BENDING WOOD WITHOUT A SHOP

Posted by Greg Francis on March 13, 2012 at 1:55pm

Hi folks! It's a year later and I'm starting on my 2nd guitar and right after I will be doing my 3rd, 4th and 5th as I'm going to sell a few then make my first 4 string electric. Anyway so I needed a few necks from Home Depot. 5 3ft. pieces of red oak cut to order. One problem is some of the 3 foot pieces are a bit bowed.

Is there a way to bend the wood flat without having those plank steamers? I was thinking of maybe soaking the pieces in warm water over night then in the morning clamping them to my counter top or kitchen table where they will stay all day or longer until hopefully they were bent true.

Any help or ideas or THE answer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Replies

  • Greg Francis March 14, 2012 at 3:42pm

    Thanks for the input everyone. I think before I scrap the wood and rebuy I'll give the soaking and clamping method a shot. Otherwise I'll go with using the bowed sides up and call it a natural scarf joint!

  • BadTimmy March 13, 2012 at 4:49pm
    I always build my CBG's with a steel rod reinforcement (like the older Martin guitars). If I'm fretting the oak neck itself, I rout the back of the neck, and epoxy in a piece of 3/8" round rod and, then place a "skunk stripe" over the rout. If I'm using a separate fingerboard, I install the rod in a rout under the fingerboard. You can influence the neck to "back-bow" a few degrees with clamps and cauls while the epoxy cures, (I let mine stay clamped this way for several days.) You'll also find that if you attempt to soak and clamp the stock without introducing clamping pressure in the opposite warp direction and use heat to fully dry the stock, the warp will return on it's own later on. My early CBG's are at least 2 years old and the necks are still true. Play loud, rock hard, stay primal!
  • Sean Laffey March 13, 2012 at 4:31pm

    You can buy special birch ply, that is ideal for bending, it's whiote wood and takes any stain you like. Be careful if you get it and make sure its the bendy variety, I was sold a very expensive sheet once that was useless, the sheets are about 35 Euro here for 8 foot by 4 foot, the precision sawing is the stuff that piles up the costs, I had them make 4 inch wide planks for me. They charged me 2 euro per cut. I picked up the wood, loaded the van, when I got home  found I'd been sold the no-bendy variety. Test it before you pay for it.

  • Habanera Hal March 13, 2012 at 4:25pm

    If it's just bowed a bit (as opposed to warped), use it with the bow facing down (arc up, if that make sense).  Your string tension will help to straighten it out.

  • William McCauley March 13, 2012 at 2:58pm

    Be VERY careful of the 1x2 boards, they seem to be warped pretty often. Get in the habit of checking any board you choose against something straight (take a metal yard stick along). I gauge them against the rack's uprights. Check for twist also. You can pick thru the whole rack if you want to until you find what you like. I often buy wider than the 2" and rip them to the width I want. You can also rip them, reverse the grain and glue them up.  

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