optimum temp for heat blanket (side bending )

[mlp]

Hi all, with the dollar being so good at the moment i thought it was a good time to order a heat blanket from mei. i dont know too much about them other than they look to be the way to go, rather than pipe bending. my question is, what is the optimum temp to have these set at ? also , does anyone know of a place in melbourne to get the flexi stainless sheet required .
thanks .mlp

[Craig]

Some woods seem to need higher temperatures than others so I don't think there is an optimum ,but as a rough guide :

Start bending at around 270 F ( 130 C ) ,(look for steam coming off wood )

Go to a max. Temperature of 325 F ( 160 C )

As I say this is a rough guide only . I've gone a lot higher temperature on occasions bending a stubborn Mahogany .

Can't help with a Melbourne supplier of stainless slats . If there's no reply here ,try Google .

[Bob Connor]

I couldn't find stainless steel slats in Australia.

Ended up getting a pair from LMI.

Regards

[J.F. Custom]

Hi MLP.

I got a blanket from MEI years ago. You don't have the blankets "set" at a certain temperature, but order them with certain capability via the power. If I understand your question, you need to order a 240 Volt, 1080 Watts, 4.5 Amp blanket I believe. This is quite capable of the temps Craig mentioned and more...

As for the SS slats, as the others mentioned, it is hard to find in the right gauge here in Australia. That said, aluminium flashing is not and many use that instead.

Jeremy.

[mlp]

thankyou , Jeremy, Bob and Craig. This forum is an amazing resource.
- cheers Marcus.

[Allen]

I got my blanket from MEI years ago now as well. And use alloy flashing for the slats. I gave up trying to find stainless in the correct gauge. That said, the roll of flashing I got from Bunnings will most likely do me the rest of my life. I've bent well over 100 uke sets and about 30 guitar sets with the same piece.

[Shane Woonton]

Hi Marcus,
I'm just finishing guitar #4 so don't have heaps of experience. Have used a heating blanket and home-built fox-style bender for the last 3. One thing I can say is that after stuffing around on the first two I bought a decent thermometer with a sensor that can be placed between the blanket and wood. Even without any fancy switching system I can keep the heat in the target range by switching the power on and off. I use the temperatures suggested by John Mayes in this article - http://www.13thfret.com/articles/sidebending.html

The other thing that seemed to make bending more predictable for me was to use craft paper to hold just enough moisture in the sandwich. You can find it at officeworks or some other bulk stationers in a roll.

And as for sources for the sheeting. I can't help you with Melbourne, but I found a local metal fabricator who was able to cut SS sheets to size for me, the same gauge as the LMII slats, for less than half the price of the LMI version.

Shane