Do You Really NEED a Side Bending Machine? Old-school Bending Iron vs. Stewmac Side Bending Machine

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The tools featured in this video:
Stewmac Side Bender: stewmac.sjv.io/1rJRMx
Bending Iron: stewmac.sjv.io/za904O
You can find our bench caddie and paint handles here: www.driftwoodguitars.com/prod...
If you're interested in commissioning your own custom Driftwood Acoustic, feel free to reach out to info@driftwoodguitars.com!
We have our electric guitars, The Tidalcaster, for sale on our website! Go check them out at: driftwoodguitars.com/electrics
Here are some of our favorite tools around our shop!
Stewmac Tape Dispenser: stewmac.sjv.io/mgVarM
Stewmac Conductive Copper Tape: stewmac.sjv.io/P0Dm2Y Stewmac Super Glue: stewmac.sjv.io/oeZGPO
D'Addario Bulk Acoustic Strings: stewmac.sjv.io/e4WkOj
D'Addario Bulk Electric Strings: stewmac.sjv.io/a1XrBZ
Stewmac 2 in 1 Straightedges: stewmac.sjv.io/JrNRga Stewmac String Action Gauge: stewmac.sjv.io/gbEavB
Stewmac Pattern Makers Vice: stewmac.sjv.io/mgVa2e
JessEm Router Lift: amzn.to/3wa6Tor
Fosi Audio Receiver: amzn.to/3A9zLOE LED
Overhead Shop Lights: amzn.to/3AyFz60
T-Track Railing Used on Island: amzn.to/3Cki29Z
Shop Refrigerator: amzn.to/3A8U1QE
Sure Shot Chemical Sprayer: amzn.to/3A8MO2O
LED Magnifying Lamp: amzn.to/3T2xOMu

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Опубликовано:

10 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 78

@johngriswold2213 3 месяца назад

If you can build a guitar you can build a bending machine. I built mine out of solid wood, a 4"x6"x14" block for the base and 1" hardwood for the tower, with the top tenoned through the sides , which are easy to mortise into and screw to the base. The bending mold is slightly smaller than your side mold to allow to allow for being inside the guitar, and double side thickness smaller if you are laminating sides. With spacers, the inside mold can just be three or four pieces of plywood, with the middle of the bottom cut away an inch or so by 14" to drop over the block. Bluescreek Guitars sells stainless bending slats and heating blankets, and while it's nice to have dial in heat control a simple router speed control box and a meat thermometer works just fine. Macmaster-Carr sells acme threaded rod and nuts for the press. The bending machine is just as important for solid linings and wood bindings as it is for sides, and you can probably whop one together for under $200...several RU-vid videos out there for ideas, though most use plywood, which I hate to work with;)

@knickles 3 месяца назад

My bending machine cost me about $50 in materials and a couple hundred for the silicone heat pads.

@johngriswold2213 3 месяца назад

@@knickles Sounds good! I added in the heat blanket, current controller, stainless steel slats, the threaded rods, and the acme threaded rod and a couple of nuts, the rest came out of my scrap;)

@ValentinKovshikMusic 3 месяца назад

I built an electric bending iron from an old thermos body as a pipe, a 150W incandescent bulb as a heating element (in a ceramic socket), a dimmer to control temperature, and a thick ceramic tile as an insulator between the pipe and a wooden box. Spent about $15 on all that and it was a fun project to do. Probably safer than the blowtorch method too.

@andydepaule3296 Месяц назад

Years ago I made my first bending iron with muffler pipe, a heating element, bracket to hold the element in ceramic light bulb fixture and a cord from a toaster. Controlling the temp was done by plugging in and out when it got too hot. Years later I moved all the innards into a length of aluminum sail boat mast and added a thermostat. That was a big improvement because the sail mast stock is very similar to the shape sold by StewMac and way cheaper. Oval shape with a large round on one end and a much smaller on on the other tight enough for violin C ribs. There is a slot on the small round end. I used it like that for years and later a friend welded the slot closed for me. If later (Or sooner) you decide to make a bending machine many of the parts can be found on Amazon or E-Bay quite cheap. Those parts include; The 36" X 6" heat blanket for about $75.00 The thin stainless steel is called shim stock and about $14.00 for a 36" X 6" very thin gauge of about 31. I still use the bending iron for one off projects. That can be bought on E-Bay for under $100.00 Hope that helps?

@ryanknuckles8747 3 месяца назад

I have the LMI side bender. Besides the sides, I use it for binding as well. It's worth every penny.

@mayak_85 2 месяца назад

I bended sides from pearwood for my second guitar yesterday using just hot air gun. So if you're not a luthier, solution can be simple

@0whitestone 3 месяца назад

Gabriele Reti uses a homemade steam box, and then throws them on a mold and lets them cool. Seems like that would work well, too.

