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I recently watched a John Hall video on bending. Biggest difference between what I was doing and what he is doing is I put the blanket inside the slats. And yes, I resembled his remark about lots of sanding work afterwards. So on the six sides I just bent, I put it on top of the top slat. Intuitively, this makes no sense since I'm sliding the blocks against tgat rubber surface. Perhaps this will shorten the blanket life, and I guess I could get another slat. But what a difference thîs technique makes in the finished product. Very smooth, no marks.

Thanks John!

Mike

Amazing what can happen when you read the instructions!

Actually we have some updates on bending. We will be posting a new video soon. Not all wood works and react the same. Wood needs heat to allow cells to crush to make the bend happen. In the older days the bender used light bulbs and then better technology of the heat blanket came into use. Not all blankets are the same , I use a 5 watt per in blanket and this allows for better heat control under usage and lower heat loss.
The original bending vid showed the blanket on top , and actually these blankets were used where I worked and are designed to take a good amount of abuse. So the rubbing didn't matter .
What I did learn over years of bending , is that some wood , especially high figured woods need the heat FAST so I changed to this arrangement
SLAT Wet Papper Wood Wet Paper Heat Blanket Slat
what this does , is get the heat on the wood immediately. The wet paper allows the heat to penetrate quickly and you don't need much water. Koa , Figured Maple all bent better for me using this method. I also will use Super Soft ll . The wet paper also eliminated the grain raising on the wood.
I bend most wood between 275 to 375 F.

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John Hall
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