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I'm building my second scratch built. I'm binding the maple fretboard with koa binding. I would also like to bind the headstock. The problem is, I have no bending iron.
My headstock has no really deep curves to it, except for one area at the top. Is there any way I can get the koa to bend enough to conform it to the curves of my headstock without a bending iron?
Here's the headstock in question.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Try bending it while holding it over the steam coming from a kettle.

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Thanks, Pat.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Do you have a soldering iron? They get plenty hot, so you'll have to keep the Koa moving, but that should work for you. (I'm speaking of the barrel, not the working tip.)
Also, keep your binding down close to final thickness, say .065 or so for a 1/16" ledge. If really lucky, hot water might do the trick. Back up the tension side of the bend so as to keep the Koa from blowing out as it bends. I use a little emory board wrapped in aluminum foil.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

I've used a heat gun before for bindings.
I made a plywood form of the headstock,
with the binding channel in it,
spritz some agua,
blast with heat gun.
Worked well.
I used string to hold it against the form.
Good luck!

Wow, several great ideas. I like the soldering iron idea. I could clamp it in a vise, let it heat up, and go to work.
Allan, good idea as well, but I don't have a heat gun. I wonder if a hair dryer gets hot enough to work?

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Hair dryer probably won't do it. You can make a bending iron with a bit of pipe and a charcoal starter for less than $20, or get a heat gun at Harbor Freight for about $15.


Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I think I'm going to give the soldering iron idea a whirl. Thanks, everyone.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I have a story about using a soldering iron to bend binding. About 9-10 years back I was doing just that with a large, flat-tipped iron in a vise, bending the binding around the shaft. My youngest daughter, maybe 6 at the time, came out to watch me. I turned around to grab something and the next thing I knew she was gone. A few minutes later my wife came out with her to show me the huge blisters she had on her index finger and thumb. When I looked away she had reached up and touched the tip.
She never made a peep, just ran into the house. When I looked at the tip there was a perfect little fingerprint of skin on each side. Yeaoowch!

Ouch! Poor little thing. Bet that hurt. Glad I don't have any curious little ones running around now.
I've grabbed the wrong end of the iron a few times when working intensely on something. Set the iron down, reach for it later while not taking my eyes off of what I'm working on, and bam!Sucks every time.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.