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Hi. I thought I'd share this very affordable bender variation I improvised building with some shelving material I found on the street (I am pretty broke). I call it the "Rail Bender". The idea is an alternative to using springs, which I never could get dialed in correctly before. To my pleasant surprise it really works well and is easy to make. Two sliding wood "clamps" attach to rails on each side and slide down length of guitar mold to bend sides. I just used scrap wood and spare parts I had laying around. Actually I had made the lightbulb part a few years ago, using a light dimmer and two porcelain sockets for the 200 watt bulbs. Then about a year ago I came across the heating blanket, which really works well. I cut up some "dumpster dived" conduit, and sheet metal flashing for the mold, using some bolts I had collected. Perhaps the light bulbs are no longer needed but I use them anyway. Works like a dream. The veneer press was found on ebay pretty cheap too (can't remember how much), it being my largest expense:

I find making a new mold and changing it to be suprisingly easy...

Maybe it's been done before.

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

A unique and enterprising solution. I like the rail concept, once you get the overall thickness of your bending sandwich dialed in, it should work great. As an engineer, I like it!!

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

I redid my bender a few months back and it made bending go from alright to downright easy. I went for several years with a cheap wing nut and i-bolt system to the more normal press and spring. My first broken side made me finally upgrade as I had been planning. Turns out it was just bad wood. Luckily it was Hondo Hog and I was able to get a new set that was really close to the back from Steve al Colonial for next to nothing. Sometimes its just bad wood. It took three tries to get springs that were right, but once dialed in its great. I did alright with the old cheap method, but this setup is 100 times easier and zero stress. No fumbling around.

That looks nice but I would imagine changing shapes would require using a relatively larger piece of plywood than you might otherwise need (and thus more material or $)... and I still don't like those springs, but that's just my personal preference. The rail clamps I made were pretty crude at this point and I could see them being refined in the future, but they work flawlessly, with for me less fumbling around. I find storage becomes a major issue in my small shop so anything I don't have to worry about storing outside in the weather is good. Since the molds are made so cheaply I can do this when not using them, or just make more. I want to experiment a lot with shapes in the future. I also put that semi circle "sound hole" in there so I can stick my hand inside to screw in a loose lightbulb or whatever.

I don't think you really need the strength of that curving bottom area that holds your veneer press either. Less is more here IMO, though that may be nitpicking a bit.

_________________
"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.