Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm going to practice bending sides this weekend (thinned Lowes red oak), I know there is a right and left hand side so my question is: How do you layout/mark the correct R/L orientation on the sides so I wont get a RR or LL goofup?
I plan to put them straight from the bench to my fox style bender. I'm assuming there will be no flipping or spinning of the side, right?
I admit I should know this by now, but even after studying Cumpiano's book front to back several times it's still confusing to me, oh well.

Thanks,
Rene

To avoid accidental flipping, try this. Lay them side by side on the table in the book matched position. On the end that you want nearest the neck, put a big pencil mark, such as an X or arrow. That mark then goes on the outside of the bender at the neck end.

check this out http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... ues+creek+ look at the first bending video. It isn't rocket science , just common sense

_________________
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

Well, being from up north in Canada .. I put my marks at the tail end, and use the words TOP and BOT, after I figure out which layout I like best, depending on grain usually ... I pretty much always bend them long as well, so I need to know where the waist is, and align that at the waist bar on the fox. I put some tape on the foil and use a sharpie to mark that ....

_________________
Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I do what Tony does, only I add 'out' to indicate the show side. I just hate trying to re-bend rosewood. It doesn't like it either.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com

John, Todd,
Thanks for the great videos, and thank you everyone for the suggestions. I get it,Yay!

Rene

I use white chalk rather than a pencil to mark the side's orientation. I find pencil marks a) hard to see, and b) dig in a bit too deep sometimes.
I mark a big "S" on the outside face of the side near where the waist will be on the soundboard edge. That seems to be enough of a mark for me.

Regards,
Dave F.

_________________
Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

I do it like pretty much the way Tony describes. I decide which orientation of the sides will look best depending on figure and color, mark waist + inside / outside, wrap in foil, transfer waist marks to tape on the outside of the foil, align waist caul to waist marks, bend.





I confess that I have goofed a couple of times and bent sides inside out or whatever, which is one reason I don't profile or cut my sides to length until after the bending is done. Of course, if I profiled first I might not so easily make this mistake in the first place, but knowing me... I have found rosewoods much easier to deal with in these instances than, say, mahogany. Luckily, this piece of Madrose was quite cooperative...

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin