MIMF

It was about ten years ago when I bought mine, but got it from Omega. You will probably need to put a plug on the end as it came with just the 2 wires coming out of the blanket. And get a cheap router speed control for your temperature rheostat to plug it into. And most everybody with a better brain than mine put it through a timer to keep from burning down their shop when they forget it is on and take a phone call....

I'd be surprised if they weren't still in business as they supplied a million different industries.

You want their 6 x36 and get the 5 watt per square inch, not the 2.5 watt.

Randy, thanks for the tip. Question - I do archtop guitars with 3" wide sides. Should I get a 3" wide blanket, or is some overlap required or desirable? The 5 watt per square inch silicone blankets are available in 3", 4" or wider. https://www.omega.ca/pptst_eng/SRMU_HEATER.html

Brian

If all you do are archtops, then a 4" would be fine. You DO want some overlap....

I've bent archtop ribs on my 6" blanket without issues. Shoot, I even bend binding strips with it... 18 years old and still fine!

You can also get-by with a dimmer switch for temp control. Just make sure the wattage rating is high enough. A timer is a MUST. You WILL forget it. Not might forget it, but will..... A 15 minute bathroom timer is fine.

I have the 2.5 watt per square inch blanket (6x36). I like that a household dimmer switch can handle it. The 5 watt would heat up faster and perhaps work better but then I would need something else to control it.

As Mario says, do install a timer! I have forgotten a few times but the timer has saved me. I have a three receptacle box wired up with an outlet, a dimmer switch and a hot tub timer switch. That box has a cord that plugs into the wall and the blanket plugs into the outlet (fed by the dimmer and timer switches). If I want' heat, I have to crank the dial on the timer switch. The nice thing is that I don't have to worry about forgetting to turn it off. The bad thing is sometimes I do a lot of bending and fitting with the bending iron for linings and such. If I don't hear it click off I might not notice it is cooling when I come back to it with the next piece. . .

Bryan Bear wrote:I have the 2.5 watt per square inch blanket (6x36).

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If I don't hear it click off I might not notice it is cooling when I come back to it with the next piece. . .

Some of the old darkroom timers have a buzzer that goes off when it cuts the power. Takes care of that problem.

Just get in the habit of twisting the timer for every bend.

Oh Mario, you’re always so darned practical. <G>

I just saw this video of Danny Koentopp's cutaway side bender. How inspirational! http://koentoppguitars.com/blog/the-koe ... ay-bender/ Link to custom blanket supplier, too.

Brian

At first I though it looked a bit weird. But I like the way he pulls the sandwich around the convex cutaway form instead of pushing it into a concave form. That gives me an idea.

Yes, I like that bender. I'm sure the devil is in the details (the shape of the caulks, the pivot points, etc.). I've just rebuilt a lot of jigs, including my CNC machine, so I'm a little jig building exhausted. But I'm definitely adding that to my future list to try.

Omega heat blankets is another source. I like the 2.5 W /sq in blankets but some use the 5W blankets. A 36 X 6 inch 2.5 W blanket will pull about 5 amps at full power, a 5W blanket about 10amps.