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Thread: Maple Thinline Telecaster

  1. #31
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    1,740
    Very impressive work!

  2. #32

    More Pics...

    Wee, it's time for some wood bending. Since I made the core of the guitar out of cutoffs, there are some glue joints and end grain to cover up. I plan to bend flame maple sides and glue them covering the full height of the sides. I'll then come back and cut a binding channel.

    So, I built my bending iron. About $30 worth of propane torch, pipe and hardware.



    I set up my area with the form elevated off the table so I could lay the bent wood up against the edge...it pivots on center so I can rotate it depending on which side of the guitar I'm working on.



    I started out on a strip of rosewood to get the feel of things...went OK. That thin a piece is easy to twist while you bend. A wider piece was more stable.



    So, on the the maple for the sides. The maple is about 33% thinner than the binding I tested on. It bends very easily and I didn't have any problems with scorching.



    It's starting to look like something. I found that I could rough in the main curves and then go back and clean them up to fit better before moving onto the next bend.

    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  3. #33

    More Pics...

    Things went smoothly. I was able to get the first side quite quickly.





    And then, disaster struck. I think the way the grain is running in these pieces is going to present a challenge. I may need to study more about the properties of figured maple and how to position the grain for bending. I cut these off the edge of a 2.5" thick billet...I may need to cut some from the face and see how that works. Always learning.



    Peace,
    Mark
    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Waterford, MI
    Posts
    4,673
    Bummer but that does look to be about the tightest bend of all of them. Seems like if you were going to run into a problem it would have been right there. Just wondering if you've ever tried bending wth a heat blanket. I've heard you can get tighter bends with those than bending irons but haven't tried myself (yet) though.
    Use the fence Luke

  5. great work, thanks for all the documented steps.

  6. #36
    Mark, at one time I recaned some chairs and soaked the cane in water to which I had added glycerin. It seemed to lubricate the fibers and permitted a lot more bend without splitting out. May be worth a try.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Champaign, IL
    Posts
    25
    I 'm sure you know much more about this than I do, but I remember seeing somewhere that a thin metal "springy" steel band is used on the outside of the strip to back-up the wood. That might help prevent the grain blowouts(?)

    Looking really good.

  8. #38

    More Pics...

    Time to regroup. I resawed a 4mm face cut from the billet. I passed it thru the planer with the knives just breathing on the surface each pass. I got it down to just over 2mm.



    Ripped it into 3 strips and started over. The grain direction in this cut made a huge difference. It bent like soft butter.



    Results...I still need to use a 3/4" pipe on my iron to get the tight curves at the neck pocket.


    The sides I'm covering.



    The look after applying the veneer. The body will be double bound in white .25" x .090" binding.

    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  9. #39
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Recher View Post
    I 'm sure you know much more about this than I do, but I remember seeing somewhere that a thin metal "springy" steel band is used on the outside of the strip to back-up the wood. That might help prevent the grain blowouts(?)
    Hi Andrew. I've seen the metal band used with molds but I haven't tried it with an iron...I'd have to wear gloves with the metal heating up. My last post shows the results of a different cut and thinner veneers. I think I'm on the right track...yet to be seen though.

    Looking really good.
    Thanks!

    Peace,
    Mark
    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Atlanta , Ga.
    Posts
    3,970
    Lot going on here... keep it rolling!
    Sarge..

    Woodworkers' Guild of Georgia
    Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

  11. #41
    As I have been experimenting with bending wood, I've had alot of fun and learned alot. I also realized this morning that it's probably not going to work on this guitar. While I've already figured out how to get the bends I want...



    ...I never stopped to think about this part of the guitar. Even very thin veneer probably wouldn't navigate the radiused corner. Had I left the corners square, I could have trimmed veneer flush like on a counter top, but that's not a very clean look.



    And looking at the sides, I already have a very nice natural binding in place...the flame maple edge would be stunning. Or, I could just route for binding and use white. Either way, I could go with a sunburst look or opaque between the binding and transparent on the top and back.



    So, to get an idea of how this would look, I placed some tape on the edge to expose one binding edge...looks pretty good. I do need to figure out how to remove the white binding on the top though. Might look a bit odd with natural binding around the top and back with white binding in the vent. Hmmm.



    I'll have to think on this one.
    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  12. #42

    The best laid plans...

    The problem I've run into on the sides is the slight radius on the corners. Instead of going back to square corners, I'll make the problem worse! I can round off the entire area creating a "hill" instead of a "heel". The veneer and binding will flow right over it. I'll alter a template first so I know where and what I'm cutting away and that will make the body alteration easier, too.

    Similar to this...



    Photoshop mock-up...



    I haven't drilled the neck yet, so I can go with mounting ferrules instead of a plate. And I haven't carved the back of the neck, so I can matck it out with the new heel shape.


    Peace,
    Mark
    Last edited by Mark Crenshaw; 11-27-2009 at 10:42 AM.
    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  13. #43

    Back on track...

    Well, I'm back on track. I made the mod to the heel and it looks to be just what I needed.

    I was going to modify a template but I decided to make a new one.



    Here you can see the area I'll trim away. I then added the outline of the neck pocket and layed out where the neck mounting holes and ferrules will be.





    I had to build up a support for the router...turns out 3 OSB, 1 MDF and 1 masonite templates with a sheet of pickguard material on top, are exactly the thickness of the body and new template...who knew.

    Last edited by Mark Crenshaw; 11-27-2009 at 2:20 PM.
    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  14. #44

    More Pics...

    Here's a shot after the first pass...eveything lined up nicely. You might be able to see that I scooted the template forward a bit prefering to blend in the new profile by hand.



    The results...





    Peace,
    Mark
    "Thought that is no longer limited brings experience that is no longer limited" Marianne Williamson.

  15. Awesome post Mark. I can't wait to see the final product.

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