Official Luthiers Forum!

I just bought a jig from Craig. the darn thing works like a dream. It is nice to now offer my customers a varity of fingerboard radii.
   If you ever did a fret board this is the jig. Wish I thought of it
john hall

John:
Will it work to radius the top of the bridge to match the FB radius?

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I absolutely love mine!!!

Can you guys post a picture? How much is it?

I just orderd mine too..
cant wait to get it and start making some f-boards.

I wanna see some pics!

There are some pictures on Craigs WebsiteCraigs SiteRussellR38560.3600578704

Someone may have asked about this before but I'm wondering if the fixture will accept a fretboard with neck attached?

   I think it can do all that . It is quite a tool. Ask craig as he can answer the questions better than I . All I can say is that I love it.
john hall
On a scale of 1-10 it is a solid 10

Tim,
I don't think that is possible. ( I have had mine for about a year now) The fret board is held down by vacuum. Bridge plate is probably too small and orientated in the wrong direction. The jig radius's along it's length. And it is along the length that the radius vacuum holes are aligned. I suppose if there were more holes and the ones not needed while radiusing the bridge could be temporarily "plugged" then just one area of the plate could hold a bridge. It would need some serious thought/engineering. Good idea for a smaller version designed to do bridges!

Nelson, I talked to Craig about someday making something like that. I have been working on one that would. Craigs jig is made to hold down the fret board flat. A router then travels on radiused blocks along two oblong poles. so you can start and cut the radius from either a side to side motion or an end to end motion but the radius is in the side to side blocks and there is no way to mount a neck ( not yet anyway).

It is a great machine...one of those things that just works great every time.

I hope Craig doesn't mind me answering these questions...I am sure he will chime in and correct me if I'm wrong.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Hi Guys.

Are you cutting compound radiuses on it ?

I am... Mine is still pretty new and I am still figuring it out... but it is very slick..

Anybody want some flat sawn oak fingerboards?   

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I can do compounds and you can do bridges. I used double stick tape and a little hild down jig I made to pin the wings of the bridge.
   Craig had the power go out as I talked to him a few minutes ago. He will be here asap
john

That's great to know about the bridges. Compounds are as easy to do as standard with this jig! Worth every penny.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Every time I set mine up I can't stop trying new things with it. If you are thinking about getting one you will not be sorry. I agree with John H., it is a solid 10!!

Okay, I'm getting a big head now. I'm glad you guys are loving it. I had the fortunate experience of delivering John's system in person as we are about two hours away from each other. Let me say, I definitely have shop envy...many cool tools and ideas were discussed. It can be dangerous to get two jig makers together. Even more dangerous if we had more TIME!
(And... discussed the slotting system with him also...I know I'm late on that, but it's definitely not forgotten! I won't put anything out until it passes my approval.)

I'm testing a new carriage this weekend that will radius fretboards already glued on to necks that have not yet been shaped, and provided all goes well, will be selling this carriage with each system. If any of you who have purchased already are interested in that, send me an e-mail.)

Brock, let me know if you have any questions...

I love how you guys keep figuring out new uses for it every time you use it, I'm going to need to take some lessons soon.

I have tried to keep this jig as affordable as possible, but unfortunately my supply costs have been going up and I am forced to raise the price. Just wanted to let everyone know in advance that the price will be going up effective September 1, 2005. Any orders that I receive prior to that time will receive the current price of $275. Anybody know any reasonable places to buy shipping materials from? That cost alone seems ridiculous!

Thanks to all!

Craig
www.cthluthiery.com

Actually I do have 1 question.... how tight of a radius can you get with this? Could you do ... say, a 4" radius? smaller?

I have an idea to use this to make tuner buttons and I was wondering how tight you could set it up to go...

thoughts?

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

uline has pretty reasonable rates on shipping supplies...

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Hey Brock, like I said, I love all the ideas everyone comes up with for this machine.

Since I was only thinking about fingerboards when I made it, the tightest radius I ever tested was 7". I would imagine it could do a 4" radius, but you would need to figure out what degree to cut the guides at in order to achieve a smooth 4" radius, and the guides would need to be higher so the blade clears the fingerboard table.

Let me know if you try it, and how it works out.

Thanks for the u-line tip...unfortunately the jig requires an odd size box and the guy I've been getting them from just screwed me, so I'm frantically searching for the right size box. Such woes...

Craig

I think Uline might make custom size boxes, or sell adjustable size boxes -- I would give them a call. At one time I had some special needs and they accomodated me with no problems at all.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=Brock Poling]
Actually I do have 1 question.... how tight of a radius can you get with this? Could you do ... say, a 4" radius? smaller?

I have an idea to use this to make tuner buttons and I was wondering how tight you could set it up to go...

thoughts?

[/QUOTE]
Hey Brock,

If you start making tuner buttons, I'll sign up to get some made if you are willing. Oh the harmony in my trim work! Seriously, if you do-I have some projects to do...

Yeah, I will play with it and let you know how it works out. I think it should work, but I haven't actually tried cutting any wood yet. :-)

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

If you need special boxes I use Custom Made Boxes
1-877-288-9086
    They are the best price I have found. There is a company here in Lebanon PA and they are twice as expensive as CMB
john hall