Bent my first set of sides last night (Myrtle) without turning them into either firewood or toothpicks. It must have looked a bit comical though with me dancing around the worktable, twisting wing nuts, checking the thermometer, reattaching eyebolts, more checking, more twisting, more dancing.
I’m using a bending blanket and spring steel slats from John Hall and bent the sides using the following sandwich from bottom to top – steel slat/wood side wrapped in aluminum foil/steel slat/bending blanket. I have to say there was little to no tactile connection to the wood during the process. The spring steel slats are a bit stiff themselves so I really couldn’t judge how flexible the wood was becoming by applying pressure to the ends of the “sandwich” hanging out over the upper and lower bouts. I just waited unit the temp hit 240 degrees and then slowly started to wing nut the waist down tight followed by the lower and upper ends and let the temp peak between 295 and 300. So is this lack of feedback typical using a side bender? How do you guys gauge your rate of bending pressure when bending more difficult woods?
Also, for any of you fellow neophytes attempting a bend for the first time – be aware that the bending blanket temp will continue to ramp up a good 8 to 10 degrees after you cut the power so judge your cut off point accordingly.
