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Hello everyone, I'm new here and I'm Just starting my 1st kit. I've got my neck & tailblocks on when I discovered a problem.My sides are rippled from the waist to the lower bout.I've posted this question on the kit guitar forum so I thought I'd try here also. Is there anyway to fix this? The kit is an LMI with flamed maple back & sides.I've tried steaming and then clamping in a full width form with some success but not enough.Thanks for any & all help.
John

Welcome to the OLF!!!

If it was a serviced kit you should be able to return the sides. If not, someone with more experinece will have to give you advice as to how to proceed. If you have to start over Allied sells side sets independently from the back.

Good luck.

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Thanks Stephen. I called lmi today and they asked for a photo of the sides.I did the best I could with the camera I had. Hopefully it shows enough detail. They said they would ship some new ones so maybe these will be better.

LMI has pretty good customer service, I hope it works out for you.

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I also bought serviced LMI kits that had rippled sides. I think the problem is they used fox jigs and they should probably first bend the waist on an iron then use the fox jig to bend the rest, because I found that when you make an unsupported bend (like using heat blankets) you risk rippling or breaking the sides. Which is why I decided the second time around to bend my own side using bending irons and I never had problem with rippling anymore.

First time LMI said it sands out but I made that area paper thin in doing so...

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I am sorry but the fox bender is absolutely not a culprit in rippling or warping in bent sides. If slats and the spring loaded waist support caul is used the waist bend is not unsupported. Both the clamped slats and the spring loaded waist support add the needed support to the bend the waist. There is never a good reason to pre-bend the waist using blankets on a fox bender other than just knowing you have not cracked the waist and that is lack of experience using a fox bender

The cause of warping or cupping of sides after bending is too much moisture. Either added during the bending process that did not get cooked out or atmospheric changes after the bend. The fox bender has nothing to do with it.

Now another thing that can happen is that during shipment the package experienced high humidity and the sides adsorbed atmospheric moisture and warped as it moved from one atmospheric contrition to another.

This time of the year is notorious for extreme atmospheric conditions in various parts of the country. A package traveling from Cal. to Oklahoma is going to experience about 3 different climate changes during transport.

LMI is aware that sometimes wood will move while in shipment. They will do what it takes to get you a good set.

Oh my God, its, its, its, alive ... look it warped, it rippled ... its wood ... organic biomass and subject to environmental conditions. You know like full moon, and other cosmic events, not to mention humidity and temperature changes. Yes is true, shift happens. Oh well.

LMI is good peoples. Send them back.

And lets leave fox out of this equation. Wood moves. It breaths, shrinks, expands and is truly alive, even if its roots are missing.

blessings
the
Padma

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