bent top question

[Michal]

How stable is the bent top? I'm afraid of defects in the wood caused by bending. Is there any trick to avoid them?

[tom]

the bent top is very stable. we have briken a couple in the laminating process, but they probably had cracks we didn't see already there. we ferf the back side of the top before laminating, so there is no heat or moisture added in the peocess. we have never had a delamination after the machining precess.
to use a phrase that benny coined here years ago, " don't be afraid".

[Michal]

Thanks for your answer, Tom. I'm sorry, but I don't understand the word "ferf". Could you please explain it :)

[tom]

sorry for the double miss spelling. we haven't "broken". and the other is kerf. we put small grooves in the back side of the top to make it more bendable like the kerfing inside an acoustic guitar.

[Dave K]

Here's a pic showing the kerf cut.

http://www.nwlink.com/~davemk/kerfcuts.jpg

[olectric]

I remember seeing that when Tom gave me a tour of the shop and just wondering at the amount of labor and love that it must take to transform one of those sheets of wood into something like this:

<img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/olectric/IMG_1790.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">

[tom]

lotsa love.