@Mtlatc 3 месяца назад

Awesome to see you back with a new video.

@magnus12180 3 месяца назад

I was just planting my baker creek heirloom seeds this afternoon. cool to see other fans out there.

@braniffcustomguitars 3 месяца назад

Another great video, I appreciate all the content you put out there. I built my first bending iron with a pipe and the heating element from a 3D printer running through a dimmer switch for temp control. It works great and I still pull it out for odd jobs like bending binding for the headstock. But building a Fox style bender was such a huge shop improvement, especially to include bindings while bending the sides. I’d hate to go back to the pipe full time. I really like the variable center caul in this StewMac bender, a simple and clever design.

@thecluelessluthier6520 3 месяца назад

I designed and built my own after watching many RU-vid videos. It worked quite well. I like the Stewmac design for the adjustable waist form. I am considering copying something like that when I make my next guitar form.

@kwaktak 3 месяца назад

I’m just a hobbyist so I made my own side bender as well as a bending pipe. For heat I use a nylon blanket I bought from Amazon (but no thermostat, I just use a meat thermometer and unplug it when it gets too hot) for the former and a propane torch for the latter. I use the Fox bender for the sides and the pipe for the binding. I use Windex with ammonia D instead of supersoft or water to soften the wood. It works pretty well.

@RickMolloy 3 месяца назад

I have an LMI machine. I was also able to bend sides with Charles in his shop. I would never go back to hand bending (except maybe touchups). The stewmac one and the ones Charles had are much easier and more versatile than the LMI one

@johnjlong 3 месяца назад

I'm planning to build the one from Genone luthier. I picked up some heating blankets before LMI closed and I've already built a PID controller. Just need to make time to work on the bender itself. Keep the videos coming guys.

@Guitar4C 3 месяца назад

When I first started, I bought three sets of different wood and decided to build the guitars at the same time. Hot pipe via blow torch in the garage. One in particular came out like a Picasso prior to jamming it into a mold. It did work, but your [previous] point of trying to get exact fits so there is less stresses is well taken. I've improved my technique somewhat and purchased a proper bending iron with various curves. I did not hear you address laminated sides - it seems a bending machine is the best way to go for those. Thanks!

@billgreen4592 3 месяца назад

Very informative thanks! I'm glad to say that I have graduated to a bending machine, but I will pass on a trick that I learned years ago and has proved helpful. As always YAMMV! Adding a small amount of ammonia to the water will soften the wood and help with bending. ALWAYS test first to make sure it doesn't discolor the wood.

@CMRWoodworks 2 месяца назад

Cool stuff. I think the adjustable waist block was a great idea.

@davidrachubka5300 3 месяца назад

I started with a pipe and instead of a torch I used a heat gun. Having a flame blowing out the end of the pipe didn't seem like a great idea to me. Also a heat gun is a lot cheaper. I never tried a torch but the heat gun seemed to be plenty of heat. I upgraded after three years to a proper bending iron and it works much more efficiently. The flatter side of the Iron allows me to sort of preheat a section of the wood as I inch forward to a tighter radius. I'm still going to use a bending iron because I like to experiment with custom shapes. He's right about figured wood. My two failures were a very figured Bubinga set that was too lumpy to use an a Ziricote set that snapped very easily. I leave my sides in the mold to cool and they stay pretty accurate.

@willb1157 Месяц назад

One of these is worthy of a craft person, helps the to understand wood and can make WAY MORE individual designs. The other, well, great time saver, but you can buy a kit for a quarter of the price and adopt some of the additions here. Truly though, it IS a GREAT design I would buy one, but an iron means you can also repair MANY different types of instrument. I AM impressed by the “slatted” top proce. Nice.

@CastlebayNet_Music 3 месяца назад

I used a copper pipe and blowtorch for several years, then upgraded to a charcoal lighter in the pipe. In preparing to build the 14-string, I bought a bending blanket and the steel slats and built a side bending machine. The side set was from really dense jacoba. I never could have bent the side on a pipe.

@rakentrail 3 месяца назад

Marshall Brune is still using the torch and pipe but you are right. Temperature control makes a difference. Scorch an expensive side set and you've just spent the cost of a electric heater!

@davidedwards7172 3 месяца назад

Brune does some fantastic work. Right tool for the right job. Also a skilled craftsman with a poor tool can still be better them an unskilled craftsman with great tools.

@schrammguitars 2 месяца назад

I still use the Fox bender I made 30 years ago that uses 150w light bulbs. Over 400 builds and counting with it. Cost less than $100 to build

@MattKnowsThat 3 месяца назад

Can’t the sides be heated in a steam box for a good bit of time and then placed in or on a cold mold?

