Go Bars

I don't know how "go bar" clamping got it's name, and wonder if it's called anything else. I do know piano factories have used a large version of the system with the bars extending to the ceiling. Before I moved into a new shop I was using the conventional four-post adjustable platforms and had to use shims or go to the trouble of adjusting the nuts that held the top platform in place for different thickness clamping needs. The attached photo shows the adjustable system in the new shop that can easily be adjusted for thickness and pressure with a turn of a crank. Two of the images are drawings I made before building the thing that might be helpful for anyone wanting to make one. The other two pictures are a wide shot of the system and the fixture I use under one of them for gluing sides and backs.

That's exactly what I was thinking about last night! Because I need to keep all lengths of bars because of the different parts I glue down. Braces, bridge patch, sides, back. All different. And my roof flexes upwards when I use too many bars.

You must not be a real luthier because your bench is too clean. Nice design.

Sweet system! Nice to have the space to devote to a dedicated gluing station! Congrats, great design.

For several years I have been using go bars in an adjustable setup that I made from a salvage radial arm saw and segments of fiberglass tent pole.