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I can’t believe I actually did it but I ended up bending two left sides on the bending iron. Is it possible to re-bend one in the other direction without breaking it? I would sure appreciate advice from anyone who has had success doing it. If it matters, they are Tasmanian blackwood. Thanks in advance.

I did the same on a tenor uke, also Australian blackwood. I used an hot iron set to steam (yes, ironing board iron), and ironed/steamed it flat. after it was flat and cooled, bent as normal.

Glenn

Exactly. Go slow, and with luck and patience you should prevail!

From what i have read it is exactly as said above with a flat iron.

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美智え

Yes just iron it flat. Don't get in a hurry. Good advise anytime you are bending wood


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I've flattened sides with a close iron as well. It's all about patience and lots of steam.

Very important! If you are married go out and buy a cheap new iron and do not use your spouses iron. Do not ask how I know this.

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Thanks for all the replies and encouragement, guys. Sounds like there's hope. I'm going to give it a shot but will take it slow.

John - great point about the clothes iron. You probably saved me some serious domestic pain there.

I bought a good steam iron from Walmart for $6.95 works great too


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I sort of just passed this thread by since I figured the answer would be to start over. I am surprised that you can actually bend a side back the other way. I will store that little tidbit in the back of my mind since I am pretty sure it will happen to me at some point down the line. From the sounds of it it has happened to a few of you...

Thanks for the info guys. I already use a cloths iron to remove bridges and FB extensions and it just happens to be a steam iron.

Cheers,
Bob

Places like Goodwill, and Salvation Army are great places to get a good iron for a couple of bucks.

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Waddy

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You are not the first person to bend two left sides.

I've bent rosewood sides backward before too, and I just rebent it the right way using the same hot pipe. But then rosewood is so easy to bend that you could practically do it cold.

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I did that once. Used a regular old flat iron with steam to undo it. Came out fine. Somebody here suggested that.

Ha ha! John, touché!

You'll need an iron eventually, may as well get one that's all yours...

Thanks Vic. I've seen others mention doing it but just never thought I would. Never say never...

Thanks again for all the replies. I'm going to see if I can track down a used clothes iron.

Yup, I've done it too, more than once (don't ask). I don't understand why you would want to bother with a clothes iron to fix it though though, the old hot pipe works fine. You have to "roll" the wood over it of course, but you should do that anyways, so you just have to be a little more careful than usual, and pay close attention to how the wood behaves. I'm not a believer in going too slow either, I always find I get better results if I go hot and fast, than cool and slow. It does take some practice (and courage, perhaps), so a few practice bends are a good idea if you are not that used to working with the hot pipe.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

"I don't understand why you would want to bother with a clothes iron to fix it though though, the old hot pipe works fine"

If you use a blanket for bending you may not have a hot pipe handy. Even in the age of permanent press a clothes iron is still a household weapon.

I'm sticking with a hot pipe... seems a lot of people are having problems with heat blankets, either the side rippling or cracking in weird ways. I never had issue with hot pipes.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Some rosewoods take a set once bent and won't budge the second time around.

You can also use a blanket in a sandwich, then gently push down onto a flat surface.

Pat

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Actually, that makes more sense than an iron...

Good point, Arnt. I'm just using a bending iron, not a blanket and form, so I guess flatting the side first with a clothes iron doesn't really buy me anything. The sides bent pretty easily initially so I'm hopeful the re-bend will go smoothly as well, but I will pay close attention to how it behaves as I go, as you suggested. Thanks.

Interesting. I never would have guessed that you could bend it back the other way. This has not ever happened to me... Yet! But when ever I screw up the placement of the waist (usually is the waist) I usually have a terrible time getting it back correctly. So I would have just assumed it's impossible. Good to know.

Steam clothes iron works so well that I actually bent, flattened, and rebent the same side wrong Twice ! Yes, yes, I know, that was real Doofus.
Third time around I got it right.
BTW, I put a pillow case between the iron and side to not scorch.



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Rusty, you make me feel better about myself.

Great idea on the pillow case!