@VERBANDTREM 3 месяца назад

Cool Episode, Could you consider an episode on taking care of your acoustic? Humidity, string tension over time and storage options etc. I can't tell if I'm being overly cautious with mine. Or Myth busting like fretboard oils and restringing one string at a time etc.

@bryantcochran5065 3 месяца назад

I wet the sides with a misting spray bottle before starting to heat the side on the bending iron. I plan on getting a side bender so I can do sides, liners and bindings faster and easier.

@davidhole8175 3 месяца назад

Thanks for doing this video and showing the new stew mac machine. I have the LMI machine and love it, but I was wondering, will the LMI molds fit into the stew mac machine? They look pretty similar apart from the roller channels.

@SkyscraperGuitars 3 месяца назад

I've been working on an LMI style bender that can actually form cutaways. I'm hoping that can bridge the cost gap between the ol' pipe bender and the new SM bender. I'm hoping that can open the door for more young folks who are on a budget to get into the hobby/business.

@homebuiltshop 3 месяца назад

And yours is cooler looking if I might add. Lol.

@SkyscraperGuitars 3 месяца назад

@@homebuiltshop Thanks Jeff! It was great seeing you, Matt and Brandin at the guitar show yesterday! We missed you at dinner, but I understand trying to get ahead of the blizzard!!!

@I.M.Guitar-Nerd 3 месяца назад

Very cool! Also, whatever happened to the Woodstock Stage guitar build?

@kmichaelp4508 3 месяца назад

I think I built mine some 20 odd years ago for about…. Nothing! I had all the stuff in my garage (including threaded rod) as I was a pipefitter and had some lying around. (2) 150 watt bulbs, one in the cutaway. A sheet metal worker from one job had some stainless strips and wahla. Worked beautifully.

@schrammguitars 2 месяца назад

Curious about what camera/mic you guys use to film with. I like how clear your vids are. I use my old iPhone but need to upgrade. I started teaching lutherie online in 1999 called "Online Apprentice"

@ADFinlayson 3 месяца назад

I made mine for around £150, biggest expense was the heat blanket and the spring steel straps but I did have a load of scrap wood I could use for nothing. Probably took no longer than bending a couple of sets of sides by hand. The stewmac one looks good but all those prefab bending machines are mega expensive. IMO it's better to save the money and buy in the things that are really difficult to make at home e.g radius dish

@daringetae5136 3 месяца назад

Lol, the one you bent by hand fitted better on the mold than the other one. No joke.

@juliemoriarty8586 2 месяца назад

The first bending machine I saw had the springs, like the new StewMac bender. Then LMI came out with rollers, which looked to keep the wood tight against the form. How do the StewMac springs compare to the LMI rollers, when it comes to the final product?

@scottmarx8112 Месяц назад

Peel the rubber off the tips of the little clamps to avoid them melting to the strap.

@Tblanktim-mu1bh 3 месяца назад

Aside from the great advice, I love seeing our flag hanging in your shop.

@disqusrubbish5467 3 месяца назад

Interesting the way they made the waist section with lots of laminated "slices".

@opidonorman8833 3 месяца назад

I built mine out of some mild steel. Cool thing is I don't need electricity to provide heat. A blow torch or simple stove powers in just fine

@nucleargrizzly1776 3 месяца назад

I the this feeling that a lot of truly great instrument were bent with nothing but heat (by fire) and possibly steam.

@rcbran 3 месяца назад

When making the mold for a bending machine, why not draw the top and bottom ends in a % tighter to compensate for spring back?

@joelnowland2196 3 месяца назад

I would never go back to bending on a hot iron. I built two bending "machines" many years ago and perhaps 15 different interchangeable forms ( over the years ) that fit on my stand-alone setup on wheels. I doubt I spent more than $600.00 on the materials/hardware including the two heat blankets and high wattage rheostats.

@rakentrail 3 месяца назад

Imagine bending a side set from "The Tree" by hand! Major pucker factor! Another big plus to the machine is bending wood binding and purfling!

@nucleargrizzly1776 3 месяца назад

I have a set from "The Tree". Been staring at it since the 80's. Waiting until I have the skills.

@aaronelcock3619 3 месяца назад

Just this week I bent a set of quilted sapele sides on a bending iron. Not nearly as expensive as The Tree, but very similar grain structure. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I bent very hot and relatively dry, and used some sheet metal to support the backside. I think the metal was key, as it helped contain moisture and applied pressure to any portions that wanted to splay open/crack. Overall, I would do it again (and I have another set so I probably will haha)!

