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I'm starting #56. An OM. Body will be Bird's Eye Maple. I'll be using double sides so I'll be bending at about 0.050-0.060 for the Bird's eye. Inner side will be plain Maple at 0.050. With double sides I normally bend both sides together. I use two blankets with the brown wrapping paper technique on a typical Fox bender.

Any tips from you guys?

Thanks

Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Got it. Thanks

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Just for the record it bent fine after treatment with SSII.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Terence (anyone),
As a newbie, can I ask what is the advantage(s) of double sides over single?
Thanks,
Marty

Ok, I'm just regurgitating what I've read, but double sides have more mass & are stiffer which inhibits the flow of vibrations from the top into the sides. They increase the efficiency of the top.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I did my first doubles to make it easier to bend tight cutaways in tough woods like Maple. Later I found it had a very positive effect on the tone and started doing it on regular models. I've only done 6 or 7 so far. I have a captive audience of great players and experienced retailers at the store where I sell and the general consensus is the doubles have been a very positive thing. I got the idea from reading about Tim McKnight's stuff and the Bogdanovich classical book. Howard Klepper had some good pictures of his laminating jigs somewhere.

I have a hard time describing tone but these seem to be louder and exhibit a little more lively less muddy feel with better tonal separation if that makes any sense. Anyway it's been viewed in a very positive manner by the majority of players. I plan to keep doing it especially with LMI offering lower grade thin sides for this purpose. Unibond 800 is a great glue. It dries hard like glass and has no water in it.

Here is the Bird's Eye just off the laminating form. It ain't goin' nowhere, you almost don't need a mold.



Here's a clip of one that is at the store now. They hype it a little which is a bit embarrassing as this is certainly nothing new or revolutionary.

http://www.thepodium.com/p-17650-kenned ... op-om.aspx

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Terence,

Are you treating both pcs of your lamination with SSII, or just the Maple? and what is that doing to your bending temperatures?

Notice that there is no scorching on your Maple.

Tim

I treated both pieces. They were around .056-.060. Two blankets, Foil covered slats, moist brown wrapping paper and moist wood, bend complete at around 320. Heat at 290-320 for 12' and repeat when fully cool.

Interestingly on this side I was playing the guitar while watching the thermometer during reheating and lost track of the temp and it went to 380!! It did not scorch. Thank God for brown paper and Al foil.

The other side is still in the bender, hopefully it will be OK too.

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

380!!!!!!!
I'm impressed you aren't scraping black off. I'd be afraid to go over 290.
Thanks for sharing your procedure. I'll have to give that a try.

I've done the same with no problems... lots of birdseyes on the outer layer, plain maple inside, both about .05". I did a pretty tight Venetian cutaway. No supersoft, just spritzed with water, wrapped in kraft paper and foil and bent together in a Fox bender with a single blanket on the bottom. It came out great.