it for a pressed archtop plate?
I doubt that they make pieces that wide and thin but it does make a guy think about it.
The density of the wood increases dramatically if I remember correctly.
Nelson

That would be my perception. The stuff I saw some years ago at one of the Woodworking Shows was Beech.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

If you poke around here - you will find a few posts from a year or 2 ago... A few builders tried it out... Turns out to work just fine for sides....

I agree that it doesn't make sense price wise for guitar sides in garden variety North American hardwoods..... but if you were going to do architectural work with 2x12 curved hardwood beams... It would be just the ticket.

Thanks

Or a 40 foot spiral staircase Bannister.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

IMHO, it seems to me that the cost of the product and/or setup for that operation (meaning the 2-way press) wouldn`t earn its keep.
Furniture bends and the such are fine by me, but for instruments?
I don`t think so.
Besides, where`s the joy of seeing and feeling something complying under your very own hands?
Coe Franklin

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,