@rakentrail 3 месяца назад

@@aaronelcock3619 No one is saying it can't be done cuz it has been done. The thing is, by hand, you have a higher chance of failure. Mess up a $50 set of sides? Oh Well. Mess up a $500 set of sides and, you do the math. LOL!

@aaronelcock3619 3 месяца назад

For sure, I wasn't debating their point of decreased risk when using a bending machine. Just sharing my experience so others will have confidence to give things a try! With proper preparation and a good dose of patience, many tasks in the build process are more achievable than they initially seem.

@rakentrail 3 месяца назад

@@aaronelcock3619 I hear ya but I would not recommend anyone starting out with a high dollar set of sides!

@Brianitzkin Месяц назад

This new stewmac bending machine looks nice and a definite improvement over the original fox design. With that said I don’t think this really improves upon the old LMI (rip) machine and the pricing on this new stewmac one is a bit steep That Ibex bending iron is hot trash btw, terrible shape with flat spots and dips and an inconsistent heating element that takes forever to heat up. Check out the iron from luthiers bench or the one from Caramillo (both in UK). Massive upgrade, my ibex lives in a dusty corner of the shop and will never see the light of day again.

@steveh7866 3 месяца назад

Heck, I did my first with a _clothes_ iron - far from ideal, but it worked (yes, the iron was completely FUBAR afterwards.) The only real obstacle is your own mind - just _do_ it

@JFowla4291 2 месяца назад

Please review the Epiphone Dove!!!

@fepatton 3 месяца назад

I’m really sorry I didn’t pick up one of LMI’s machines before they closed. Seems like the StewMac one will cost a lot more if your thumbnail is any indication!

@fenderlead1 3 месяца назад

LOVE (!!!) the new format! Dropped the douchey/snarky attitude. Really sincere helpful advice! Also encouraging to see that at the cost of a lot of blood sweat and tears you can still get reasonable results with the smaller side bender.

@TempleGuitars 3 месяца назад

Is the StewMac bender really going to cost USD$2000? I know they like to charge a lot, but that cost, if true, is criminal.

@circaSG07 3 месяца назад

Is that a real number they estimated? I can’t imagine it being that high 😢

@TempleGuitars 3 месяца назад

I hope not, I just saw it on the video thumbnail. @@circaSG07

@homebuiltshop 3 месяца назад

I personally haven't seen a quoted price but I can't even imagine it being that high. That would be insane even for SM. Thats the reason I decided to build my own.

@knickles 3 месяца назад

That would in fact be quite the ripoff

@huggybear539 3 месяца назад

Not to change the subject, but.... Do you guys ever look at classical acoustic guitars? Can I assume if a company makes good acoustic guitars, their classical guitars must be just as good? I did a search on your channel and nothing came up..

@petersheely7246 3 месяца назад

👌😉

@stevenwilliams6741 Месяц назад

It's now available, and in predictable stewmac fashion it's obscenely overpriced at $2000! This is why it was so disappointing when LMI closed their doors. They could be expensive as well, but at least we had a comparable place to go rather than stewmac. I shouldn't complain too much. There is one good thing about stewmac. They force me to build my own tools and find alternative tooling solutions.

@VoyeurGuitars 3 месяца назад

I'm building solid body electrics. 😁

@knickles 3 месяца назад

Its not expensive or hard to build a bending machine or a bending iron. I built both in about 3 days.

@jamescripps9361 Месяц назад

$2000 is ridiculous! No thanks! I'll build one!

@matthewbleeker4580 3 месяца назад

Dude you nees to take the guitars u cut in half and make them better put the to getter and gif the to your fans.

@davidedwards7172 3 месяца назад

firth !

@nicoursos900 3 месяца назад

Duuude. Break more guitars

@jme751 3 месяца назад

You obviously don't have a clue how to use this machine! It is much easier to use than you are letting on. It is the DeFacto way of bending sides. I have had a guitar that Charles has made from "the tree" that he didn't hesitate. The only reason people are bending sides from "the tree" is because of this tool. I dare you to touch a $3K set of Brazilian Rosewood with a pipe. I bent a set with this a month ago with my Fox Bender without batting an eye. I suggest you reach out to Charles and get some instructions from the inventor rather than whoever the hell sent it to you from StewMac prior to you making any kind of judgement on a video for people to see.

@DriftwoodGuitars 3 месяца назад

What the hell are you talking about? I literally spent the entire video telling the viewers that this machine is the best way to bend sides, especially for highly figured sides. I recommend it to anyone that is considering bending expensive wood over a traditional hot pipe method. Maybe you should watch the video before you get your little panties in a wad. As far as your “dare”… the video opens up with me bending a $3000 set of Brazilian Rosewood with the hot pipe. I honestly wonder if your eyes and ears even work. Do better.