Acoustic Guitar Construction

I have built one guitar already that had the sides already bent. It turned out to be a prety good guitar, but I didn't like the flat pick sound of a small body '000' guitar. I decided to try to build a guitar on my own and I went to a local guitar shop here in town and hand selected some nice spruce for the top and beautiful Indian Rosewood for the sides. The back and top have already been assembled and ready for profiling. I have a pattern drawn up for the side pieces and they will soon be ready to bend. I've never bent wood before, and its very nerve 'racking' just thinking about it. I already have a 3' x 9' section of aluminum pipe, and the propane set up to heat it. I have some 4" wide pieces of a white wood (not sure of the type) and I thought I'd practice on it. I also have some coco-coa too. My questions are how long should I soak the rosewood, when I'm ready for it, and just how do you go about bending it with this 'old time' method. One of the guys at the Aircraft Museum, where I work as a volunteer in restoration, said the mount an aluminum plate to the pipe and attach it to an old clothing iron and heat it up. I was wondering if this would work? I don't have a lot of money to spend on much of this stuff, and I don't want to spend another dollar, until I know if I can bend this stuff. Any suggestions??? Thanks Greg

Side bending on a heated pipe is an acquired skill and does take a fair amount of practice. A propane torch set with about a ¾” flame will provide plenty of heat. Use leather gloves and you must have a thin aluminum or stainless steel backing plate so the material is pinched against the pipe all the while preventing the heated area from cupping. .080” thickness or less is key. No soaking, just a spray bottle, mist often to minimize scorching stains. You really need to practice with the wood being used in the project. The area being bent is heated by keeping it in motion against the pipe. There will come a point when the wood becomes plastic starts to bend rather easily. It’s this combination of events -- misting, movement, down pressure and enough heat that need to be mastered in your skill set. There is nothing “fast” about the process – I can remember that my first sets took more then an hour per side