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Ok I have broke 4 pieces now trying to bend this stuff I have supersoft II soaked the material around 2-3 hrs , put it in a heating set up I have to heat the material . Let it cook for an hr.
Its around 250 - 300 degrees comming out , its approx .90 thick . I bend it and and snap !! I did get 1 piece to bend around the fixture and not break . Let it set over night and when I unclamped it , it sprang back to almost straight !

Am I not getting it hot enough ? Not letting supersoft soak long enough ? Not enough Beer in the project ? Stupid for trying to bend Paduck? ANY suggestions would be appreciated !

Have considered making several pieces super thin and bending and laminating the sides to thickness ! Any merit in that idea?

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I've only done one set but it was a snap........ not your kind of snap. I did it hotter and fast. as soon as it hit about 350 I bent I did the bend and and then cooled it down a few degrees for 10 minutes. Took it out of the mould with almost 0 spring back.

I hope it gets better for you.

Cheers,
Danny

Should I be using supersoft ? or just heat ? and alot hotter?

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Or a lot thinner maybe?

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Build log

Too thick at .090. Padauk is a tough bend. I foolishly used it for my first guitar, with a homemade pipe bender. I did get it done, but now I wonder how.

Go to .075 or so. It will only be about 60% as stiff.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Hot and fast as Danny says. I've used it for a few guitars but can't say how hot as I don't measure temp. so no help there. It is a tonewood that does not get enough recognition. A few small problems. Lots of red dust that gets every where and you need lots of filler for pores. But well worth the effort in my book.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

Having used it for making a beautiful jewelry box for my wife, I am considering it for my next mandolin. I bend on an Iron so I wouldn't think it would be a not enough heat problem. But the red dust!! It really needs to be controlled. I will be watching it more closely in the future.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

I thougt of somthing last nite I hadnt checked b4 cause im an idiot ! this is basically flat sawn . Is that a whole lot of my problem here ? If yes , does anyone have Paduck . I need a piece 3" x 30" x 3/4" . I am sure what I have is all flat sawn !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Paduck? Never tried bending it, but I hear it'll quack pretty easily

IME quartersawn sides with no runout, if they are too thick or not hot or whatever, will bend and then spring back when the pressure is relieved. At the same amount of force, the wood can easily snap in places with runout. Don't ask me how I know. I see this times and times again when flex testing split vs. runout braces. I just fractured an Indian rw side today that had a bit of localized runout from a knot shadow. I was real careful, thinned it some more than normal but it wasn't just quite perfect as I needed one more bend right in that spot. Finally decided to risk and it snapped. It glued back perfectly though

I never bent flatsawn wood but I imagine one needs to take extra care and even thin it more than QS?

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Build log

After thinking about it that may well be the main issue . It is tearing moreso than breaking .

Does anyone have any good Q/Sawn available ? Willing to pay , somewhere in the lower middle dollar !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Wud -

Howard's answered your question. Too thick.

Yeah I recognize that it was to thick , and thanks Howard , should have said that earlier !

I do wonder if the fact that its flatsawn is still addding to the issue though. Its amazing that I didnt check that earlier . welll I never claimed to ge a genius !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

I bend padauk at 330degrees at a thickness of .080

I spritz it, wrap first in kraft paper then in aluminum foil and place in a Bluescreek bender and do the usaul cook, cool, quick cook, cool overnight in bender routine.

The dust...Oh my the dust...Still finding it in the shop. Don't get it on your top or it will be tough to remove.

I absolutely love this stuff for guitars.

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

Yes, it can. Despite the conventional wisdom, flatsawn wood can be stiffer than QS, and the curvature of the growth rings can make some flat sawn woods a nightmare to bend. If it doesn't break, you can end up with crosswise rippling due to the inconsistent nature of the flat cut.
That said, you should still be successful bending it.......if the thickness, heat, and moisture are right.

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John

hi,
well, if it’s well quartered the 2.5mm side I bent without problem
if it’s not , 2mm binding break very easy

and I like the smellth

Hi James,

I'll be off to the hardwood dealer later this week. I'll see what they have available.

Steve

There are at least a couple of red woods that are called Padauk.
One of them bends ok, and the other one, the one I bought, will not bend at any thickness. Not even a strip of binding.
Good luck.

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I bent my share of this stuff and while I don't use Super soft I did find that HEAT is required. I like to hit this and start bending at 375 . I am done in 2 minutes or so once I hit that temp then let cook at 250 for 15 minutes let cool to room temp . I will open the lower bout and if it isn't too bad with spring back I take it out .. If not heat to 400 again then let cool .
I don't wet this very much but do like to be sure it is damp when I go to bend . This is more for not scotching than anything . I have had some bend easy and some just snap crackle and pop .

_________________
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

I've bent padauk successfully, even with my tight venetian cutaway. Nothing remarkable here. The sides are 3/32 to start, with localized thinning for the cutaway to 0.070." Heat blanket around 300+F. The sides were hosed down, wrapped in a layer of craft paper that was wetted, and then foil. The foil is NOT wrapped, its just there because my slats are blue spring steel and I don't want any staining. Then just bend SLOWLY. What's the rush? Taylor's dry bending video shows how slow you can bend. My waist is tight, my cutaway is tight and I managed to bend it. I've had a much more difficult time bending Malaysian Blackwood -- some of the most stubborn wood I've ever bent.

Until now I have only bent 5-6 sides and never used padouk.
But I have bent also some difficult woods and never had a problem. I think the reason is that I soak them in water for 25 minutes.
I know the majority do not advise this but I never had a crack

Ran a test on my " cooker" for heating my sides and realized I had a faulty gauge , I was only getting to about 200 degrees in reality . I have fixed that minor "oops " and am going to try this again . Thanks for all the responses from everyone !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/