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I am building a guitar with customer supplied wood. The first set of mad rose sides had a lot of knots that went all the way through, and cracked at a knot during bending. The replacement sides have arrived, but they have cracks in the ends, one side two inches, one side 4 inches. He had to pay for the replacement sides (despite what the vendor said originally, he was aware of potential problems) so I really don't want to lose them. I have CA'd the cracks, and most of them will be cut off before bending, but do you folks think it is likely that the cracks will cause a lengthwise split during bending?
Thanks

I guess I just want to know if this stuff is usable at all...

Some of that Madagascar splits just looking at it. Wouldn't hurt to flood the whole side before you bend. Sand it back then. It will fume when you are bending but usually hangs in there without splitting.

_________________
Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Ditto on flooding. Also, when you bend you might want to use a fairly stiff backer (metal sheet, strap, whatever). This may help keep it from trying to twist while bending, which would stress the cracks quite a bit.

-Matthew

Sounds like a good candidate for laminated aka double sides?
I'd flood the backset with CA as well, if the stuff is that prone to split.

Cheers
John

Thanks all,
The back is already braced and patiently waiting for a set of sides to attach to. As for lam sides, not on this build, not going to use a customers dime for experimentation. They are in fact high quality pieces, but for the cracks.