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 Visited a local Luthier yesterday and saw something really slick and I am going to steal the idea. He had a spring loaded go-bar made from a 1/2 dowel a spring and 1/2 inside diameter pvc pipe. On one end of the pipe was a plug made of a short piece of dowel covered with leather. Then a spring went into the pipe and a length of dowel was on top of the spring. The long length of dowel was held in the pipe by a small wood screw that rode in a slot to give you your movement. When I get one made I will post a picture. I like the idea because the go-bar can sit squarely on the braces because they aren't bent. Tom Humphrey the luthier was the one that came up with the idea.

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Mistakes are mandatory-learning from them is optional. http://www.opensourceluthiersupply.com

You mean, like this, sort of?

 

I saw something similar on a website showing a similar type of go-bar that a student of Romanillos was using, and found out that Romanillos uses a similar type.  Mine is a simpler form than the one I saw.  It is not quite finished yet, and this is the prototype of my design.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Julius Borges uses something very similar to those as well. My favorite go-bar idea (which I haven't tried yet) is from John Osthoff, A go bar on a lazy susan to make for easy cleanup.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I have seen footage of a gibson acoustic factory and they use something similar to this. Theirs use a spring loaded dowel in copper pipe. Theirs were only 6 to 8 inches long and they were used in a similar hight go bar deck.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

hmmm... 8" long (or whatever length) spring loaded dowels in a short go bar deck (wheels turning)... if the top of the go bar deck were clear, this could be pretty cool. just a thought. i dont know if thats enough room to move around in.

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sweat the small stuff.

Seems like it would be hard to clean up glue squeeze-out if the top was that close.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

definitely

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sweat the small stuff.

Heck, my springs are 5" long fully extended.  It'd be hard to make one only 8" long.  I struggled to find springs that had enough travel to give clearance so you could insert the bars with a little flexibility.  I figure on making some 3 3/4" inserts for the top end so I can have a fixed height for the deck top, and still use the bars for both braces and installing backs.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

This was old factory footage. If i can find it again i'll post it. They don't use this any more. At least i don't think they do. I have seen newer footage of them using vacuum press' for bracing.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

Her is the link to a picture tour of gibson montana from 1997. You'll se e the go bar deck.
http://www.gibson.com/products/montana/tour/tour1a.html

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

Their probably more like 10" long.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

    Before I went to vacuum systems for clamping my bracing, I used go bars
that were made from 3/8" solid aluminum rods inside 3/8" I.D. aluminum
tubing with a 5" long spring against a pin through each one.

    They provided nice consistent pressure and were adjustable by moving
the pin into any of a series of holes along thet tubing.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars