Treeline
New member
Just checkin...
Does anyone here hae experience with the Fox Universal Side Bender?
Rokket
Trailing Behind Again
Sorry, I don't even know what that is... 
Light
New member
It blows.
The only really useful part of it is the idea of making templates which are spaced by rods and then coated with stainless steel sheet metal. The rest of it is a total waste, particularly the idea of heating with light bulbs. They don't put out nearly enough heat.
For heat, you really want a Watlow silicon heating blanket. The only thing better is the old Overholtzer bending jigs, but no one who has one is at all interested in letting go of them, so good luck finding one.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
The only really useful part of it is the idea of making templates which are spaced by rods and then coated with stainless steel sheet metal. The rest of it is a total waste, particularly the idea of heating with light bulbs. They don't put out nearly enough heat.
For heat, you really want a Watlow silicon heating blanket. The only thing better is the old Overholtzer bending jigs, but no one who has one is at all interested in letting go of them, so good luck finding one.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Treeline
New member
Light said:
Thnaks...
I figure the only way I'll ever get an Overholtzer jig is to fabricate one from a billet of aluminum myself. But they sure are something. I guess it's what we should expect from a guy who built his guitars with solid rosewood necks. He sure was an odd duck, but built a hell of a nice guitar.
The thing I like about the Fox design is that it bends with consistency. I have none of that in my hand bending skillset, so it's attractive.
I suppose I can build one with hardware / lumberyard material for about fifty bucks and a lot of careful measuring. Supposedly galvanized sleeving works fine and is easier to clean than stainless. Might be a decent experiment. But buying one for five bills seems a bit extreme...
Hard2Hear
New member
Treeline
New member
Sympitar front
Here's a guy who knows how to bend his sides.... Fred Carlson
Here's a guy who knows how to bend his sides.... Fred Carlson
Treeline
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Sympitar back
Another view
Another view
Treeline
New member
Sympitar headstocks
Notice the sympathetic strings appearing in the center of the guitar portion of the headstock. Those travel through a sound chamber in the neck and are anchored to a block attached to the underside of the soundboard (or to the tailblock - the architecture is a bit Kasha-esque inside) and when properly tuned, resonate sympathetically with the rest of the instrument. He invented the thing right here in Vermont, many years ago and prior to his pilgrimage to California. The guy is a genius.
Notice the sympathetic strings appearing in the center of the guitar portion of the headstock. Those travel through a sound chamber in the neck and are anchored to a block attached to the underside of the soundboard (or to the tailblock - the architecture is a bit Kasha-esque inside) and when properly tuned, resonate sympathetically with the rest of the instrument. He invented the thing right here in Vermont, many years ago and prior to his pilgrimage to California. The guy is a genius.
Light
New member
Treeline said:
You don't need the Fox bender to get consistency. You can make your own bending forms which work similar to the Overholtzer forms, using the same templates that the Fox bender uses, only without all the shoes and such. You do a custom fit shoe for the waist, and heat it with a Watlow blanket. Start at the tailblock end and clamp it down, and then work toward the waste, clamp at the waste, and then work toward the neck end, again clamping it down. With the Watlow's, you then just turn it off, and let it cool to room temp. That's it, you’re done. It is also a lot easier to get the bend right from the end block than with the Fox bender, where you have to start with the waist, which is a pain in the ass.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi