Useing lacewood

[buckhorn]

A few years age, a friend gave me a piece of lacewood to play with. So I made a back plate for an F style. The carving wasn't too hard, but bending was a whole different matter. I use heat and steam with maple with no problems but was not any good with lacewood. The scroll area just would not bend. I tried several times (days) to heat and steam. but just as it started to soften and bend it would snap in half. I tried to vary the heat and moisture but nothing helped and it would still snap. It would tend to burn very easily also. So I put the back on a maple rim and went on building. Didn't care for the look much and it's still in the back of the pack..... The other day I ran across that lacewood again and thought, how about an A style, the curves aren't quite that bad. No. Nope. Just will not take the heat and the bending. My next move.. How about glueing the ribs to the head block and cutting out the shape with the band saw. I think I can form the first bought, it's not too much.. I would end up with end grain showing at the heel, but would that be a really bad thing ???? This wood has a crazy grain pattern....

[Bill McCall]

I used to turn some of it. As you say, it cuts easily and can be quite pretty. Never thought of it for an instrument as the grain seems very short and a bit brittle. Your experience with it breaking sounds like what I’d expect.

It seems you’d have thick sides if you cut the sides from solid and be a lot of work as an experiment. Could make an electric though.

[buckhorn]

try as I might, I could not get a bend without breaking. the first bend at the heel would snap. the second bend went the same way. and the hot pipe would burn the wood so bad I probably wouldn't get it sanded out anyway. the A style has a lot less bends then the F style but I am at a loss.... are there other woods that are un-bendable ??? isn't lacewood also on the allergy list too??? I'll put my lacewood back in the back of the pile...…..

[Jim Brown]

I'm new to the forum but thought I would respond to buckhorns problem with Lacewood. I have just finished a build using Lacewood for back and sides on an f5 mandolin. This was my fourth build but the first using lacewood.

I found, by trial and error, that the best way to get the sides to bend without cracking or breaking was to soak the wood in water for a few hrs along with a form matching the curve like the scroll. The form I made from a two by four cut in two pieces matching the scroll.

I then put my lacewood side in the form and gradually pressed the form together. By using c clamps I gradually increased the pressure until form was totally clamped. This was done in the bath tub and took about a half hr to complete. I then removed and let totally dry before removing from form.

This worked for me. The mandolin is now complete and I'm very pleased with the look and extremely happy with the tone. Hope this helps.

[Tom Haywood]

.... are there other woods that are un-bendable ??? ...…..

I had a tough time with bloodwood. I bought some pre-cut binding strips to use on a large Irish bouzouki. No tight bends. The stuff broke and split no matter how careful I was with it. Fortunately I bought an extra piece, but I still had to glue some of it back together and make some creative joints with the broken pieces. It turned out beautiful, but I haven't wanted to mess with it again.

[DHopkins]

I had some lacewood a couple of years ago. It never occurred to me to make any kind of musical instrument. Instead, I turned it and made backscratchers for friends and family.

[RobH]

Buckhorn, If you really want to use lacewood, I'd recommend lamination. It's not a traditional wood so why worry about a traditional process. John Bogdonovich laminates the sides of his classical guitar and even shows the process https://www.jsbguitars.com/learn-gui...es/laminating/ Mandolin sides are so narrow that the lamination should be be nice and stiff.
Rob