Official Luthiers Forum!

I read a post on another forum about using pool backwash hose instead of an inner tube. Something like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Northlight- ... /302035723

Has anyone else tried this? Looks like a good idea and it's easy to find and cheap.

Thanks,
George

I dont think that product has any stretch to it which would make it difficult to apply even pressure.
Also at 1.5” wide it may not conform well to the radii.
I use extra large elastic bands, quick, cheap, easy, effective.

_________________
My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

Or good ole cotton string.......

Do you always do that on the ceiling?

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I much prefer a go-bar deck for this kind of gluing.

FWIW I inherited a bunch of spanish luthier spool thread clamps, basically a 3/4in threaded birch dowel coupled with a 2 to 2.5in round discs one is rigid the center one rides cleanly and the outer one is internally threaded . Since I use fish glue .I find them very handy. I also use euro style vln clamps that are shaped and span 3 to 4 in. I made a go bar deck and use chinese spring loaded closet dowels for bracing. backs and tops , for smaller instruments, an FB glass rods on another go bar deck for larger gtrs.

This is what I do now. The clamps are upside down so you don't see the cams.

Thanks. Where do you get those elastic bands?

George

Do you think something like this would be tough enough?

https://smile.amazon.com/VRHOT-Elastic- ... 18&sr=8-12

George

They say you can never have too many clamps.....but maybe??

I think these things are the bee's knees for our purposes, and I suspect they will work better than waistband elastic (per George's post above):

http://www.grifiti.com/band-joes/12-standard-band.html

I will not argue that. Definitely looks like overkill, but I have always been a belt and two pairs of suspenders kind of guy.

The real thing is, I am getting tighter back/top to rim joints than I ever did with go-bars.

_________________
My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

$8 for two bands? Those are kinda pricey.

George

True, but they go down in price the more you buy, and they really are more substantial and durable than mere rubber bands.

Lots of ways to skin this cat.
Here is my method using c-clamps fashioned from a piece of 6 inch PVC pipe. If you slice it into rings about an inch and a half wide and open the ring on one side it makes a clamp that is large enough to span the width of a guitar and has just the right amount of springback to do the job. I pad the ends with some foam rubber (pipe insulation) held on with a cable tie. 30 clamps took less than an hour to make and cost next to nothing. In this picture the guitar is still in the mold and is sitting on a block of wood to elevate it off the bench. I like how there is plenty of room to get in and clean up glue squeeze-out.

Mark, I can see how these pipe clamps will work when gluing the top, if the back is already installed. When you glue the back on, and there is no top there to hold the other end of the clamps, is it difficult to keep the clamp on the edge of the top rim?

Hi James. I usually glue the back first. To do that I rough fit the top and tape it down - for exactly the reason you mentioned.

That's similar to the bed spring clamp method. Bed springs are cut out just like you did the pvc pipe pieces and they seat on a cutout "halo" piece that fits the rims. I always wanted to try it but the only bed springs I found were still in a discarded mattress. I just couldn't get myself to tear into someone's used matress. (You never know where those things have been). I built a go-deck with a "lazy-susan" bottom so I can use in a small area. I use split bamboo for the bars.

Hi Mike. Yes, a go-bar deck is another way to clamp this task and works just fine. Interesting that you use bamboo for your bars - so do I. It grows in my back yard so I can just go out and cut some new ones (whole stems, a bit thinner than my pinky finger) whenever needed. They last for years. I am starting to sound like a miser who won’t pay for proper tools! Not true - I have my fair share of expensive kit but there is a particular satisfaction in scrounging and making a really effective jig or tool out of found materials and junk.

There was a similar discussion about clamping plates to sides on another forum where I suggested possibly using a bicycle inner tube mounted to a board and running around the perimeter of the top or back in combination with a few clamps or go bars. Another member (Brian Evans) suggested using closed cell foam.
My wife understands my penchant for scrounging free materials and she happened upon some pipe insulation that was cut in half for marble runs that was headed for the dumpster, and as the "enabler" she is, brought them home to me. The thought came to me that the rounded shape (similar to an inner tube ) and the compressibility of foam (as Brian suggested) might lend itself to using it as a clamping caul. It would require fewer clamps and less precision for placing them. It could be used with go bars if some old sandpaper or other non slippery surface was used on the top side.
The first pictures shows the pipe insulation hot melt glued to a piece if 1/4 inch MCP. The second picture shows the location of the center of the foam in relation to the outline of the guitar it is intended for. The third picture demonstrates the clamping caul in place on a guitar ( although a classical, not the "size one" it is made for).

That seems like a good method too, especially if using hot hid glue since it looks like it would be quick to clamp up. There was a video a while back that showed a guy using HHG that way with clear surgical tubing, a halo board and barbell weights. Looked like it would be a quick way without having to tighten clamps. I haven't seen any weights on the side of the road and my weight liftings days are long gone, oh well.

I got a whole bunch of used bike inner tubes at a local bike shop. They were giving them away. I got 30' of 1" strips out of one inner tube.

George

Samesies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I thought that the inner tubing of an expandable hose might work well. I have one that had blown out, and it wasn't that difficult to remove it from the outer casing. That being said, I already have two long lengths of automobile inner-tube, and I haven't tried out the expandable hose yet.