Side bender questions....

[Gage Halland]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, so I'll just introduce myself.  My name is Gage, now that that's done...

I'm building a new Side Bender, and I just wanted to get some advice from those of you using the Fox Universal style benders.  After watching the Taylor factory tour videos on Youtube, I started to imagine a whole new side bender utilizing much of the same features found in the Taylor bender (albeit without all the automation.)  Up 'til now I've used a Fox bender with light bulbs (never tried the silicone heat blankets) and I'm wondering if anyone's used silicone rollers for the upper and lower bout cauls?  I've talked to a roller manufacturer, and they can produce a heated roller, which seemed like an interesting bender feature.  Does anyone see a possible benefit from having what is essentially a heated caul that rolls smoothly over the bouts, rather than the typical hard wood?  Also, because of the heated rollers rigidity, you could build a single sided bender that would allow faster, easier set up of the pre-bent sides.

I'm basically throwing this out to see if there are any obvious flaws in my theory...

G. B. Halland

Also, any suggestions on where to get extension springs for a Fox Bender?  All my local hardware stores are no longer carrying them.

[John C. Murray]

oh, and when you say press, I presume you mean the caul at the waist...never a rocking issue at all. I bend most woods dry to damp(never soaked) with only occasional spritzing with a bottle. this really cuts down on staining. watch my very amateur video on bending some sides...and no, I normally don't stutter LOL
http://www.facebook.com/Murrayguitars?v=app_2392950137&ref=ts#!/video/video.php?v=1573059973564

[Scot Tremblay]

Thanks John,

Yea, I ment the caul at the waist, varnish fumes messing with my ability to think. I use a veneer press screw and I was wondering if a wider caul would need two, one on each end. But I see that is an unfounded concern of mine.

That's pretty much how I bend sides except that I fold a piece of news print paper (before it's printed on of course), place the side between the fold, spritz it and bend it. I find the paper absorbs 99% of any stain and it is an especially good way to do Quilted maple. Since I've been doing my bending with the paper I've not had a single case of "bubbling" that can sometimes happen with Quilted.

Thanks again, I'm sure I'll make a double side bender now that it's clear there are no problems.

BTW, my wife thinks a stutter is kind of "cute"...so, there you go..."chicks dig it".

[Doug T]

I use the paper method as well, but I use brown paper. My inspiration was the memory of my mother using these for "Crisp" cookies. It pulled out the oil and excess moisture when she took them off the pan, even more so than just putting them on a drying rack. Now, if I had more than just two narrow benches against the wall in the garage, a rig like that binding cutter would be quite nice. I think Roy Noble had some really cool jig, but I have not been able to find hide nor hair of him in at least a few years. He must be in his 80's (at least) by now.