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At this point it is more agony. Brazilian Rosewood side bending disaster. My Bad. The good part is I know what went wrong and why, and have been making positive changes to my Fox style bender. And my technique. My question to this excellent guitar building community; anyone know of a replacement side set of BRW? Help of any kind would be appreciated.

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"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

I am here only as a last resort. I want to keep mine, but I have sympathy, too. It might have to be a set with minor worm holes. So, I hope someone else offers a solution.

What exactly was the problem then?

The benders waist caul was tipped. Because the shoe was a sloppy fit in the bender. So after I bent upper and lower bouts I snugged the waist down the last quarter inch. but the side was not perpendicular to the mold at the waist. (it was up perhaps a half inch at the tops edge, less at the backs edge. Ended up with cracks cross the grain. I spent hours today rebuilding the bender to prevent this from happening in the future. Expensive lesson. Ouch.

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"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

I can accept a few worm holes, since the back from the set has a few.
Thanks for the sympathy. I'll be licking this wound for a while!

_________________
"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

If you are interested in doing laminated sides from veneer I may be able to help you out. BRW comes in a lot of colors and shades so pictures of the back panels would aid in matching the set.

Ah bummer, yeah I can see how that could happen.

By the way, you can still iron it flat and use it for head pieces or for ukulele backs and sides.

Can't help with the Braz, but I remember a seminar with Charles Fox at a GAL convention a while back. He was demonstrating side bending, mahogany with a cut away and - SNAP. He took the two pieces out of the bender, looked at the audience and said "that happens"

Appreciate the sympathy. Still kicking myself for not being more focused on what was I was doing.
I’ve been considering laminating sides-
a definite advantage for a couple reasons.



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_________________
"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

What do you use as the inner veneer?


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_________________
"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

Clay- this is the BRW back.
Thanks



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_________________
"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

Getting a veneer and doing double sides is a great idea. You may get a better sounding guitar and become a double sides believer as fringe benefits.

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

Hi David,
I can look through the veneer this weekend. How long and wide do the side pieces need to be?

Generally I do 3 layers of rosewood, but many people use mahogany, walnut, or some other wood species for the inner layer.

Clay it is a Small Jumbo, 32 long, 4 1/2 at the end wedge. It will need Brazilian inside and out.
Thanks!

_________________
"It is easier to fool a man, than it is to convince him that he has been fooled"
Mark Twain

Hi David,
This is what I found. The pieces are approx. 3 ft X 7 1/2 inches. I will send you a PM on the particulars ( I don't know how to send pictures in a P.M.

Dake Traphagen posted some BRW in the classifieds a while back.

I suspect he still has some - you can email him if you're still looking.

He was listing sets but he may have orphans.

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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.