Official Luthiers Forum!

I like that!

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Thanks for the tip!

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Mount your workboard on a steel post bolted to the floor and put vacuum gasketing into it.   Then you have the top vacuum clamped solidly and you can walk all the way around it.

And how does this work in voicing a top?

Surely helps you cave braces, though....

Another simple way to secure your top for brace carving(and other functions on other items) is to have a few holes in your bench top, and a few, short,  1/2" dowels handy. Two or three will hold just about any object for chiseling, planing, etc...

Our go-bar jig is on a round table.
Throw a couple of go-bars in we can walk around it to carve.
(actually were lazy and and sit on a chair with wheels)

Cheers

_________________

------------------------------------------------------
Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

Or just use some hotmelt glue and a nail gun and be done with it!

In his pre-Grumpy days Mario used to say, "Every few weeks I get a tip on these forums I can use in building for the rest of my life."

Thanks Terence, this is one of those. It doesn't re-invent the wheel, but it's better than what I've been doing since 1999.

This also mirrors some comments from our illustrious guitarmechanic in Palo Alto, "Don't be afraid to drill holes in your workbench or screw jigs to the bench." (cough, cough, sacrilege)

(I'm glad I tuned in this evening, thanks everyone.)

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

    I've used a similar dish rig for several years and like the quick access it
gives to all braces from all angles without having to move around the
bench at all.


   On my main banch that measures 6 ft. X 6 ft., there are loads of holes
with threaded inserts. They allow me to use almost any area of the bench
top to screw in threaded rods and use them to throw clamping levers on a
piece.

   I just got tired of bing limited to being able to clamp things down along
the perimeter of the bench by using cam clamps and the overhang of the
bench top so I started drilling and putting inserts in everywhere.

    Now mind you that I have never been one to value my banches more
than my tools or the project that is being worked on on them so they are
just very heavily and sturdily built benches with two inch thick HDF tops
on them. It's easy to drill, easy to clean and is always available to replace
a piece that gets too chewed up or beaten with time.

    I've though about buying a pair of beautiful maple benches with side
vises and vise dogs and all, but I'm pretty rough on them and don't want
to beat up something so nice. I treat my banches like any other tool.....I
use it hard and modify it in any way necessary to make it work best for
me.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

I'm with Bob here, I just use my go-bar station, mine has no vertical supports to get in the way giving good access. A couple of bars to hold the plate in place, a few second work to take off the bars and rotate the dish.

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

My glue room space is confined. I like it that way because there is less RH to control. The top of my gobar deckdeck is a 600mm square, 38mm thick, piece of MDF which is suspended from reinforced ceiling joist by 4 x 7/8" threaded rod and it hangs directly out from the main bench with no vertical supports to get in the way. It also has a light installed under a rebated 100mm square 10mm thick piece of plate glass and this lets me see whats I am doing.

The bottom part of the deck is also a 600mm square 38mm thick piece of MDF but this is hinged to the apron of the bench and forms a drop leaf directly below the suspended top. This leaf simply folds down with the removal of a prop and, in this position, it sits flush to the side of the bench and is out of the way when not required.

In the bottom centre of this drop leaf base is a "T" nut which has been epoxied into place to accept a headless 1/4" bolt which can be screwed in from the top. When required, the headless bolt is screwed into place with the threadless section left protruding from the centre top surface of the base. The radius dish, which already has a 1/4" hole part way through the centre from the process of it's own manufacture, may then be slipped over the headless bolt and spun anywhere you like on that pivot point.

This allows you to access the dish from 3 sides of the drop leaf, or just stand where you are and spin the dish on the bolt to meet you like a lazy suzanne. And you know what? One day, I'm gonna build me a guitar with that sucker.

Cheers

Kim

I was expecting to see a voicing jig such as Ervin Somogyi uses. This is a clamping jig.

I clamp the plate to it's corresponding dish and carve away. I have access to 3 sides and have never felt it was a problem. I even enjoy the long walk around the "worksite" even though it's not as scenic as my 5 mile walk searching for that elusive white ball!

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Terry, I like the way you threw some random wood curls on the finished top to give the effect you were still woking on it.

                              Red

Bob, I was sliding down through this thread again and noticed your tonebars are reversed.

Is this a left-hand guitar?

Or, has the photo been reversed?

Just curious.... bd

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

G'day Bruce

Yes it is a left hander.

If you look very carefully near the tone bar nearest the bridge you'll see some faint marks where the braces have been chiseled off because some idiot glued them on the wrong way.

Yes it was me.


Cheers

_________________

------------------------------------------------------
Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia