I have finally gotten to the bending of the sides for the new concerts. Thought you would like to see my various bending tools. Of utmost importance are old leather gloves to avoid burning the hands. In the glove you will see my wife's meat thermometer. Please don't tell her cuz I sneak it out of the kitchen during bending time. This ia a pretty low tech way to do it but you don't want to start bending wood until the temperature gets up there high enough or you will break it.
Notice the fancy water bottle with the spray pump. I spritz the wood on both sides before setting it in the bender on top of the heat blanket. The heat blanket is the red thing. The wood is placed over it, then the steel bendible sheet over the wood. That keeps the heat in and helps to prevent splitting or breaking.
My home made bender is a bit primitive but it works just fine, One side at a time, then I let the side cool in the bender for at least three hours to set the bend, Then I do another. Kind of slow, but there is always something else to do while you wait.
Notice the fancy water bottle with the spray pump. I spritz the wood on both sides before setting it in the bender on top of the heat blanket. The heat blanket is the red thing. The wood is placed over it, then the steel bendible sheet over the wood. That keeps the heat in and helps to prevent splitting or breaking.
My home made bender is a bit primitive but it works just fine, One side at a time, then I let the side cool in the bender for at least three hours to set the bend, Then I do another. Kind of slow, but there is always something else to do while you wait.
Like glueing the label onto the back. I make these labels of heavy water-color paper that I paint with this bright orange water-color paint. For years, before I got captured by Ukuleles, I was a water-color painter. The paper is really linen rag paper, very tough stuff. The color looks a little garish in this picture, but when it gets submerged in the dark interior of a Uke, lit only by the light coming in the sound-hole, I think it is quite nice. This is a pretty simple label, but it is in keeping with my fetish for doing every piece of a uke but the tuners and the strings by hand, by myself. What more do you need to know, Who made it, when it was made, and maybe the number of the instrument.
