Need help bending snakewood binding

[viento]

I´ve never bent snakewood bindings.
With my second acoustic guitar I want to do it because I like the look
but I am a bit insecure how I should bend without breaking or splitting.

I will use my bending tube ( ca.4" diameter) heated with a heat gun.
What temperature is best?

How long should I wet these stripes?

>material information:
EIR back and sides
German spruce Top
cedro neck
ebony fingerboard and bridge

This is going to be a baritone 12-string with 27" scale
...and to make things a bit more complicated
I decided to make a florentine cutaway

I searched the web about this question but had no real
results.
Maybe somebody can give me a hint or share his experience.

Thanks!

[kiwigeo]

I'd try soaking in water beforehand and use a bit higher heat than for IRW. A bit of Supersoft would also help. be careful with high heat if there are purflings glued to the binding.

Most importantly....have a couple of spare lengths of binding.

[viento]

Thanks for your help!
I will try to get some Supersoft and give it a try.
Maybe a thin sheet of steel would help too.

[kiwigeo]

Yes...a good idea to have a strap around outside of wood while bending.....helps keep the heat in and also supplies a but of support for fibres that may be about to pop out.

With difficult woods just take it easy and don't apply too much pressure to the wood.

[56nortondomy]

Also make sure you've got some super glue handy, put it on any small splits straight away. Wayne

[rocket]

While superglue is being mentioned can anyone tell me where i can get some CA accelerator here in Oz.
Rod.

[56nortondomy]

There was a guy on eBay here in oz selling it, not sure if he still does Rod, i got mine from the US. Wayne

[ozwood]

Try Blackwoods Rod, we use it at work and I'm pretty sure it's from blackwoods.

https://www.blackwoods.com.au/part/0149 ... -7452-20gm

or

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NO-LABEL-SUP ... 3396e07511

or your local model hobby shop.

cheers,

[rocket]

Thanks Paul, i'll check those out.
Rod.

[kiwigeo]

While superglue is being mentioned can anyone tell me where i can get some CA accelerator here in Oz.
Rod.

Carbatec carry the stuff along with the hotshot range of CA glues.

[J.F. Custom]

While superglue is being mentioned can anyone tell me where i can get some CA accelerator here in Oz.
Rod.

Carbatec carry the stuff along with the hotshot range of CA glues.

Martin is right in that C-Tec has it - "Hot Stuff" (not 'shot' - an amalgamation of "Hot Stuff" and "Hipshot" there Martin? ), made in USA.

If I recall correctly, Stew-Mac used to carry Hot Stuff as it's range of cyanoacrylates (super glue) before they were replaced with their own branded products. Perhaps it is still the same stuff, just re-branded for them by Hot Stuff...

Jeremy.

[kiwigeo]

Martin is right in that C-Tec has it - "Hot Stuff" (not 'shot' - an amalgamation of "Hot Stuff" and "Hipshot" there Martin? ), made in USA.

I was shot when I wrote the post.......had downed a few Guninesses.

[Bruce McC]

Hi V

For what it is worth I made a bending strap using aluminium flashing. Bought the flashing from Bunnings, found it in the building materials section.
Not very expensive, it comes in rolls 150 mm wide by 5 or so metres long which is more than you'll need. My strap is approx 300 mm long
and I folded the flashing in half to stiffen it up a bit. Pop riveted a couple of blocks of scrap timber (quarter sawn of course) to each end for handles
and used it for bending sides for a uke.

[Solandra]

Would you believe that "Glen 20" is also a good CA accelerant? You just have to do a bit of trial and error to not get a white finish (less is best). I learned this in wood turning class making pens;)

Mark

[viento]

@ Bruce McC :
Thats a nice jig!
Thanks for sharing.
I´ll make one for the next bending.

[printer2]

For what it is worth, from my reading on bending wood I got that wood does not like to be pulled apart. More than 1% and you may start getting fractures. It does not mind being compressed. Part of the reason a back strap helps, even better if the strap is clamped to the wood or the wood. Also I used liquid fabric softener to get some stubborn wood to bend without breaking. Mixed it with water and let it soak over night dried it and bent it.

[viento]

....Also I used liquid fabric softener to get some stubborn wood to bend without breaking. Mixed it with water and let it soak over night dried it and bent it.

Thanks for your help!

I stumbled over "veneer softener". Must give that liquid a try. Maybe overnight like you did.

If the snakewood doesn´t bend I will do the binding with nice figured Tasmanian blackwood .