MIMF

Anyone have experience with heat bending linings. I use a 1/4" x 1/2" un-kirfed binding on my guitars. I've been laminating them out of 1/28" veneers but this is a bit tedious and uses lots of glue.

I've done it. It works best if you use three layers about .060" each. You can install the side braces of the same thickness material as the first layer, install the first layer between the braces and then install the next two layers over both, locks everything together. I've tried at .090" but had a lot of difficulty getting the bends to match the rim perfectly. If the bends don't match perfectly the kerf tends to pull the side out of true.

Okay, yeah, I worry about whether I can keep them true enough. My guitars have some tight cutaways, worried about that too.

I use laminated kerfless linings, and I prefer oak. It bends easily, unless it's too thick, and 0.125" is too thick.
3 layers each 0.10" thick should work fine. I bend them first, and glue them up one layer at a time. The little metal binding clips in various sizes work really nicely to get everything nice and tight.

I've bent basswood linings up to 1/4" thick but it put up a good struggle. Switching to kerfed linings was a relief. Another option is steam bending. I have done oak up to 5/16" thick but it has to be steamed for 30 minutes and then you have to bend it very quickly after taking it out of the steam box. Now I do heat bent and laminated bindings from 1/16" poplar veneer. Yeah, it's a lot of work but I think it is worth it.

I've heat bent willow, butternut, and cedro up to about 5mm thick, with only minor crushing problems at the waist. Since the crushes are on the gluing surface I figure they're probably not too much of an issue.

Bending liners for a guitar with a domed top or back can be a problem. The rise and fall of the level of the edge makes it hard to follow, particularly with a 15' radius or less. More flexible kerfed liners will twist to follow the sides to some extent, and you can also put them on in short sections. I make the liners tall, and when they're bent I'll clamp them in place dry and trace the profiled edge onto the liner. This gets trimmed off, and then the liner is trimmed to a uniform height all the way around. You might be surprised at how much you end up trimming off....

I use 3 layers of 2mm basswood, glued up around the same form as I use for laminating the sides, then kerf where necessary to fit them in. My sides aren't contoured for a domed top or back, so that's no problem. I happened upon a lot of basswood venetian blind slats that, when planed to remove the finish, come out to ca. 2mm.