Official Luthiers Forum!

Two questions: 1) Is it absolutely necessary to join before thicknessing? The tought came to me of using a 12" surface planer to size each half, then plane the edge, and then join. Is it just to avoid the possibility of uneven halves? 2) How many out there built their own drum sander? What plans did you use, or did you design your own?

_________________
DES - Shepherd, MI

Darin,
I have a set of plans that you can have....email me with your adress and I will send them.

Darin, I personally wouldn't want to use a surface planer to thickness wood down to the dimensions we use for guitarmaking. It also gets a little more difficult to glue things up perfectly/properly, with no room for error if you thickness things before joining them.

I've got the parts to build myself a drum/thickness sander, haven't gotten started yet (first the molds, then the bending forms, then the sander, then I start on my new instruments). I can post a photo-essay of me doing it once I get it done, but I doubt I'll have the patience to draw up any detailed plans. There are a lot of plans available in the MIMF.com library. Register and browse, and/or search for 'Thickness Sander' for a ton of discussion on making and using them.

There are a number of reasons to thickness after joining. But you don't necessarily need a thickness sander. Some people really like the gizmos like the Safe-T-Planer (for your drill press). Or you could build a router thicknesser ala John Greven (IIRC). To my knowledge, he doesn't even have an abrasive thicknesser.

The Greven type of thicknesser is essentially a router running on straight rails, similar in function to the jigs some use to make their radiused dishes, only with straight rails. The reasons I went with the router is because I didn't feel like spending the money for a real drum sander, or expending the effort to throw together a functional and SAFE shop built unit, plus I don't have much room for another large piece of equipment.

By the way, the router thicknesser seems to work fine ... I had one bubinga set with bad runout, and my planer (bad idea!) just shattered it, even though it just fine for tame grained tops and Indian Rosewood. For the Bubinga, which the planer shattered in a million pieces, the router method did great and left a nice finish with only a few machine marks to sand/hand plane out.

Pete, we've seen John's do you have a pic of yours? I wanted to build one for problematic woods such as Cocobolo which resin up the new sandpaper really quick. That way I could route off the excess, then sand just the last little bit of the surface? Is it sixteen inches or wider? Or just a foot or so? Thanks.

Darin, I think for the back it is okay to get it in the ballpark before joining, but for the top, I wouldn't recommend thicknessing before joining because after you join, you still have to do the rosette. Trying to get the rosette flush with the top is difficult if you are already at your desired thickness. A scraper has a tendency to dig holes around the rosette where some of the wood is harder than the surrounding wood. I'm sure there are some who do this, but I wouldn't take a chance. That's just my .02.

Bruce, I'll take a few shots over the weekend. I'd like to see how that compares to Grevens, which I haven't seen. Does he have his posted somewhere?

Didn't find it Pete. But I found this link to his building pages.

Dickey38380.6527314815

Try this site for a router planer!

Router Planer at Woodzone

_________________
Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

......did you get my e-mail? If not I'll try again, and I really appreciate it!

_________________
DES - Shepherd, MI

Bruce,

I actually ran across a picture of Greven's thicknesser in an issue of American Lutherie. Much simpler than mine ... essentially a couple of guides made of right angle stock that the router rides on.

Mine used heavy duty drawer slides to move the router and I had hold-downs rigged up. Greven's just seemed to be gravity held. By the way, I did take some photos, but haven't posted them yet. Maybe over the weekend.

My two cents is if you don't have access to a drum sander is to follow William Campaino's technique and use the good old #5 hand plane. this takes time and practice but almost every thing in luthiery does. and it is good planing experience. I did my first 5 this way now I have a local cabinet maker that allows me to use his drum sander. in exchange for occasional help around his shop. Mainly helping load cabinets on his trailer and off at location. But he is in poor health and may not be available much longer. I will need to build my own soon.

Michael--(and by the way, it's raining today, again)--if this cabinet maker is forced into retirement, perhaps you could pick up his sander for not too much $$? Unless, of course, it's set up to run on three phase. Or unless it's one of those beasts that would fill up your shop and leave you no room to work?

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

[QUOTE=Steve Kinnaird] Michael--(and by the way, it's raining today, again)--if this cabinet maker is forced into retirement, perhaps you could pick up his sander for not too much $$? Unless, of course, it's set up to run on three phase. Or unless it's one of those beasts that would fill up your shop and leave you no room to work?[/QUOTE]

Steve it is a phase and it is 60" wide 48 or 50 sand-able width. I would have to take the roof off and have it lowered with a crane I think this summer I am going to build one. I have to take down a wall between the shop and an old unused garage this summer also. I have already run out of floor space in the shop. i thought that 800 sq ft would last me for years. As it turns out maybe one year

Any way Steve You all have rivers and such things to move the water. Remember all we have is Tom Greene Street and Buffalo Wallow which is a beautiful city park now with a walking trail big old waterfall and a bronze statue of a cattle stampede. a far cry from the moto cross patch of my youth.MichaelP38384.5795717593