Official Luthiers Forum!

Anybody have any suggestions or pictures on making a wooden frame for a graduation dial gauge?

I got a dial gauge a couple weeks ago and was wondering if 3/4" plywood would be ok to make the frame out of.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Chuck, If i knew how to post a picture on this new site I would show you the one I built. Basically two pieces of 3/4 inch black pipe (used in pluming known as 1/2 inch pipe cause that is the inside diameter). Those are the arms with the dial attached to the upper arm and then a carriage bolt is threaded into the lower arm and allows for adjustment to zero on the gauge and serves as a standoff for graduation of arched tops. The pipe is inserted into a maple and mahogany block at the other end and the pipe is sprayed black so that it looks half decent as well. It is probably a bit more than you really need and others will post pictures of a laminated plywood frame made into a sideways "U" which really is all that you really need.

Shane

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Canada

Chuck…I made one using a solid pc of maple and one using Baltic birch ply. The Baltic birch ply worked out much better but both of them react badly to changes in humidity which is not a problem as long as you zero the gauge before you use it. Stiffness is a problem with any wood so if you can fabricate one out of aluminum or steel, that’s the best way to go.

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Rich S

"The inconvenience of poor quality will linger long after the thrill of a bargain has been forgotten"

Chuck,
I'm glad you started this post. I too have been interested in a homemade design. I am curious where you or others have found the dial guages? Are there any particular specs/hardware to look for?

Rick

Rick - I ordered mine from Woodcraft.com and got the 0 -1" dial indicator only. It was only $19.00 USD. Item # is 128397. Click on THIS LINK and it will take you right to it.

Rich - I'd love to get my hands on some maple wood. I've been to Home Depot, Ace hardware and two different lumber companies in the area and they don't have it. Only thing they seem to carry is pine.

Shane - I do like the idea of using pipe. I was looking at Pat's first guitar in a thread yesterday and in one of his pictures, sitting in the background, all pretty and by itself was a home-made caliper made out of wood. Wish he'd post a couple close-up's of it.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

I made one out of Red Cedar & it works fine. It's basically a piece of 1" thick Cedar about 15" long & 4" wide with a long "U" cut out of it. Mortise & cross drill the upper arm of the U for the Dial Indicator & bolt on the indicator. Centre a wooden button underneath the indicator ball end on the lower arm & Bob's your uncle. I re-enforced the short grain at the lower end of the "U" to keep it from splitting.
Instability doesn't seem to be a problem... Just zero the guage before using the tool. You can check the zero regularly if you're nervous about it.
My rig is pretty crude, but it works well & gives very consistent readings. When taking readings, you must make sure the plate isn't tipped. You'll quickly get the knack of slightly varying the angle of the plate & taking the lowest reading.
Make the lower arm of the "U" wider than the upper, so you can clamp it in a vise comfortably.

Here is one I made from a couple pieces of scrap mahogany and maple and fir,,,
works ok..
The dial guage was $20 from house of tools...


Cheers
Charlie

I am surprised that home depot doesn’t have maple. The local home centers around me have it.
Forget the hardware stores and find a Mill.
You could use Poplar, Oak, Ash, Ipe, and Mahogany, Cherry or any hardwood for that mater. Ipe may not be dry enough as it is mostly used for outdoor decking at least in my area.
If you want to stiffen up things you could use aluminum sheet on the side of the wood.
Inlayed Brass sheet stock with Mahogany will looks great.
Home depot should have .020” sheet aluminum.

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Rich S

"The inconvenience of poor quality will linger long after the thrill of a bargain has been forgotten"

Every Home Depot I've been in, had maple.

Here's my setup. simple, solid. Skip the wood section, and go to the steel bin.

Shane, photos are simple: there's a second box below the one I'm typing in; next to that, is the "browse" button. Click that, find the photo you want to upload, and ta-dah! C'est magique!

Yup just 19mm ply a dial gauge and a couple of bolts. Works flawlessly for me.



Colin

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

THANKS MARIO!! I can post pics again! (I am much better on a table saw than a computer !!)
Anyway, Here is the caliper I made, like I said, probably too fancy, but it works well and really didn't take that long to make.

Shane

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Canada

This one isn't wood but aluminum is not really that hard to work with. It cuts easily on the bandsaw and can even be cut with a table saw and milled with a router if you use carbide tipped blades and bits.

I made this out of 7075 T6 alloy which is the hardest and stiffest commonly available alloy. Often it can be found at metal recycle yards for about $1 per pound. I bandsawed the body from 1/4" plate.

Mark

Wow, you guys sure posted some nice looking ways to make a dial gauge. I really appreciate it.
It seems everytime I go into Home depot and ask someone where something is at I always get the deer in the headlight look. And with the maple, I asked the prettiest little blonde I could find and she acted like she didn't know there was a difference between maple or pine. She thought it was something you put on your pancakes. I always walk out of that store shaking my head. I'll have to go back and find a crusty old guy that knows the ways of the world.

Anyway, I have some 3/4" flat steel and I'm going to weld me up a frame for my dial gauge today. I just want to say "THANK YOU" to all you good people. I'll post a picture of if when I'm finished.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Here's one more......

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Good Luck with your design

Peter

That's a good one!

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

I made this a few years ago, seems to work fine.

Guess my ears were burning. Here's mine.
I added more wood in the arms here because the wood flexed more than I expected, but it works well.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT pictures and input guys. You know, that's one thing that makes everyone on the OLF very special. All your combined knowledge and willing to share.

I broke out my hack saw and the mig welder and here's what I come up with. I couldn't resist spray painting it black for some reason. Took me most of the afternoon but it was worth it. Last night I sat it on the floor in front of the Boob Tube. As I watched "The Godfather" for the 20th time I'd pick it up and caress it during the commercials. Gawd, am I weird? All I think about is tools or jigs. What's happened to me?

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Welcome to the club Chuck...If I am not building something, I am looking for something to build.

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Rich S

"The inconvenience of poor quality will linger long after the thrill of a bargain has been forgotten"

It's all a bit mad , (I know ! ) but I had a lot of fun making it out of scrap I had lying around. ( It's in metric)

Cheers, Craig Lawrence

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Very nice, Kiwicraig !!!!!

Love it !!!

Mark

I say Craig's takes top honors for coolness. Chuck's and Shane's too.

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I guess the scrap I had lying around wasnt as nice as Craigs.

Warren

Here's one I made based on the one in Benedetto's book. A piece of 1/4" tubing, a small pulley, a guitar string and a piece of maple. The piece of tape measure reads to 32nds and is plenty accurate for the plates I carve.