Quote:
Originally Posted by dekutree64
Buy extra. Use the broken ones for practice. Wet paper towel on the pipe usually helps with maple.
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This!!!!!!^^^^^^^
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy4
......but most importantly, back up the bend using a thin piece of aluminum flashing about 12" long that has wood handles attached to it. The strap allows full support of the outside of the curve as the binding is bent and prevents cracking or fracturing....
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And this!^^^^^^
If I learned anything from my attempts to bend bloodwood, (not maple, but another annoying to bend binding material) it was buy extra binding pieces! I broke 6 pieces and they broke no matter how careful I was. I ended up using some of the broken pieces as binding for the fretboard and the rest as practice.
I tried the wet towel on the iron, which was a method I liked, but I found I really had to pay attention to how wet it was to make it consistent and to stop it burning on the inside. I also tried bending without the towel, I used a paintbrush to wet the area of the binding I was bending, it stopped me going through a whole bottle of water with spray per binding. Also use HOT water, such a small thing, but it means the iron only has to heat the wood, not the wood and the water, means the heat gets in quicker and it becomes "pliable" faster and reduces burning of the wood.
I didnt have a metal strap, but just a small piece of wood on the outside of the binding did the job for me keeping the binding from cracking.
Hope thats helpful.
Dave