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I just got an order for a maple guitar for the first time. Never bent maple. The customer selected a set that' s hard, with mild fiddleback, well-quartered. Any tips, gotchas? TIA

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Are you using a bending machine or hot pipe?

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Both. I usually do the waist on a pipe, then a simplified Fox-type machine.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I've only bent four maple side sets, all on a hot pipe. Two were curly maple, one was curly Ambrosia maple, and one was birdseye maple. One thing I learned for curly maple was to not wet the outside surface of a bend when using a hot pipe. The water weakens the fibers on the curls and they want to lift and break. Wetting only the inside prevented that from happening. The Ambrosia maple was one of the easiest side sets I've bent of any kind of wood. The birdseye maple was more of a challenge because the birdseyes are points of inflexibility and the sides tended to want to bend in facets because of them. It still worked though.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Using a sheet metal backer can help, I'd also thin out the waist a little more. I haven't bent too many sets of maple, but the Jay's tip about bending on the drier side sounds right to me.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Wet paper towel on the hot pipe is what helps the most for me.

maple is easy don't over wet it

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

It's been awhile but I believe aluminum foil used in bending will stain maple.

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Stay with the happy people.
--Reynolds Large

Rank amateur here with only 6 guitars on the hot pipe. Just bent a set of pretty complicated figured maple and did not know to be cautious - it bent beautifully with no special treatment

Ed M

here is a trick use a cloths iron with steam
don't over work it but once you feel it getting loose set the iron down and hold to shape to set the curve
Maple usually bends easy

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it