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Well, I'm working my way up to maple. I figure MadRose is a good stepping stone. Here's my new wedge design on a madrose body.

Pwoolson38477.7598958333

Hmmm... looks like you lucked out and got some of the Brazilian that's being sold as Madagascar Rosewood. I thought you wouldn't use that stuff?



Don Williams38478.297349537

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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."

Wow! Fantastic, looks like you got this down. I love this design. I was thinking of doing a straight line with a ball in the middle on my next. Maybe the yin/yang in the middle of the ball. But I think that is too advanced for me, but for you...
Tracy

Very nice Paul. I like it a lot.

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Beautiful and unusual tone woods at a reasonable price.
http://www.rctonewoods.com/RCT_Store
The Zootman
1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Hmmm. Nifty set of levers under that guitar....is that part of the smoke and mirrors apparatus?

thanks guys for the comments.
Don. IT'S NOT BRAZILIAN!!!!! If it were I'd have to burn it or something rash like that. javascript:AddSmileyIcon('') Interesting that the smell of madrose is that of green olives. Not the bubble gum of brazilian.
Tracy, interesting about the yin/yang (or ying/yang as the hicks from my hometown think it's pronounced). I think it would be a good thing for one small design problem. What if someone wants a pickup or endpin? Would that screw up the design? Something to think about befor you spend a ton of time on it.
Terry: the levers are the smoke alone, mirrors are out of the pic.javascript:AddSmileyIcon('') Seriously, it's a vacuum pod. Alows me to "clamp" the guitar when it's in this state without any damage to the body. In my opinion, it's the single most important thing in my shop. Can't understand how anyone gets by without one.

Beautiful Paul -
One question - how do you like that vacuum holder thingy -- Been seriously considering one --

Also do you have the vac pump offered by LMI?

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Lance, I love it. I've made several of them of various configurations but this one rocks. It gives 360? movement in the x axis and pivots down 90? in the y/z axis. Pricey but worth every penny as far as I'm concerned.
I didn't buy the vacuum from them. Got it off ebay. The one I use is a medical vacuum (not sure what it would be used for except sucking gunk out of bodies...I try not to think about that though). It pulls a continuous 18lbs of HG which suits my needs just fine. If you go the ebay route, look for "GAST" or "Thompson" pumps. And DON'T go the cheap ventouri route which makes your compressor run as a vacuum. It sounds good at first but you'll run your compressor nonstop and burn it up pretty quickly.

Ok - so YOU made the work holder?
Could you possibley snap some pics?
I really really need one and had to drop the serious
cash LMI wants for it. Looks like the hardest part would be the circular holder it self? ANy tips on making one? I see an addition to the tools section brewing!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

this particular one is from LMI. But there isn't much to it. The round top can be cut with a router (rosette cutting setup). You'll need to cut all the way through to make the circle then cut a chanel for your rubber gasket. I've made them out of MDF (which works well as long as it's sealed well, epoxy), UHMW works well. Any thick plastic will be a good choice too. The one I have here is AL. It's good for guitars in the white but is nasty on Lacquer. When the vacuum pulls it tight against the gasket, the finish of the AL shows up in the Lacquer. Pretty frustrting.

[QUOTE=Pwoolson] It pulls a continuous 18lbs of HG which suits my needs just fine.[/QUOTE]

DANG ! That's practically a Black Hole!....



...perhaps you meant 18" Hg ?

   


pretty guitar btw...
Don Williams38478.4281018519

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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."

i was under the same misapprehension regarding venturi vacuum pumps, but they do not need to run your compressor constantly. and the fix is not expensive.

after using two mechanical pumps for years i now use several venturi vacuum pumps for the gluing, routing, holding operations for which i previously used the mechanical pumps.   

see this site for very simple, clear information.

    http://www.joewoodworker.com/

Paul, what kind of material are you using for the gasket? I just bought a length of o-ring stock and am trying to decide whether it is too stiff or not. Haven't gotten around to trying it yet, just wondering what everyone else is using.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Don, good catch. Yes, 18" HG. Sorry, my wife is out of town so the editing doesn't get done as it should.javascript:AddSmileyIcon('')
Crazy Man, I hope you're right and I just had a bad experience. But my compressor couldn't keep up with it. So I was looking at the option of 300-400 on a new compressor or ~100 for a vacuum pump. I chose the latter.
Dave: I would think o ring might be too stiff. The gasket material I use is neoprene rod stock. (Tube stock is hollow and rod stock is solid). MacMaster Carr or Grainger type places carry it.

As usual, Paul, very nice.

Steve

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Thanks for the info Paul! Yes, the o-ring stuff does seem to be a little hard. I will still try it out and let everyone know if it works or not though.

It is plenty cheap and I can get it right here i town, so I figured it was worth a try.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

[QUOTE=Pwoolson]
Terry: the levers are the smoke alone, mirrors are out of the pic.javascript:AddSmileyIcon('') Seriously, it's a vacuum pod. Alows me to "clamp" the guitar when it's in this state without any damage to the body. In my opinion, it's the single most important thing in my shop. Can't understand how anyone gets by without one. [/QUOTE]

Hi Paul. Yes, I recognized your vac jig. I'm glad you've commented on it, I want one, and posted the vacuum poll a few weeks back. A vendor and I had some communication about offering a package to OLF. I'm waiting on a reply.

I was planning to make a vac jig this next winter. I bought a few "nifty levers" on a visit to Grizzly. A couple got used on other things though.... Did I mention how nifty they are?

I have a compressor and might go with the venturi. Till I get up to justifiable production.

Thanks to all for comments on this topic.

paul

even if you've decided to use a mechanical pump read the joe woodworker info i referred to above. he gives you the way to make the mechanical pump far more effective and efficient as well.

terry

if you are thinking about going into vacuum clamping see the site i referred to above before you do anything. this guy has it worked out how to do a lot for relatively few dollars.crazymanmichael38480.8217476852