Official Luthiers Forum!

[QUOTE=Don Williams] I use a chain saw to rough out a curve on the bottom. That usually gets it close enough.[/QUOTE]

your so funny Don

I was just wonderijng about this today as I was sanding the contour into a couple of Bridge bottoms. I made mine by grabing a piecer of 2x4 sitka and sanding the shape in with the dish and then sticking sandpaper on. It takes me a couple of hours to do a bridge though as I just do 10-15 seconds at a time everynow and then when I walk by it. To lazy to do it all at once. I just have the block stuck to the end of my work bench.

I did 7 last nite...by the end is was averaging 6 minutes per bridge...perfect fit, just lay the bridge on the top!

Larry

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Guys,
I just talked to my partner tonight, and he just finished developing a program for his CNC machine to cut convex curves, so we'll soon be offering 10" or 12" diameter 13ply convex dishes that you can just throw some sandpaper on and away you go. I'm always of the belief that there are luthiers out there who hate building jigs and want to spend more time building guitars. They'll probably be around $40, but the final price has not been set. Maybe in the next few weeks you'll see these on my website. I would do the same thing as Paul if I didn't have a partner that could program a CNC machine
Tracy

Tracy, interesting idea, but seriously, why pay 40 bucks if you've got a scrap of ply or MDF and a radius dish, and have about 10 minutes to spare? Honestly? I can sorta understand not wanting to make a radius dish, which is messy and takes about an afternoon to do, but something for sanding a bridge bottom? Really?

There are folks who would rather spend the $40 and not have to make it themselves. Time is more valuable than money to those folks. They feel that their time can be better spent building guitars than making jigs and fixtures, or sanding dishes etc. For example, My latest guitar is a someone else's shop being lacquered. I'm paying them $250 to do the job, and they have all the right skill and knowledge to do the job better than I can. Meanwhile I've been able to do a lot of other things I couldn't do if I had to deal with the finish myself. It was well worth the money.
I'm not saying that people will flock to spend $40 on this small convex dish from Tracy, but it can be a tempting thing for some.
Personally, I'd like to buy some more complex jigs, like one for cutting slots in necks for a slothead, and for the tuner holes. And theat cool jig Mark Kett makes for the end graft.

Worker smarter, not harder.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Tracy, I'm confused by the 10" and 12" diameter. Did you mistype because that would render a 5" and 6" radius when infact we would want something in the lined of 25' raduis. Am I thinking wrong?

Paul, I think he meant a 10" or 12" diameter disk with the 25' or 28' raduis cit on one side of it. In other words, just a small reverse radius dish, so it stores easily and is easy to handle.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Don, I agree with the more $$ than time thing...so often it works better for me to buy a professionally made jig (think John Hall) which I'll use for years rather than cobble a "quick and dirty" one together to meet an immediate need and never really be happy with it...not to say I'm rich by any means (the airlines are hurting these days ), but I want to spend my time in the shop building guitars! I did make the MDF thingie for the bridge bottoms though...less than 1/2 hr. from reading Don's post to placing the bridge on the guitar for gluing!

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Mattia - you are correct, if you have a radius dish, easy enough to make one yourself. If you don't have a radius dish, and don't feel like making it, a jig is a nice to have, but not necessary. In fact, I have never owned a bridge radius jig, but then again, my bridge is not an exact fit, and there are some small gaps. Also, I agree, $40 is too much money for a small simple jig like this. $25 or $30 is more realistic.

Don, I do agree with you, some just don't like making jigs at all, and some like making jigs more than making guitars. But I do agree with you that most will buy the more expensive difficult jigs. But I would like to offer every type of jig from simple to complex.

Paul, what Dave said...it is a 10 or 12" diameter disk with a convex curve on the top to simulate the radius of your top. I haven't decided on the diameter of the disk yet. What does everyone think the size of this jig should be? It would have to be big enough to allow free sanding movement, and the typical bridge is about 6" long, so I thought an extra 2 or 3" wider on eash side of the bridge would give you enough sanding room, what do you think?

I was also thinking of including these small dishes as an add on when you purchase a set of radius dishes for an extra $25. This would allow you to get the top and bridge radiused to the same profile by just placing 1 order.
Tracy
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