bending hi figured koa

[Mark Dobbins]

Hi all I am about to build a koa guitar , i have built rosewood , maple, palo escrito, and walnut,the koa i have is super figured and i was wondering is there any tips or do,s and donts i should be aware of? my previous bends 10 min soaks in hot water in the bath tub then put in foil between 2 stainless slats and my heating blanket from lmi in my side bender. appreciate any suggestions to keep me from breaking an expensive set. thanks Mark

[Charlie Hoffman]

Koa is quite easy to bend but yet problematic because it wants to crack on the figure. What I do is soak very little (30 sec. max) and bend quite slowly. Because it bends easily it is tempting to bend it faster than you should. Go slow.

[Mark Dobbins]

Thanks Charlie

[FRANK]

SAND DOWN TO 70 THOUSANDTHS NO BATH TUB

[Mark Dobbins]

thanks Paul I will go with dry and 70 and go slow like charlie says . this is the prettiest set of koa i have ever seen and dont wanna wreck it.