Bending Black Limba

Talk about musical instrument construction, setup and repair.

Moderators: kiwigeo, Jeremy D

Post Reply
Redbloke1956
Beefwood
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:49 pm

Bending Black Limba

Post by Redbloke1956 » Sun Mar 06, 2022 4:55 pm

Hi to all,
The two main factors I work with when choosing Sides and Backs for my guitars (they are all gifts for friends and family) are cost and aesthetics, I recently puchased some amazing looking Black Limba but cannot get the sides to bend without splitting.
I have tried both hand and machine bending.
I spritz the sides thoroughly beforehand.
I thin sides to 2.2 mm thickness.
Has anyone, with Black Limba experience, got any tips or tricks that may help please.

User avatar
lamanoditrento
Blackwood
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 9:50 am

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by lamanoditrento » Sun Mar 06, 2022 5:41 pm

2.2mm is a bit thick in my book. I start everything at 2mm and then will thin out troublesome areas or high figure wood further. 1.8mm for a Venetian cutaway or even waist areas if the wood looks a bit antagonistic.
Trent

User avatar
kiwigeo
Admin
Posts: 10582
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:57 pm
Location: Adelaide, Sth Australia

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by kiwigeo » Sun Mar 06, 2022 6:00 pm

2.2mm is a bit thick. My sides are a maximum of 2mm...thinner where I'm bending around a tight radius. Parts of the side that need to be thinned to facilitate bending can be reinforced if necessary with internal patches once the side is bent up.
Martin

User avatar
nkforster
Blackwood
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2012 1:02 am
Location: Gold Coast
Contact:

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by nkforster » Sun Mar 06, 2022 7:27 pm

Redbloke1956 wrote:
Sun Mar 06, 2022 4:55 pm
Hi to all,
The two main factors I work with when choosing Sides and Backs for my guitars (they are all gifts for friends and family) are cost and aesthetics, I recently puchased some amazing looking Black Limba but cannot get the sides to bend without splitting.
I have tried both hand and machine bending.
I spritz the sides thoroughly beforehand.
I thin sides to 2.2 mm thickness.
Has anyone, with Black Limba experience, got any tips or tricks that may help please.
Splitting along the grain or snapping across the grain?

User avatar
Steve.Toscano
Blackwood
Posts: 489
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2013 11:43 pm
Location: Port Stephens NSW

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by Steve.Toscano » Sun Mar 06, 2022 9:43 pm

I've bent quite a bit of black limba as i went through a phase useing it several years back.
Dont remember having any real difficulties with it breaking out or splitting. Although I do remember that it doesnt like to hold its shape very well post bending.

I typically leave my sides thicker too - around 2.2 - 2.4, and in most cases soak for at least 15mins.
All hand bent.

Like others have mentioned though, try taking it down to say 1.9mm.
You might just have a piece with a lot of grain run out, in this case you might have to ditch it.

If bending by hand try a slat of spring steel behind the bend to avoid it splitting out.

Redbloke1956
Beefwood
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:49 pm

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by Redbloke1956 » Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:14 pm

Thanks for all the replies,
To nkforster the splitting is at the waist and is across the grain, on my second attempt I soaked the timber for probably 10 minutes, while machine bending there was no audible crack so my hopes were up …initially.
Tomorrow I will attempt a bend at 1.9mm and see how it goes.
Thanks again to all for the input 🤙

Kev

User avatar
kiwigeo
Admin
Posts: 10582
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:57 pm
Location: Adelaide, Sth Australia

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by kiwigeo » Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:18 pm

Redbloke1956 wrote:
Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:14 pm
Thanks for all the replies,
To nkforster the splitting is at the waist and is across the grain, on my second attempt I soaked the timber for probably 10 minutes, while machine bending there was no audible crack so my hopes were up …initially.
Tomorrow I will attempt a bend at 1.9mm and see how it goes.
Thanks again to all for the input 🤙

Kev
A few questions:
- how are you bending the wood? By hand on an iron or on a form with a silicon blanket?
- how hot is your iron/blanket?
- are you supporting the wood on the outside of the bend with a slat or similar?
- is the wood quarter sawn or off the quarter?
Martin

Redbloke1956
Beefwood
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue Jul 16, 2019 8:49 pm

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by Redbloke1956 » Sun Mar 06, 2022 11:05 pm

Hi Martin,
I have tried hand bending with a bending iron, I have tried bending on a bending machine/former with a steel slat on each side of the timber and silicone heater.
The heater was at 165 degrees C

User avatar
nkforster
Blackwood
Posts: 249
Joined: Tue Oct 30, 2012 1:02 am
Location: Gold Coast
Contact:

Re: Bending Black Limba

Post by nkforster » Mon Mar 07, 2022 12:41 pm

So they are snapping. Common enough.

This applies to any woods that are hard to bend -

Soak in hot water, mix in half a cup of any white fabric softener, weight the sides down and leave for 20 mins. Then bend.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google and 93 guests