Super soft 2 -- veneer softener

[ken cierp]

Well I went out an bought a spray bottle of Super Soft 2 so we could do some experimenting. The claims are impressive as it pertains to thin veneer. The original had a bunch a fire hazard warnings this new stuff does not, so that's good. I am not sure who drew the parallel to "fabric softener" -- but I am fairly confident there is none -- the chemical compositions are not even close, who knows how that stuff gets started??

[Dave Bagwill]

Hmmm....I googled it and this caught my eye: " We have heard of good results from luthiers who use the softener to make some species of thin lumber more bendable."

Of course I would like to know how thin and what kind of woods.

[Bob Dill]

I too just bought a bottle of veneer softener to try to get better results bending some of the Mahogany's that I have. African and Sapele seem to give me the most trouble, especially the cut away side. I have 4 guitars going right now, it will be a while before I get a chance to try the stuff. I have a few of the difficult Mahogany sides that didn't break to try it on, if it works for them, it'll work on anything.

[ken cierp]

Well I finished testing "phase one" for the Super Soft chemical. And I am very satisfied with the results. OK "phase one" is smoothing faceted bends which can occur in figured wood. Now these sides are already bent --- spray both with the SS, let it soak in, line the bender with parchment paper, place the side in the bender, another layer of parchment -- install the "aluminum" slat (I'll say it again if you are buying stainless steel you are wasting your money) -- secure the waist caul. Now as can be seen in the pixs I have a little modification that is well worth the effort. On each end of the bending machine there is a turnbuckle that hooks into the slat. With this system I can really crank some pressure along the upper and lower bout curves. I keep the sides in the mold a few hours no heat -- then heat and cool twice 15 minutes to dry out the SS. The SS must soften the wood and make it flexible -- nice smooth curves after this process.

[TonyinNYC]

Let's see the sides after smoothing!

[ken cierp]

[TonyinNYC]

Looks good. I do not see any cupping at all. Is that cherry?