New Bender Mods.

[Timbuck]

Just a Quick Look at the modifications I made to my new soprano bender … A variable heat control fitted with a thermometer on the mould heater assembly and a push button starter in line with a relay….I seems to work fine ,so I’ll try it out on a couple of sides tomorrow And report back.

 

[Timbuck]

I know most of you have seen vids from me like this before ... but I’ve done this one anyway , just to show that it works

 

[jhnmdahl]

Looks like a nice setup, Ken. I never used bulbs, but use silicone heating blankets which could benefit from similar modifications. The vendor I've used offers blankets with a dial thermostat, or digital controls which they claim are more responsive. I'm weighing a new digital control blanket vs trying to add one to an existing blanket, and leaning toward ordering one - https://keenovo.store/collections/f...rd-sheet-bending-heater?variant=8339334266935

I also noticed Stewmac has their own take on a Fox-style side bender in the works, with bells and whistles sure to make the price eye-watering. Their configurable waist profile thing is interesting, and I could see building one of those at some point but I've had few problems with my current "fixed" waist clamp setup. Check out https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-bending-sides/