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Anybody have any advice on steam bending ebony?
Having a hard time, mostly breaking it!

HELP!!!!

Jay Strite

Super Soft II is your friend.

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Wisdom is justified by her children

Ebony can be difficult. I just bent 4, 1 broke (small crack actually.) I just bend it like it is a side. Spray it with a little water, even though it won't soak up much, put it in the same sandwich I use for sides complete with tin foil but no paper, use a small waist blanket and a regular sized blanket. Set the waist blanket to 300. Once I get good sizzle when sprayed, usually around 250, I start bending. once the waist is in I unplug that blanket and plug the full blanket in. I usually cool the waist some with a little spray and then heat the full blanket. Start bending around 250 on the lower bout and then the upper. Oh and good luck

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Hi Jay,

I assume when you say steam bending that you mean on a pipe. I used to do all my bending on a pipe and Ebony was always tricky. It got so that if I was behind ebony or snakewood I would usually bend 8 pieces, planning that a couple might break. A few things that I found helpful were to tape the pieces of binding together so that I was bending 4-8 at a time. Also having a spring steel bending support is a big help (LMI used to sell one of these, not sure if they still do). I would also take a paper towel (usually the blue shop towels) and spray it with a little water, just so that it lightly damp and not really wet. I would place the paper towel right on the iron and bend on top of the paper towel (I used this same method for bending my sides, and still do on the odd cutaway). Besides that, work slowly and carefully. As you practice it will get easier...but in the meantime it can be frustrating.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
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House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

i went through this myself not long ago, it can be VERY frustrating. I picked up some tips on this forum that worked for me. Can't remember who gave me these hints, but thanks! And I'll also say thanks by passing them on.

Wrap the section you are going to bend in aluminum foil. I brushed on some water before closing it up. Then, using a metal backing strip, work slowly over the pipe in a shoe shine motion. Don't bend too much too fast, just take your time and you'll get a feel for it. For me, sliding each section back and forth instead of using a pure rocking motion seemed to work better as it helped distribute the heat and that helped with breaking. Holding it steady seemed to localize the heat, which gave me too sharp a bend, and the relatively cooler wood next to it was where it would break. I worked on a section about 4-6 inches at a time, and the backing strip I used was a piece of steel cut from a pallet strap.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

how difficult it is to bend varies wildly from piece to piece. I have tried to bend pieces that kept breaking and others that went beautifully with no problems. It doesn't seem to like a lot of water but i would go with the super soft.

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Michael F Smith
Goat Rock Ukulele
http://goatrockukulele.com

Thanks guys!

So far I have been trying to bend small pieces.
Unfortunately I am trying to bend these for a parlor guitar.
I have tried a damp cloth on the pipe with some improvement and will add a backing strip of spring steel and wrap with foil.
Will look and see if I can find some Super Soft locally but as I am on a dead line with this I will switch to Koa bindings if needed.

Again thanks for the replies!
Jay

i feel your pain. parlors with their small bend radii can be frustrating. i'm told that diluted Downey fabric softener can be used as well.

good luck.

A parlor was what I bent mine for. So that method does work, it just takes some practice. I broke all 4 pieces before I got it down, but it will work. Just keep the pressure light and steady, and keep sliding the section back and forth. The foil seems to work well for the initial bend, it heats the wood very quickly. After that you can get rid of the foil, but keep the backing strip. you'll know it when you reach that point.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

I had to really reduce the thickness and use two layers to get the stuff to bend cleanly. That was for a mandolin. I'll use plastic in future.

How thick are the pieces you are trying to bend? I normally have 2 mm thick bindings but for ebony I go down to around 1.75 mm. I find that going a little thinner makes a big difference.

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

And of course the nice thing about ebony is that, if you've just gotten a crack and still can coax it into the fully bent shape, the rest will sand out invisibly.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Nothing wrong with .060 bindings. Ebony is super easy 2 patch too.

Chris, do you have a trademark on that body style name?

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Pat

Pat brings up a good point - when I pared ebony down to 1.75mm the bending became somewhat effortless.....
I bend them taped together in the fox bender, but always touch up on the pipe after - time well spent....
Early on, I cracked 1 out of 2.
Now...rarely....

I bent all 4 of them taped together and wrapped in foil.
Went beautifully!!! one minor crack....easy to repair. glued them on this afternoon and they look great!

Thanks everybody!
Jay

'Atta boy Jay!
Glad it worked out for you.

Good deal, glad we could help! This forum is a great place for learning all the little details the books leave out.

Congrats!

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

Stiffness is proportional to the square of the thickness for bindings, just like it is for tops and braces. There seems to be a "tipping point" where bending becomes effortless, when only a few thousands thicker breaks almost every time.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon