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I'm experiencing a lot of springback on my first attempt at bending ovangkol. I have thicknessed it to 0.070-0.075 and am wondering if I should go thinner. Any info on how to deal with this wood would be much appreciated. Thanks.

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Under Compensated Nut!

Some woods will do that ... wenge, bubinga, some mahagany .. just put it back in the bender adn run a couple heat/cool cycles, that should help. I dont worry much about springback in the bouts, its getting hte waist clse that concerns me. .. I dont like forcing that in with a caul, but the bouts usually flex in without much effort, and once they are blocked and kerfed, they are fine.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I´ve built a lot of flamenco guitars and most have been with Mediterranean Cypress, which is a stubborn backspringer.
I bend the sides in a fox style bender and I try to bend just before assembly. Just giving the sides time to dry. But even then, there´s a good deal of springback. So I´ve gotten used to always have the hotpipe ready when I assemble. Just a fast touch in the waist and evt. the bouts as well. The wais is by far the most important. The bouts can do with a bit of pushing and a few clamps. But not to much. I dont like to much stress in the build.

Hi,

I've just bent 2 sides of ovangkol, in was a real pain, as you described the springback is amazing!!!
I first let the sides soak in water for 1h, then made a pre bending (waist and upper bout), then I let them dry overnight.
On day 2, I soaked them again in hot water for 1h, and finished the bending with caution because on one side fibers inside the waist were starting to lift a little.
After the waist area was perfect and the upper and lower bout with a decent shape, I put them in the mold with the spreaders and let them sit overnight.
On day 3 in the morning, outside the mold, the sides are very nicely bent and almost no springback!

It is for an OM model, so bending the waist is really not a walk in the park.. but I did it!
Maybe I left the sides a little too thick, too..

I am also having big trouble thicknessing the back, tearout everywhere... I do everything with handtools..

I've bent 2 sets of ovangkol. Very curly stuff. I spritzed with supersoft let set overnight in Kraft paper and bent it hot with no additional water. Pretty quick to bend. I also bend on a pipe so I can't say my methods apply. T