Darrell wrote in response to Pete's suggestion:


>I never heard of the dish detergent trick, might try that.

The version of this I heard was fabric softener in the soak water.  I 
did try that once when I made a guitar years ago, out of claro 
walnut.  In that case I soaked the wood and then bent the thin wood 
over a heated pipe before sticking it in the mold.  I used a spray 
bottle to keep it wet.  That was 35 years ago so details are 
fuzzy.  Since I have only built one acoustic guitar I don't have a 
control to compare my results to.

- Mark