Bloodwood back and sides question

[Everett Stone]

I am planing on building a guitar with bloodwood back and sides and was wondering if anyone has experience with using it. I know it is very dense was a little worried about bending problems.

[FRANK]

i wouldn't hesitate at all sand to appropriate thickness and bend does it have straight grain then you will be surprised how easy it is have fun keep us in the loop

[FRANK]

HECK I GO 62 TO 58 THOUSANDTHS OF AN INCH

[Jay Gordon]

i would recommend you thin the sides to less than 80 thousands. I'd go for .075 if you can manage. This will greatly improve your bending experience.

[Everett Stone]

Thanks for your advice. The grain is fairly straight where the bend will be the most at the waist. So far, I have made two guitars. The first was a dreadnought style with Bubinga back and sides. The second was a OM style with brazillian rosewood back and sides. In both cases, I soaked the sides overnight before doing the bending using my heating iron. I have seen where some folks do not soak the wood that much prior to bending. What is your experience with soaking vs not soaking?

[Tim Mace]

Some woods need more steam than others....you have to know which but so far I don't think lengthy soaking
is the key but more application during hand bending for difficult woods.I boiled my first Ovangkol attempt and ruined every piece.Slow and frequent spray works best but the heat/bending jigs are more a no brainer and more consistant.

[Everett Stone]

Can you recommend a good heat/bending jig?

[Tim Mace]

Stew Mac or LMII...not familiar w/any specific but heard of Fox.You have to somehow settle for standard body styles or fabricate your own.dread,OM, classical .....are available I think.

[FRANK]

hold on here i use a fox jig and i bend sides for 000 om and jumbo with the same bender not bad it would be easier to build your own i have full size plans

[Ry Charters]

I bent some .090" bloodwood binding after soaking at 180 for 40 minutes (twice as long because I had heard about its difficulty)
First batch cracked half of them. Went super slow on the next and had better results. The cracked ones were completely dry inside. If I did it over again, I'd soak them for an hour. But I don't think I want to mess with it again...

[Jay Gordon]

Your ..090" bloodwood cracked because it wasn't really thin enough. .075: (or less) makes a big difference in flexibility. no soaking required, just mist, wrap in paper (or foil), and stick it in your bender. presto!