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Hello all, got some figured Bubinga to bend,i bend on an iron so any advice appreciated having never used bubinga before now, i usually soak for five to ten minutes before taking to the iron and this has worked for me in the past but have never used figured wood before.Thanks all Roby

I also bend on an iron. I don't soak my sides. I've only done Bubinga twice and scorched the first set. The second time I used a cloth over the iron and kept it damp. Worked fine for me.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I am today finishing an iron for bending.
I have a bending machine but moved from light bulbs to a blanket - my first failure! (Poor technique) So back to basics to get the feel of some woods.
My first sides to bend (after some practice) will be figured bubinga.
Some of my own thoughts FWIW -
Less is better for water on figured woods as said above.
Do you intend using a bending strap?
I believe they help to support the wood (help prevent splitting and/minimise "faceting" which figured bubinga can be prone to) and slow down the loss of steam.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Figured Bubinga needs lots of heat. At least 350º. A side bender is a better option because it offers support on the opposite side and beter heat distribution but I guess you can support it also on an iron and get it done. My sides were .08" thin. The trick not to scorch is to move fast, move as the wood bends. If you take too long the resins start to dry out and the wood looses its elasticity and the bend gets faceted or breaks. Bubinga can be a pain to bend but its doable. I just did one in curly bubinga that was real stubborn....
Best of luck,

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Don't soak figured bubinga or it will crack as soon as it dries out. Just lightly spritz it with water. A bending machine is the way to go, but is doable with a hot pipe iron. Just go gently at a hotter temp 325-350 F.

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Guitar Maker and Purveyor of the World's Finest Tonewoods
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I admire those who have the patience to learn to use the hot pipe. I didn't, and have been using a Fox bender for over 20 years. I spritz the wood well, then spritz brown packing paper and place it on either side of the wet wood. Lately I've been spritzing figured wood with SuperSoft2 rather than water. I bend the waist at 250 F. degrees, the lower bout shortly after, and the upper bout at 275 F. It takes about 10 minutes. Then I let the temp rise to 300 F. for another five minutes to dry it out. All wood gets treated the same, though I often finish bending mahogany at 265 F. to keep it from drying out and cracking. I love bubinga, though the figured stuff tends to look lumpy after a few years as a guitar. It doesn't take much differential shrinkage of the figure to show up on a well-polished surface.

I have recently bent waterfall bubinga sides by hand on a hot pipe. The pipe needs to be good and hot, so that water sprayed onto it will instantly dance in little balls on the top of it. I spritzed the wood with water but did not soak it. My Bubinga took longer to give in than rosewood or mahogany that I have worked with before, and it springs back more also. I think that it really helps to use some flexible steel or something similar as a supportive backing when bending on a pipe. I used super-soft, and my sides were thinned down to about 2.4mm. I think that if it had been any thicker it really would have been fighting me. However, mine ended up going OK and there were no dramas. This was my one time with this wood. Not the easiest one I have done in my experience with 5 guitars so far, but not too difficult. I can't say that this is the best method possible, but it worked out fine for me. Good luck with it - it certainly can look beautiful.
Mark