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Old 04-12-2017, 02:21 AM
Telecastermusic Telecastermusic is offline
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Default Side bending iron

Hi, I'm new to the forum, first post!!
Just starting out and am in the process of making a ukulele as my first project.
Any advice on bending irons would be great. Thinking of making my own. Would like to hear from anyone who has done this.
Has anyone had any experience of the cheap Chinese irons?
Thanks, ian
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Old 04-12-2017, 05:23 AM
dekutree64 dekutree64 is offline
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Yep, bending irons are pretty easy to make. Muffler shops are a good source for pipe. Mine was free from the scrap bin. Drill 4 holes in it, use some nuts and bolts to attach L-brackets, screw those to a piece of wood, and clamp or screw the piece of wood to something sturdy when in use. Squash an electric charcoal starter in a vise until it fits into the pipe, and you're good to go. I bought a dimmer switch for temperature control, but it buzzes annoyingly so I quit using it. Just plug and unplug periodically to keep the temperature in a good range.

Mine is 3" diameter, which is too big for ukulele work. 2" would probably be about right. Even better would be 2-2.5" squashed into an oval shape, so you can do tight bends, but also have a flatter area for the lower bout curves. Plus then you don't have to bend the charcoal starter as far, which can break it.

Another option is a hair curling iron. You'll need one with a fair amount of horsepower so it can maintain temperature while the wood is in contact with it.

I haven't tried the Chinese bending irons, but even if they're junk, you still get the nicely shaped hunk of metal, and can put your own cartridge heater in it.
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Old 04-12-2017, 09:28 AM
redir redir is offline
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When I started building the Irvin Sloan book was about the only one around. The method used was a blow torch in the back of a pipe. Been doing that for about 25 years now
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Old 04-12-2017, 09:36 AM
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fazool fazool is offline
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I only (so far) had to bend wood once. It was mahogany and I simply wet it and hose clamped it to a 4": exhaust pipe from my furnace - it worked flawlessly - one of my more clever ad hoc McGyver moments.
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