MIMF

I'm building a concert uke. Oregon Myrtle sides and back. I built a form and used it with a heat strip for the bend. I used a router speed control to manage the temperature. Made a sandwich of heat strip/metal strip/wood wrapped in wet toilet paper and foil/metal strip. Heated the sandwich to 300 f and cooked it for about 7 minutes, then turned the router speed control to "off"...so I thought. Unfortunately, I turned the control from "off" to "full" and left the shed where I do my work. About an hour later, I smelled what I thought was someone's dinner burning. Then I thought OMG! and rushed into the shed only to find my bending form smoking. The result is that this side has a flamed appearance-quite dark. I decided to flame the other side and see if I could match them up. The other side was already bent and straightened out somewhat when I flamed it. I cooked it again and got the bend right. Now, I have two flamed sides, but one I flamed on purpose is a bit lighter. I think I can match them up with some careful flaming and sanding.

Long lead-in to my question: I probably over-cooked this one side for over an hour at 300-350 f. It looks okay and feels fine to the touch. Is it still viable or is it going to deteriorate after I've glued the box together?

I've considered just buying some replacement wood, but would really prefer to work with what I have. It could turn out quite nice.

Just wanted some input on where to go from here.

The over cooked wood is likely to be more brittle than before it was cooked, but if it feels springy and strong then it should hold up in use.

my concern would be for how well the color change will hold up once you start scraping/blocking the sides. It may end up looking inconsistent. How deep does the effect penetrate?

If it's solid, it is usable, but if the color ends up being blotchy, you can always do a sunburst, leaving the lighter areas of the ribs with more amber, and the darker or blotchy areas darker, even to the point of going opaque. Or do a dark color overall...

Bryan: The side that was overcooked is dark on both the inside and the outside. The coloration is consistent. The side that I flamed is just dark on one side and the coloration varies. It looks like I'm going to have to flame both sides a bit to get consistency. Problem is, when I flamed the one side, it straightened out a bit and I had to re-bend it. I think I'll try some kind of a holding fixture to keep the sides bent properly when I do the flaming. Perhaps I'll flame a bit more carefully. It's definitely a learning process. I've become quite good at handling disappointment.

Frustration and disappointment. Sounds like a relationship.

Tony Costa wrote:Frustration and disappointment. Sounds like a relationship.

You shouldn't comment on a thread about being over-cooked if you are half-baked. .

Bryan: Thanks for the half baked humor. I chuckled.
Good news. I managed to flame both sides and then sand with a foam sanding pad and they're looking good. Something terrible has to happen next.

can we have some pictures?

Here is a picture of the flamed sides. Thanks for asking.

I have want to "ebonize" wood for a while. You have accomplished this!

Nice! let us see what you do with the backs too.