Official Luthiers Forum! :: View topic - How do you hold the top and back steady when carving braces

Non slip router mats, one under the radius dish, one in…

Like Alan said a couple of cam clamps in a radius dish - I use my sanding dish with a few layers of newspaper...works perfectly for me...

Michaeldc wrote:

This…

Do you find that holding the plate around the entire edge makes a big difference over free plate tuning? I notice when glued up, plates that were tuned free, do need thinning around the edge; and even other places. On a carved instrument that is easy to do. I would be far easier to do on the inside with the bracing on a guitar. It usually isn't even that much material, but it does get more even.

How do you hold the top and back plates steady when carving braces.
Do you use a special jig?
Do you use some sort of special mat to lay the top/back on?

Author:	Bill Higgs [ Sat May 18, 2024 9:42 pm ]
Post subject:	How do you hold the top and back steady when carving braces
How do you hold the top and back plates steady when carving braces. Do you use a special jig? Do you use some sort of special mat to lay the top/back on?

Author:	Pat Foster [ Sat May 18, 2024 9:55 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
I have a little table a bit bigger than the top or back, with 3" legs. It gets the work a bit higher, allows for clamps, and I can drape it over the side of the bench to work at an angle. Old school, no vaccum, nothing fancy. Saw it in an old workbench book; it's what Somogyi was using at the time.

Author:	meddlingfool [ Sat May 18, 2024 9:58 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Non slip router mats, one under the radius dish, one in…

Author:	doncaparker [ Sun May 19, 2024 6:39 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
I show my setup here: viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=55545&hilit=Total+vise I’m very, very happy with it. I use workboards that are dished out for the applicable radius of the braces: 28’ for the top, 15’ for the back. These are mounted to a Total Vise mounting plate, and the mounting plate goes into the Crossover Mini, which goes into a base that is bolted to my workbench through dog holes. Solid as a rock, but capable of being positioned however I want. Not cheap, but if your back bothers you, this is a great way to work.

Author:	Terence Kennedy [ Sun May 19, 2024 8:37 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
http://www.kennedyguitars.com/holder-fo ... aping.html I have holes drilled in the radius dish in proper places to put dowels for stops. I have a guitar shaped cork covered cardboard to put under the top.

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Author:	Colin North [ Sun May 19, 2024 9:04 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Non slip router mat, radius dish in go-bar deck and 2/3 go-bars.

Author:	bobgramann [ Sun May 19, 2024 9:58 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Left hand, palm down on the top (on a piece of carpet). Right hand holding chisel. I use a half inch chisel with a long handle, rounded corners on the tip, and bevel down. It is very sharp, takes light cuts, and doesn’t need much pressure. I turn the carpet as I cut rather than the top so that I’m not marring the top with any cutoff pieces. When I pick up the top to tap, that’s when I dump the shavings from the top and the carpet.

Author:	phavriluk [ Sun May 19, 2024 12:46 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
meddlingfool wrote: Non slip router mats, one under the radius dish, one in… Just what I use, that and some care.

Author:	Alan Carruth [ Sun May 19, 2024 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Radius dish and a couple of cam clamps. I've learned, through experience, that it's best to avoid holding things with your hand when using a chisel. Basically, the shop rule is that both hands are behind the edge at all times, which means you'll use clamps most of the time, at least. Move the clamps when you need to; you're not in that much of a hurry....

Author:	bobgramann [ Sun May 19, 2024 2:57 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
My hand is always behind the chisel point. I learned that long ago (and have a permanent crook in my finger to prove it). That’s why they call them “hand tools.”

Author:	bftobin [ Sun May 19, 2024 5:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
I use an adjustable solara, the top is easy. I use a rubberized mat for the back. Hands always behind the tip of the chisel.

Author:	Robbie_McD [ Sun May 19, 2024 8:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Like Alan said a couple of cam clamps in a radius dish - I use my sanding dish with a few layers of newspaper...works perfectly for me...

Author:	SteveSmith [ Sun May 19, 2024 8:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Robbie_McD wrote: Like Alan said a couple of cam clamps in a radius dish - I use my sanding dish with a few layers of newspaper...works perfectly for me... Pretty much what I do too.

Author:	Michaeldc [ Sun May 19, 2024 9:41 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
This…

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Author:	Kbore [ Mon May 20, 2024 1:30 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
I put my radius dish on top of a 12” dia. lazy Susan and a non-slip mat on top of the dish. The lazy Susan provides clearance for the top to be clamped to the dish.

Author:	Ken Nagy [ Mon May 20, 2024 6:45 am ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Michaeldc wrote: This… Do you find that holding the plate around the entire edge makes a big difference over free plate tuning? I notice when glued up, plates that were tuned free, do need thinning around the edge; and even other places. On a carved instrument that is easy to do. I would be far easier to do on the inside with the bracing on a guitar. It usually isn't even that much material, but it does get more even.

Author:	Michaeldc [ Mon May 20, 2024 1:38 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Ken Nagy wrote: Michaeldc wrote: This… Do you find that holding the plate around the entire edge makes a big difference over free plate tuning? I notice when glued up, plates that were tuned free, do need thinning around the edge; and even other places. On a carved instrument that is easy to do. I would be far easier to do on the inside with the bracing on a guitar. It usually isn't even that much material, but it does get more even. Yes, I can hear a change in pitch without having to use an analyzer. Free plate tuning never made sense to me - I couldn't hear any difference after I made a change. Best,M

Author:	Alan Carruth [ Mon May 20, 2024 7:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
I usually graduate plates before gluing on the braces, and then use the Chladni method to 'tune' them. I find that I get better basses when I thin the plate toward the lower block, and better trebles when I thin the 'wings' of the lower bout. Chladni tuning, in my mind, is a method for getting the braces and the plate into some sort of balance, and the evidence of that is in the number and form of the modes. Well-formed modes tend to 'ring' longer when the held top is tapped, and produce a clearer sense of pitch, both of which are signs of low losses. Ultimately you can get much the same information either by tapping and holding, or with Chladni patterns. Tapping and holding takes less time, once you know how to to do it, but it takes more effort to get the same amount of information. I find it's also easier to teach the Chladni method, and easier to save the data.

Author:	DennisK [ Mon May 20, 2024 8:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
I clamp pieces of wood to the edge of the bench so I have something to push up against. Best to have two stops, but after you get the rough shaping done it's usually quicker to have one that absorbs most of the cutting force, and left hand to prevent the top from rotating. I also use my left hand to help guide the blade, so it's out of the line of fire. Slipping and cutting the soundboard is the greater danger. I use an old T-shirt as a pad underneath, and clear away the chips frequently.

Author:	truckjohn [ Sun May 26, 2024 3:47 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
I lay the top on folded beach towels so I don't dent it up. I haven't had trouble with it shifting around so much as junk getting under it and leaving boo-boo's. I shake the towels out regularly, and wash when needed.

Author:	phavriluk [ Thu May 30, 2024 11:03 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: How do you hold the top and back steady when carving br
Bill Higgs wrote: How do you hold the top and back plates steady when carving braces. Do you use a special jig? Do you use some sort of special mat to lay the top/back on? The plate (top or back) sits on a router pad inside a radius dish. I find it secure enough and CHEAP, I get to use my radius dishes for more than gluing braces.