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So I finally took the plunge and bought an electric bending iron (LMI)
I fired it up and set it to the recommended "5" setting and let it warm up.
I have a surface thermometer (for grills) and set it on top, waiting for it to read 350 degrees before proceeding.
I also had a digital meat thermometer handy.
After an eternity (say, 20 minutes) the grill thermometer barely moved.
And the silly meat thermometer maxxed out at 210 degrees.
So I figured the grill thermometer was either defective or unsuitable for the task.
I went ahead and started bending my Ovankol sides (a day after a good SS2 soaking)
Things progressed very slowly, so I jacked the heat to "6"

Then of course I broke the first side to smithereens....

I am quite certain that the heat was insufficient for the task.
However I was wary of the "this unit will burn out in 60 seconds at high heat" stickers.

Question: What you you fellows use to gauge the temperature of these units, and at what heat setting do you bend?

Different woods bend at different temps. with and bending with an iron you need to feel the wood relax and never force the bend but form the bend as the wood relaxes. That said your iron should reach as high as 450+ when on high. something tells me you have either low voltage getting to the iron or have a bad heating element in the iron. LMI will gladly replace the iron.

Second do not soak your wood. It can only lead to cupping later because you will never be able to cook all that moisture out during the bend. Lightly spritzing the wood with distiled water allows for good quick heat transfer but soaking is really a bad idea and really does not help the wood bend.

If that is the IBEX style Iron that everyone sells, I run mine at max. it takes about 15 or more minutes to warm up. You can then turn it down a little if it seems too hot. I only use it to touch up bends on sides that have been previously bent so it is not on for long periods of time. I put a soaked rag between the side and the iron to generate steam and it quickly bends the wood.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Stew-Mac's surface thermometer is a great way to measure bending iron temp. Just set it right on the iron.

Same experience here with the IBEX. I put it on HI and wander off to do another task in the shop. 10-20 min later I come back and splash a few drops of water on the iron. If they 'dance' , the iron is hot enough and I turn it down a notch or two.
Using a wet rag does cool off the iron some- it should get steamy quickly; I just turn up the heat if I think things are cooling off during bending. Heavy gloves and a handy block of wood to help press the wood against the iron seem to help for me. Practice with offcuts (if available) help a lot to get the 'feel' for the wood, though wider pieces take more time to 'get in the mood' to bend on my iron.

(I've happily never seen a '60second warning' - if the heating element can't be run 'wide open' something is wrong with the design, IMO).

Cheers
John

Thanks for the responses, just as I figured.
Yes, it is an IBEX.
I will jack the heat next time (black walnut)
I have also ordered an ebay-special infra-red thermometer....

Oh - and I did not soak the sides with water - I only spritz.
I applied some SuperSoft 2 the day before (cold) bending.

Robbie-
Can you get a replacement set of Ovangkol sides? Suppliers sometimes have 'orphans' available.

Black walnut should bend pretty easily for you unless it has very wild grain; I don't think you will need the SuperSoft treatment for it.

If you don't have a decent lumberyard nearby where you can get some walnut to practice with, let me know. I can throw some thinned walnut in the mail to you. Send me a pm.

Cheers
John

FWIW, the bending iron I purchased gave me all kinds of trouble - it never seemed to get hot enough. I gave up and moved on to a Fox style bending machine with PID controlled heating blankets. I recently purchased a high-temp thermometer, so just for grins, I fired up the bending iron to see what temperature it attained. After leaving it on for 10 minutes, it managed to get to about 190 degF in general, with a couple of hot spots to just over 210 degF. Pathetic. I think it was defective from new. I only used it on a couple sets of sides before giving up. Maybe I should send it back, even though it's several years old now.....what do you think?

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

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

You're probably out of the warranty period, but I wouldn't be surprised if the seller made it up to you.

So why aren't more people using propane? I can get to 400 degrees in about 3 minutes and a bottle of propane has lasted me 4-5 side sets, purfling, and binding...

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Don't confront me with my failures--I have not forgotten them.

Thanks John,
As I have been down this path before (ouch) I have found out the supplier (LMI) is more than accommodating in finding a new set of sides to match the broken ones - to the point of asking for pictures of the back so they could get a close match. Now that is customer service! I will ask about this on my next order.
I have been using propane up to now and bought the IBEX mainly for heat control - I have managed to scorch too many sides and the promise of a constant 350 degrees was compelling.
I also have built a fox bender and blanket that I have never used, as I need to reconfigure the waist clamp - it is currently held down with ready-rod and 3/8" nuts - way too slow to clamp down the waist at heat - need that big central coarse screw and wheel to get it clamped down quick....

So many ways to skin the cat.......

I used to use propane on mine, I now use an electric charcoal starter on my main pipe. I still use propane on a smaller one. I judge the temperature on my pipe by the way water will behave on its surface; if it just dances its too cold, if it evaporates immediately its too hot. I do like on the hot side, though. Some woods won't bend at all until you almost scorch them. Whatever you do, don't force it, that's one sure way to break wood.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Dave-
If possible, return it. It sounds like the heating element might be a 220v model, or the 'heat control' is shot.
If it ends up that you can't return it, you could troubleshoot it yourself if you are handy with things electrical. They're pretty simple.
10 min on HI and you should have drops of water dancing on the top of the iron, small cloud of steam coming from a wet rag.
Cheers
John

I used propane on my first few guitars. It does work, and it's cheap- I always have a propane torch around for plumbing repairs, etc.
I found it a bit tricky to control the heat level, but it certainly does get HOT.
My torch was a bit 'beat-up' , I guess, and I didn't pay enough attention to air supply. When 'throttled back' it tended to go out at the most inconvenient times.
I don't like having open flames around my shop- there always seem to be solvents around, sawdust, plane shavings, etc. And, I don't store propane in the basement. (Seeing a few boats that have blown up makes me cautious about fires, gas leaks, etc.)

Having said all that, propane is probably a pretty good choice for a beginner who is short on cash, and who isn't confident working around electrical equipment (wiring up a dimmer and a charcoal starter, etc).

For sides, I like the blanket and Fox bending 'machine'- it's pretty quick to make a new form if you have a bandsaw (I've used the cutouts from the mold for the bender).
For repairs and such, the IBEX is a good tool.
Cheers
John

for those of you using propane , what thicknesses and diameters of pipe are you using ? thanks Jody

I use one of these digital Infrared Thermometer I bought at harbor freight. It reads to 482* Fahrenheit. It works great. You just point it at the iron.

I don't use a torch I use a charcoal starter inside a 2" steel pipe. I prefer that for mandolins. I know some who use 3" which is probably better for guitar.