Bending Walnut and any other tips

[johnc.marple]

I'll be starting a new build soon, Walnut with Cedar Top. 

Any tips on bending Walnut  

Thickness? 

Temperature? 

Thanks in advance 

[Neill S Morgan]

I bent some walnut recently on a bending iron for a backstrap recently. It was 2mm and bent like butter.

Neill 

On Sep 18, 2025, at 11:56 AM, johnc.marple <johnc....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Dick Fulco]

Walnut is one of the easiest wood to bend in my experience. Did not register  temp or thickness, 

Met vriendelijke groet, Dick

Op do 18 sep 2025 om 20:56 schreef Neill S Morgan <neill.s...@gmail.com>

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[Lynn Palmer]

Walnut will dry and crack , so get it wet and once you get to 250 f get to it and don't wander off! It will bend like butter and like butter it will burn(crack) if you go too hot or long.

😀Lynn Palmer

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 18, 2025, at 3:27 PM, Dick Fulco <dick...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Joe Mendel]

I've bent quite a bit of walnut without problems. Between .085"-.090" thick.

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[Sean Gilbert]

I've done a couple walnut guitars. I usually aim for .080" thickness on just about any wood these days. I hand bend on a pipe though. Perhaps you can get away with a little more thickness if you are using a bending machine. It's been a while and I had some wood since that was a real hassle, but I have fond memories of walnut (whether it deserved them or not, I can't really say but it was a lot easier than chechen, limba, or hog in my mind's eye).

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