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I mean… isn’t there a way to get the sides out of my bender wo having to pull it through the waist area? Does anyone slide the entire mold out at once?
Design flaw….?
After 29 builds I’m just asking this ha
B



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I've been bugging John hall to build me a bender that opens from the side on a hinge. I've learned from Bob at Pegasus guitars that I would prefer to start my bend from the butt end so the grain patterns match up exactly. I have some pretty incredibly figured wood that would be nice to not do an end graft on. So would love a side bender that hinges from one side.

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I think the limo bender is sideless


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What I ended up with -

2 common door hinges on a pillar on one side of the bending form, the "press" part can swing out of the way on either side depending which hinge pin is pulled. Works great and doesn't need extra hands.



In operation -



One side is always open, and the press part swinging out of the way is super handy.

Feel free to copy, probably done before by someone.

Get some nice solid brass hinges for smooth ops, it's worth it.

edit 2 --Looking at my setup again, I think those parts came from a junked abrasive metal chop saw vise. It was a crude but effective setup. If you want to make one look for something like this -- Then it's easy. They often have a quick release on the screw which is also very handy.

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-N085916-Vise-Assembly/dp/B00XNN8J36

Junk man at heart, no apologies!

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Brilliant, Brian. Simple, but not too simple.

I use a cam clamp with a caul. I think I got the idea from Cumpiano & Natelson. Maybe too simple.

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

When I first built my bender back around 2003 I screwed up the measurements and it wasn't high enough to get the side out easily so instead of redoing it I made the top removable. Best idea I ever had as you can leave it off to lower the sandwich in place, and remove it to lift the side out.

A second thing I do is when it's time to remove the side, I put spring clamps on the ends of the lower slat and connect them with tape so it can't spring up. Then the side just pops out. I use a modified technique for cutaways to keep the lower slat in place which is really helpful for removal.

IMG_1673 by Terence Kennedy, on Flickr

IMG_1676 by Terence Kennedy, on Flickr

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

If I recall correctly correctly, the shop-built benders at Greenridge used the longer version of the press screw, an extended tower, and a recessed waist caul which allowed 000 and smaller sides to be rotated 180 degrees for removal. On larger molds, the changes still created enough extra room to permit easy extraction.

One technique that helps... after bending, release the end cauls and hold-downs, but keep some pressure on the ends of the stack to avoid all that spring energy in the slats from lifting the ends. Loosen the waist caul, then strip out the top slats and blanket. After that, further loosen the waist so that the inner slat (the one under the side) can be stripped out. Makes removal of the side a lot easier without those slats pushing things around.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

Back in the 70's when I attended one of Charles Fox's Earthworks guitar classes, the bender he was using also had the removable top. It was a little open-on-the bottom box with the press screw in it that slipped over the uprights of the bender and secured with a couple pins. Another advantage that this design had over what has become the standard Fox bender is that the whole bender could be shorter, and easier to store.

Dave

I took a one day seminar from Charles Fox in Dallas back around 2005. He had a redesigned bender with a cantilevered, completely open sided system. Entry and exit from the side was unimpeded. He said he was going to make it available commercially, but I haven't seen it since. However, the new LMI bender may have taken some inspiration from his design.

I don't know why my old Fox bender couldn't be modified to make the top removable. Just need to replace the wood screws with some type of pin system. Hmm...

I built mine after taking the Fox course in 2003 Berry and in the picture you can see the empty holes for the screws I had to remove when I realized it was too short. I just used hanger bolts for the removable top and speed nuts from Lee Valley to allow quick removal and fitting.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/ha ... speed-nuts

It has held up all these years and bent lots of sides.

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

This is what Charles Fox was using as of 2018 when I attended his “Contemporary guitar making” workshop. Pretty crazy complicated solution.

Cheers, M

Is it getting stuck though? The one I got from John Hall has plenty of room to just pull the side right out. I've only ever done OM's on it.

Me too, but I think the advantage of having a top that opens or a cantilever design is that you can remove the side while holding the tension of the slats with two hands until it comes out of the machine. With my standard machine I'm unscrewing with one hand while trying to hold the slat tension with the other which puts a lot of that tension on the side before you can get it out.

I am considering options and this will be my next upgrade.

Pat

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Pat

I added tie down holes in that waist of the inner slat and use a wire to tie the inner slat down after the bend is complete. The wires exist out on the waist caul slot and tie to the spring cleat. That way when I go to remove the side from the bender the inner slat stays in place instead of trying to lift the side out as you raise the waist caul. Makes life easier.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I like it Jim. That might be the simplest solution yet!

Pat

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Pat

if you watch my video you will see the waist caul is removable the only one I see needing tied down is the cutaway ram
my removal procedure is
take 3 winds off the waist Pull the lower hold down and waist caul then remove the upper

works well for me

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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

Here's my version, it started out as a light bulb bender. The threaded rods that hold press releases from the thumb screw on both sides.

Nice idea with a thumb screws down below!

Pat

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Pat