Official Luthiers Forum!
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/

Bubinga - Hard to bend?
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=46712		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  sdsollod [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:00 am ]
Post subject:  Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I have this nice B &S set of figured bubinga. I'm thinking about making a florentine cutaway grand auditorium with it. So, I'll need to bend a fairly tight bend in the cutaway section. How is bubinga to bend? Any comments or suggestions on bending bubinga?
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 12:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I have only bent one set and it was not highly figured. Bent it by hand on a pipe. I do recall that I had to bend it pretty hot. It is very tough wood.
Author:  SteveSmith [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 1:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Like Waddy I have only bent one set. It was hard. I used an iron set at high heat with a damp rag on the iron to keep from scorching the wood. Also hard to sand. That Bubinga is tough stuff.
Author:  J De Rocher [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I've bent only one bubinga set, but it was highly figured so probably at the difficult end of the spectrum. I used Super Soft and bent it on a hot pipe with the temperature turned up high: 6.5 out of 7 on the knob. Spritzed often with water. This set wanted to make facets rather than bend in smooth curves. It took a LOT of pressure with a small wood block in each hand pressing on opposite edges of the facets to get them to bend in the middle. The wood was very strong though and never even started to crack. Didn't scorch either. The sides were thicknessed to 0.078 to 0.080".

Image
Author:  SteveCourtright [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 2:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I recently gave up on a set!! I concluded that the sides must be very thin and bent very hot. I would suggest super soft or the equivalent although it didn't seem to make much difference to me.
Author:  sdsollod [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 2:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Hmmm... Sounds like I would be better off using this bubinga set for a non-cutaway. Jay that guitar is beautiful. I have heard of the faceting in figured bubinga that you referenced. Steve - did you mean that the supersoft didn't make much difference? Wow, that is some tough stuff...
Author:  sdsollod [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 3:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
BTW - I just noticed that I broke 1000 posts... I guess I've been around a while.
Author:  Rod True [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I've got a guitar going right now that is bubinga, plan is for a Florentine cutaway on it..... I've got super soft II ready to go but from what I've read, Bubinga can be one of the hardest woods to bend.

And ya, sanding it is pretty tough and it doesn't plane well either, the figured stuff that is.


Hmmmmm, Jay's in Bothell, I should get him to come up to help me bend it :D
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Bubinga ain't so bad. Really. SSII. I bent some seriously figured bubinga from Shane, it went super fine. It is a dry wood. So keep it steamy. Take ur time.
Author:  James Ringelspaugh [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Bubinga has lots of variation... I've had some with pomelle figure that bent easily and some with mottled figure that was a real bear but it made a nice guitar. Looks like you have some quartersawn with a lot of reversing grain... I'd bet a very tight bend will be tough to pull off if the sides match the back. Good luck.
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I think the lack of wood oil can contribute to bending difficulty. Fine edge between steamy and sopping wet which can lead to cupping. A simple overnight SSII soak is enough to create the proper conditions. I do agree that slow but steady on the bend will give best results. I experienced cupping in one set and backed off of excessive hydration as a workaround. This wood is worth the effort.i would never try to bend it with a simple spritz... It's just too brittle
Author:  SteveCourtright [ Wed Nov 25, 2015 12:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
@SteveS >>>did you mean that the supersoft didn't make much difference?

Exactly. I first tried to hand bend without the use of SS and when it did not go well, I tried it with SS. I did not make much more progress. In hindsight I would go thinner and see what happens.
Author:  J De Rocher [ Wed Nov 25, 2015 1:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Rod True wrote:
Hmmmmm, Jay's in Bothell, I should get him to come up to help me bend it :D


Road Trip! Actually, I make it up that way from time to time because my daughter is a student at Simon Fraser.
Author:  Rod True [ Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Cool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Author:  Robbie_McD [ Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
SS2 in my fox bender and it bent like a dream - this was from Shane's wildly figured stash...
I would not want to try and hand bend that stuff...
Author:  Colin North [ Thu Nov 26, 2015 6:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I both scorched and cracked a set, it can be tricky to bend.
Anyone want a lot of headplates? :D
Next set I used SS II. soaked overnight, and started by hand bending just to get the feel of it before finishing it properly in the bender (first time I used a pipe)
Needs a bit more time and temperature to start to "go" than other woods I've tried since.
Turned out fine. The sides were similar, with sap.
Author:  mcdougal1970 [ Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I'm currently building a guitar with Bubinga sides and back with a cuttaway. I bent the sides with steam. Here's a link I found that really helped me out I still hand to build molds but this steam bending worked really well as opposed to using a steam box.

http://www.core77.com/posts/35838/A-Bet ... lastic-Bag

I had to make some minor adjustments with a bending iron but it turned out pretty well. I'd say for the time spent building the forms to bend the sides and getting a steam machine it would have been just as easy to bend by hand. But if you plan on building more then take the time to build the molds.
Author:  bluescreek [ Wed Dec 02, 2015 6:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I have bent many Bubinga sets. The grain pattern you posted isn't that hard. Water Fall is a pain. .075 thick water on untreated paper . I use a thermometer at the point of bend and a heat blanket
lower bout first at 240-250-F then the upper bout 275 F then the waist
take the heat up to 375 then hold at 250 F for about 15 min and let cool

should bend just fine.
Author:  sdsollod [ Sat Dec 05, 2015 4:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Thanks John, I was waiting for someone to mention what thickness they used. 0.075" sounds like a reasonable thickness overall. How about for the cutaway section? ...a little thinner?
Author:  Mike OMelia [ Sat Dec 05, 2015 11:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I will say I bent some serious waterfall recently. John's schedule is good. Heat, moisture, SSII, patience. My sides were 0.1" btw. Guess I was lucky. I suppose in hind sight I should have gone a bit thinner. Maybe .09"
Author:  BradHall [ Thu Dec 08, 2016 1:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I have a set of Maroke that started to split on my bending iron. After reading all the praise of Super-Soft2 I ordered a bottle. Now, after reading the instructions, I see I'm supposed to keep it away from heat or open flames. I use a propane bottle to heat my aluminum bending tube. I don't have a heat blanket set up. Any suggestions?
Author:  Tom West [ Thu Dec 08, 2016 1:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
yes
Author:  J De Rocher [ Thu Dec 08, 2016 1:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
If you use the SS the way I've been using it, there's no free SS around when it comes time to bend the sides. I spray it on the sides until wet, let it soak in for 10 or 15 minutes, wipe off the excess, and then press the sides between paper towels overnight under a weight. When I take the sides out in the morning, they are pretty much dry. I bend on an electric hot pipe at high temp while spritzing water as needed. I don't see why your propane heated pipe would be a problem.
Author:  sdsollod [ Thu Dec 08, 2016 2:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
I was able to bend the bubinga alright. Thinned the cutaway portion down to about 0.065" and used SSII. I did find the bubinga to be rather chippy...
Author:  BradHall [ Thu Dec 08, 2016 3:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Bubinga - Hard to bend?
Thank you Jay. That was just the information I was looking for.
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 5 hours
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/