Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi i/ve been looking at the erlewhine neck jig from stew mac and string tech guitar/holding device . The both look like excellent well made guitar holding devices . Anyone out there using one and if so . Which one do you prefer and why ?? . Thanks in advance!!

Greg Maxwell (Dogwood Guitars) has the Erlewine jig & likes it.

He posts here on occasion.

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I bought a used StewMac neck jig (the wooden version) a few years ago. I like it and use it. I know there are those who like doing fret work without such contraptions, but I feel good about being able to get the neck straight under a normal string load.

I have seen the extruded aluminum version of the StewMac jig in person. It is probably better than what I have, but it is also pretty expensive. I do OK with the older wooden version.

Our neck jig became a clutter catcher and once we nailed down our fretting methodology we never used it again. It's a decent learning tool to illustrate and quantify things such as a rubber neck bass but we've been without ours now for ten years and don't miss it.

I store it when I’m not using it. I don’t have the room needed for leaving something like this set up permanently. Even if I had that kind of room, and if I did lots of fret work all the time, I might try to figure out a way to store it when not using it. I visited someone’s shop not long ago, and they had the extruded aluminum version permanently set up. It felt to me like the jig was in the way. But, we weren’t using it, and it’s not my shop, so it’s not my place to say whether the ready convenience of a permanent installation was worth the bump/scratch/snag hazard. For me, doing fret jobs every once in a while, I prefer storage between uses, which is easy with the old wooden version.

I never bought the jig because I bought one of the big maple StewMac benches back in the 80's (with all the bells and whistles). However - I do think it is a worthy purchase for a repair guy. Bet Ernie can make room for it if he wants. Besides, plenty places to store it around the homestead.... Lotsa room in Oklahoma.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Thanks for all the input/comments . Yes , out here in the wide open spaces chris there is a lot of room, Workshops are everywhere. Tried looking for info on the stringtech bench . It looks very nice , adaptable to various kinds of instruments but very pricey $$. , I see no reviews or feedback on the product to evaluate it ? Any repair techs on the OLF using it ??? tnx .

You know too Ernie the leg vices that we use are just killer in all respects. I could not work on a guitar without one now they are so very ingrained in how I work, what tools I use and how I position the ax.

Hesh that is a very nice looking leg vise, But you seem, to have too many vices LOL. Is there a tut , on how to make this vise ?? Did you get the single screw vise from woodcraft ?? or ??. The ones I/ve seen on youbertuber are more complex. Once again tnx for posting the pics.

My guitar repair vice screws to a wooden block which is secured in my end of workbench vice.
Don't have the space or it would be permanent, it stows under the bench when I don't need it.
I have 2 different heights of carpeted platforms to support the bodies, one for electrics, another for acoustics.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

A Jorgensen clamp can be made into a portable and handy neck support device for repair work, setups etc. The base can be clamped easily to the edge of your bench.

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Hey Ernie: There are a couple of threads here where folks make them. I know our former apprentice Link Van Cleave built a beauty that's far more polished than mine.

I couldn't find any used bench screws at yard sales or auctions so I had to buy one and I can't remember where. It's been long time. This bench screw is too big really but it works fine regardless.

I like to share with folks too that Lutherie became why primary occupational pursuit when I got tired of being a corporate schmuck stuck on airplanes all my life and without any time to have a life and family.... So one day I hung up the Coach brief case and built a leg vice. This one has parts from my Coach brief case as the leather and ticker holder. You can see part of the Coach tag on the left side of the bench screw threads. .

Everything we have ever worked on has been clamped in one of these, we have five of them at the shop. They have never damaged anything and anchor the instrument superbly in all manner of positions.

Thanks for the report hesh. I found some /1/ 8in leather , and in the process of making a longer faced vise. I have mounted a shoulder vise on my circa 1980 fir wkbench built of lam 2 by 4 s its got an end vise that is rarely used, by putting on some 4in by 6in pine faces it will lock down anything, it uses the single screw end vise you pictured but with an outboard wooden extension carrier that rides under the wkbench that moves in and out with the tail vise, so that one can clamp a small belt sander at the tail. end.

Ernie

Here is one I built for my daughter's shop. It has a movable neck rest. Scroll right and left, text below

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/10731789644/in/album-72157636540926993/

Ed

Not being a stranger to cutting and welding I sort of copied the aluminum one in the Dan Erlewine video, but this one's out of steel. It's kind of heavy and I store it under the bench when not in use. It didn't cost much, just a few nuts and bolts and the 2 dial indicators. I had the other stuff laying around as scrap.

I guess I'm the weirdo in that my daily use vise is one of the "tall boy" Will Burt vises from way back. I'm going to have to try one of the leg vises at some point.

I want to thank all of you that posted your soloutions, to solving a luthiery problem . It is much appreciated. For now I have 2 guitar holding devices mounted on my old wkbench. If anyone else has pics or ideas please post them At some point I would like to get the erlewine jig. I tried to get more info , but could not find any reviews of the string tech except by the distributor.