Official Luthiers Forum!

Anyone willing to share their experience with commercially available bending irons (too busy to DIY)? I know LMI and SM but perhaps there are other options I am not aware of. Also, is the small end of the oval profile OK for mandolin/fiddle bends or would that require another iron? The SM version has an option for an attachment but I've heard some say that it doesn't really work that well. Thanks!!

I have the stewmac version with the extension. I can not compare as it is the only one I have used. I like the shape of the iron a lot. I have bent very tight curves using the various radiuses the iron presents. The extension is not very wide I use it for purflings like herringbone; the right angle where the extension intersects with the main iron helps me keep the purfling square.

The iron gets very hot. I bend on max with very little water. I honed my skill bending ebony bindings for a tight venetian cutaway. I went through a whole stack before I got the feeling of when the wood is plastic.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

I use the Ibex iron which is like the StewMac version except the end is not tapped (easy to do if I ever want to). Mine did not get as hot as I wanted so I souped it up by putting in a higher wattage heating element - that thread is here:http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=37310

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I use a bending machine for sides, but I use an iron like Steve's without the smaller extension for purfling, touch up bends, stuff like that. I don't suffer from not having the extension. The egg profile of the pipe gets me all the radii I need. I guess if I were making really tight bends I would feel the need for the extension, but that's not my situation.

Mine gets plenty hot, by the way.

I lucked into a barely used second hand SM iron with the extension. I have done a uke on it without the extension. I find I use it at almost max temp.

Ed

I've seen a lot of them on ebay, I think from the orient, at lower cost, but I have no idea of the quality.

I had a Ibex one which worked OK for about 4 guitars and then broke. I then got one of those cheap "oriental" ones off E-Bay and it has outlasted the Ibex, and works fine.

I started out with a piece of black pipe with a galvanized cap on one end and a reducer on the other. Hated it. I bought the LMI aluminum bending pipe , and use with a propane torch and love it. I don't have a way of controlling or even checking the temperature. I put a blue shop towel on the tube and spritz with water. It works very well. If I could afford a heating blanket and controller I would get them.
I'm a very low tech shop with many home made tools. Can't miss what I've never had, but do get tool envy from reading this site.

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Brad Hall
Mystic Dawg Guitars