Official Luthiers Forum!

There was a discussion some time ago about making GO-Bars from fiberglass driveway reflector rods from home depot or lowes.

I just picked up some Orange reflector sticks $1.99 ea. 48" long. These are just too thick 5/16" diameter. I believe that the lolly pop reflectors (white 48" long) have fiberglass shafts that are closer to 3/16 diamter shafts.

Looks like I'll be going to lowes for an exchange tomorrow. I hope this helps anyone in a similar position as myself...building my 1st go-deck.

Of course, the orange thicker diameter rods could be used if they were kept longer than 24" or 23". Additionally, I found that bolt thread protectors (rubber) look like they would make great caps for these fiberglass rods since they are rather thick.

Hope this helps,
JP

I am the one that post that I bought some orange ones from Lowes. The ones I bought were 3/16" dia. 5/16 would be way to thick at 24" but if you had a 48" tall go-bar deck y9ou could get away with them. i do use the 3/16" that come in the driveway markers. I buy them at the local Home Depot. They are just short of 48" so I adjust mt deck height to use 23" bars. MichaelP38782.5322800926

   be careful when cutting this stuff. use a mask and if you don't have a fine blade use tape to help avoid fraying
john hall
blues creek gutiars

I use the 48" long ones. I use a cafe'table of my workbench for the bottom, and I use a 24' X 24" peice of mdf on the (7.5')ceiling. No "frame" needs to be built. Works great! DOn't have much to store, except the bars.

Don't use your bandsaw to cut these...the FG eats blades. Don't ask me how I know.

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Not as bad as you may think.

Ditto on what JJ said - trashed a nice timberwolf blade doing this...

-Mark

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

A cheapy circular saw (handheld, even) or jigsaw will cut through a bunch of these (say, a bundle of 10, tape them in the area you're planning on cutting using masking tape) in short order. The dust is nasty, though.

If you get your fiberglass rods from Into the Wind (which works out to about the same price as Lowes, except you have to wait for shipping), they sell a nice little Zona hacksaw with blades that are good for cutting through the fiberglass rod (and carbon fiber).

_________________
______________________________
Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

All good cutting methods...I prefer the dremel with a fiber reinforced abrasion cuttoff wheel. This way I can add a chamfer to the cut edge quickly.

Just be sure to use a mask with this stuff...its way nasty and not worth the lung damage.

But ya just can't beat the low cost out of these sticks...$26 gets ya 24 rods and small and large rubber capped ends...

I found that the wire shelving caps come in a large and small sizes. A mix bag of both cost 1.97 usd. The small rubber cap fits the rod well and then the larger cap slips over the small one...I'm thinking this will help add some stability on the brace end...while some carpet keeps the opposite end of the rod stable in the go-deck.

Thanks for the replys..
JP