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Hi!

I'm builing my frist electric bass. And for my neck, it's gonna be a 5 pieces lamination.
Curly Maple - Bloodwood - Curly Maple - Bloodwood - Curly Maple

I'm ok for ajusting the pieces, And I know i'll use Titebond I, but, what is the better jig to glue this? And Should I proceed one piece at a time?

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

You can glue them up one at a time, but I prefer to do them all together.

You want to glue them up in a "glue press" to squeeze them together, it is basically a pair of dead-straight metal angles (aluminum or steel). You can get them at many of the big-box hardware stores. You lay down a sheet of wax paper, spread glue on the wood surfaces so that one of the joint surfaces is completely covered by glue with no dry spots, then slap them all together between the angles and clamp it all down with screw-type bar clamps every few inches or so (don't use the trigger-type clamps, not enough pressure).

The angles keep everything dead-straight and also distribute the clamping pressure evenly along the neck.

Here's a couple of shots of how I do it, this one is a neck-thru 5 layers (padauk & ebony). The "trigger" clamps at the ends are to keep the lams from shifting up/down as I squeeze the sides together between the angles.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

Depending on what your selection of clamps is like, doing them one at a time may be easier for you. The most common issue with a multi-lamination is that the pieces will try to wander while you are clamping them...with 5 pieces that could be cause for a lot of swearing before you are done. A jig setup would help hold all together nicely as well.

-Matthew

I don't have installation and enough clamps to do this "jig"... I'm starting (and bit poor..!) So maybe I should go 1 piece at the time, maybe it will prevent pieces to slip or to move a bit when jointing them. And what about using Epoxy? I'd have a longer open time to set up the clamps and all the jig... By my little experience, I saw that with PV wood glue, you have to spread your glue and set it FAST.

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

With a regular 'white glue' (LMI or Titebond) you get a good amount of setup time. Using Gorrilla glue, or similar, would work fine but you will want to use the brown stuff, not the faster white. You get about 10 min or so to get the clamping finished up.

Pre-test your clamping setup before doing it with the glue. This way the clamps are all 'right about there' and you don't have to spend as much time cranking them into position. (hope that made sense...LOL). That is a habit I have heard many folks talk about...dry fitting and pre-setting up your clamps before gluing...and I wish I had learned it sooner. Can make a huge difference in how well and easily a glue up can go.

Oh...just had an idea to help with wandering. get your pieces laid out how you want them and clamped together without glue. In an area that you are going to be cutting off when pre-shaping the neck, drill a hole just big enough to accept a small wood dowel or nail...you'll want it to fit tight, but not too tight to remove by hand. Do another pin/hole in another spot. These are often referred to as 'registration pins'. You can then take it apart, add glue then use the pins to re-align everything and hold it still while you clamp. This is a common trick for lining up fret boards, top plates, etc on jigs and fixtures too.

-Matthew

Thanks! Dumb, am I... I've done this trick many times to glue some projects..!

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

The best thing I have found is to use these 4 way clamps from Rockler, and then supliment with other clamps.


http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10711&filter=clamps

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

That seems pretty nice... Thanks for the tube!

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Mateo's hint about a nail/dowel to keep things lined up while gluing is a good one. If your stock is as bit long, you can just cut off the part with the dowel/nail after the glue is set up.

You will need just as many clamps to glue up 'one at a time', so you might think about some home-made wedges for clamping. No matter how careful you are, you will have to 'true up' one surface with a plane after the glue is set, so leave extra stock for this.

Epoxy is useful for jobs like this (but slippery) since it doesn't add/subtract any water. Epoxy also doesn't need such high clamping pressure- in fact you should not clamp extremely tightly with epoxy- so that may help you as well.

Cheers
John

Ohh...a very important point there! I can recall an oh sh*t moment when I did everything to exact measurements (shortage of lumber on hand). Then, after trueing the edges/surfaces it was...well, not good is an understatement.

-Matthew