Hot pipe bending of guitar sides with Luthier Chuck Morrison
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- A quick little tutorial on how to bend sides using a hot pipe and some water.
I was reminded that hot galvanized pipe can release zinc, which can be toxic. That is true if the temperature exceeds 200 degrees C (392 F) Since I don't let the flame touch the pipe and turn it down low after the pipe first boils water, I don't believe that I have ever exceeded about 120 C or 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Much above that and most woods discolor, so that's a good deterrent to working too hot. I also use a black pipe of the same size/style which is probably a safer choice. Of course burning yourself is a more tangible risk and gloves would be a wise precaution.
Thats the best live demonstration of hand bending I have ever watched - Brilliant!!!
You sir are the guy to watch concerning side bending and I'll guess I'll see what else. Great video, thanks much!
I’m sure you have the touch watching your video. I put a stove thermometer on my bending pipe it takes about 400 degrees before wood will ignite.
I used this method and reduced my scorched pieces 100% still got a few but I found the stove thermometer really eliminated alot of the guess work for me!
Hope this helps.
Your video shows you are a very accomplished luthier and I did not mean any disrespect!
Thanks, Patrick Nole
Also the thermometer has a magnet that allows it to stick to the pipe.
Good information. Thanks for the comment !
Hi Chuck - Great video - I love the way you've added the mortice Routing Template to your mould - I've never seen that before - having watched hundreds of "Experts"- Its such a great and simple Idea and must save alot of messing around with seperate jigs - I mean the Neck block is right there ready to go - Good Stuff
Thanks. A lot of the fun of building guitars is coming up with different ways of doing things.
I watched expecting chuck Norris to roundhouse wood and shape the guitar sides........ but my reading is bad I guess. still worth a watch
Great video, thank you for sharing this. I will make the same set-up, and hope to be succesfull in bending the sides of the archtop guitar i am building ai this moment, my first home made guitar. Regards and thanks again. Sander van der Voort from the Netherlands
Practice on some scrap wood first, and take your time to get some skill before trying on expensive woods, especially if they are figured, like tiger maple.
ilove your guitar build ❤️
Great video. Thank you.
Thank, you I was about to order the side bender from Stewmac. I had been building Mountain Dulcimers in the Muleshoe shape or Wythe County Virginia styles. I want to branch out to guitars and maybe a couple of other instruments and shapes. Your pipe is perfect for my needs. I will start on it Saturday as a Tropical Storm is coming through here tomorrow and Friday. I will need to get some pipe from ACE. I will trace some Instruments I have and start on patterns tomorrow morning while making a couple of changes to the designs to fit my ideas ie maple and spruce for a brighter sound.
A couple things. If you go this route it's probably better to use black pipe rather than galvanized to avoid any zinc inhalation issues. Also, it's easy to get the pipe much too hot using propane. You want it just hot enough to boil water, but not so hot that water spits off the pipe. Maple generally does not require a very hot pipe and will burn easily. Keep the wood moving back and forth to keep from scorching it. I usually get the pipe hot enough and then turn the torch down very low to keep it there. Good luck !
@@chuckmorrison thanks for the tip
You know, in all these years and all the guitars I've played of yours, other than the first one where you bent the sides over the form (as you mentioned, in Sloane style), I've never watched you bend sides. How funny. Interesting to see it after all this time. I'd like to see you do some hard woods, like padauk, or rosewood. Those are more work. Cool to see this one, though.
Yes, they are more work, although it's really about;
1. getting used to the amount of pressure you need to apply (before cracking occurs)
2. the amount of wetting required
3. how high the heat needs to be
4. how thin the wood has to be
All of these things vary by type of wood. East Indian rosewood is actually pretty easy to bend, assuming it's under 2mm thick. African blackwood is the hardest I've ever bent. It doesn't absorb water and needs a lot of heat.
I use a pipe also but I use a heat gun to heat it. No open flame and more control.
Soak your pipe parts in muriatic acid for a couple hours to remove the galvanized coating and you won't have to worry about it
I used vinegar on mine took a couple days but worked fine.
Muriatic acid works great! Fast, too.
Good vidieo, Iam about too attempt my first really hard wood bend Bubinga that I have had in my shop for 20yrs. How thin do you suggest I get the sides before I attempt to bend? Iam making 2 guitars & I do not have any extra bubinga so I have to make the first time right. Thank you & God Bless 🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🎸🎸👨🏻🦯
Bubinga can be a bear to bend smoothly, especially if it has a deep curl or Pomelle figure. I've only used it a few times about 40 years ago and gave it up because I didn't like the look of it. Like all very dense tropical hardwoods, I'd be bending it at 1.6 - 1.8 mm. I'd also soak it for at least an hour before trying to bend it over a pipe.
Gonna build me one of these
Been trying with a heat gun and a pipe but just not ideal the heat just spreads and bad times I’ve had a bad time
Hi. Thanks for the great reat video 😊👍 what was the sides thiknessed to?
It depends on the wood. Usually less than 2mm. Very hard woods, like some rosewoods can be as thin as 1.6mm. Softer woods like maple can be thicker, but generally not more than 2mm. Maple and oak bend very easily and can be thicker, but care should be taken not to singe the wood, especially at the waist.
@@chuckmorrison thanks for replying. Im using Utile as a mahogany substitute. I had it at 2.65mm and had trouble getting it bent. But was scared to go much thinner. But with your info. I'll definitely go thinner next time 😊👍
How hard is Burley Cherry wood, I’m in the process of building an acoustic guitar, and i found some really nice burley cherry.
Cherry is between hard and soft maple in hardness. It also bends similarly to a hard-ish maple. Burl in a wood can make it a challenge for bending without breaking.
What size pipe are you usingfor your bending iron?
Pipes are sized strangely. I measure the inside diameter at about 1 5/8", so I'm going to assume that's sold as 1 1/2". You might be able to use 2" if you don't have a tight waist or cutaway to deal with.
@@chuckmorrison, thanks a lot! I'm going to also see how far I can get with a 1/2" pipe. I'm interested to know how small a radius I'm able to successfully get.
@@giglaeoplexis Good luck with that. I'd be concerned about overheating such a small pipe unless you have a very small torch.
@@chuckmorrison, I made sure I got a torch with an adjustable flame. I'm awaiting some practice sides from Stew Mac to test everything. I'm also concerned about the size of the pipe. Thanks, again!