How do you keep the ends of the sides from cupping after bending? I usually just clamp them into a mold and let them dry like that, but I'd like to fool around with free building, especially since the luthier I've started studying with is a proponent of that system. I'd like to maybe get an idea of how that works so I can practice a bit.
It's a no-brainer to do it in a bending machine, and when I do I get perfect results with just a little bit of care, but I'd really like to be able to do this free hand on a pipe and get acceptable results. The machine is sort of cheating because I can "cook" the wood with the heating blanket while it's in the bending form. Bending form = inverted mold, so that's no good for what I'm looking for. Anyhow, I don't want to have to make a new form for everything anymore than I want to make any more mold. I HATE making molds, and more than that I hate storing them.
Maybe someone can show me the light