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I know, next time turn the Air conditioner off. And no pot belly jokes, I started running and walking today. I'm going to be the littlest looser.

Great tutorial, Chris. Thanks for sharing

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube

Good one Chris. It looks so easy when you do it.

John

It is easy that's why I do it.

Nice tutorial and something will try next time. Things tend to be cooler where I live - AC is not needed. It seems as though the halves are closed soon enough that you do not need to warm the joint. Is that the case? Thanks.

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GEO
perpetual beginner

Yes, it seems that way but if you are in doubt there's no reason to not heat them some. I suppose you could also lay the plates in the tent position and run the glue down in the seam at the peak and then just push down flatting the tent as I call it. That would save you some time also. I don't like streching over the plates and reaching with the glue but I suppose I could have turned the plates 90 degrees. I think I'll try that the next time. That would save me fumbling to get the plates open. Any way you can save time is good. This is like all of this stuff, the more you do it the better you get at it. Well most of the time.

Chris, Thanks so much for the instruction. That is a big help!

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Eddie Lee

Thanks for the tutorial, Chris. I just glued up a few tops with the tape method. I find it quickest on a rotating go bar deck--tape one side, rotate deck 90 degrees, put glue on in tent formation, push down to close the seam and put a few go-bars along each side to hold the middle down.

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Evan McCartney

Yep, that works. I like to tape the other side so I can put the plates where ever I want and not take up my bench space so I can work on something else. Some people just put a book or something heavy on it too.

Hey,

How about doing one with backstrips.

Larry

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Larry
Fox Haven Lutherie

How about you doing one with back strips? Why should I have all the fun.

I have seen someone else use a tape method similar to this. After taping he placed a piece of plywood on top with some weight. Do you feel that is overkill? I guess the method is identical for tops too. I'm always looking for the simplest methods and yours look very simple. Thanks for posting these videos...Mike

Yes, Sylvan Wells has a tut on this method and Hesh has one in the archives which was down when I tried it last. I think they both just put some kind of weight on theirs like a book or something. Mario Proulx was the first one to tell me about this method and using the 3M Scotch 233+ tape. It is simple. I like the the fact of taping both sides for the reasons mentioned above. You can see in the video just how simple it is and how the boards stay together when I picked it up and stacked it on the others with the backs along side the tops. No trick video effects going on here. You need a good joint and the 233 is good stuff as it not only streaches but is elastic to pull back unlike strapping tape. And it's only cost me $6-$7 for a roll of 1" and a roll 3/4".

'Cause you're the Man! Not me, I'm learning and you have some great tutorials. Sure would be helpful.

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Larry
Fox Haven Lutherie

Are you talking about an inlaid back strip or the solid one that are glued up between the 2 plates like Martin does? Either way you have to do it to learn it. Just do it! That's what I do. Get as much information I can and think about it and how I might approach it and give it a go. I even change things in the process sometimes to make it easier if I see a way. Alot of these videos are the first or second time I tried some of this stuff. Just go for it. The reason I do these videos is to show people that it ain't that big of a deal and if I can do it then they can too.

Chris,

I did this today when adding wings to the front and back plates. It was easy. The only problem I had was on one joint I somehow lost the stretch from the tape. I think I had too large of a tent and the ends probably moved just a bit. I just redid the whole process with a smaller tent and made sure the ends were really secure and it worked great.

I have been using the joining board like is in the Cumpiano book (I think). I have more uniform results with this method.

Thanks,

John

Chris -

Thanks!! Sweet little tutorial - quick and easy.

I've looked around locally and haven't found the 233+ tape anywhere. Is it now called "46334"?

Saw this in google shopping results:

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

Appears to be a product number for the 3/4" (18mm) wide 233+. Here's a 3M link to verify that.

http://www.shop3m.com/70006246477.html

And here's the number for 1" wide (24mm).

http://www.shop3m.com/70006246493.html

Auto body supply houses are usually good sources for this kind of stuff.


Mark

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A world without music would Bb.

Shoot, I was hoping Chris would answer Larry's question. I am about to sandwich a center strip between two plates, and I was planning on using the tape method. will it be difficult or bad? anything I have to worry about? I was going to use a big flat piece of plywood, and have the two plates so that the inside part faced down with the center strip flush. the show side of the plates would then be pointing up, with the center strip proud. i'll stack two flat pieces on either side of the strip and apply weight. after it's dry, i'll then scrape the center strip.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."