Side bending.....

Everything I need to bend the sides.  In the vice, my wood bender, you can see the temperature control on the front.  Water, my template to judge the bend against and the previously prepared Indian Rosewood sides.

I heat up the metal column of the bender, apply water to the area I'm bending and gently tease the side into shape around the column. The heat and water from the bender soften the fibres of the timber, making it pliable and possible to bend.  With a timber like rosewood, I don't actually need to use any water as its natural waxyness and resin allow me to carry out the same process.  When bending i can often see the resin bubbling out of the grain as the heat is applied.

I start the first bend at the waist of the guitar, this is the tightest curve on this guitar and from there I work out to the heel and then to the end block.  Although Ive reduced the sides down to an even 2mm, at the tightest bends I thickness down to 2.7mm to make the bend a little easier and avoid any splitting.

The waist to the heel end of the guitar is complete, its time for a cuppa so I clamp the side into the jig to stop the side unwinding as I'm attending to the tea pot.  Its also important to keep control of the heat on the bender, it takes some practice to tell when your bender is running too hot, if you set your clothes on fire then you know you have failed at this :)  I use my tea break to cool down the bender.

Here I'm comparing my bends to the template, gradually easing and coaxing the rosewood into shape......

The finished side clamped into the jig.

Both finished sides clamped into the jig.  Things are shaping up :)