Go-bar Clamping rods - wood dowels?
- Thread starter Steve-atl
- Start date
jcalkin
Well-known member
Two vacuum presses might have kept up since we were only building three guitars per week at first. But just one took up a lot of space and two would have been ridiculous. The "mechanical gobar" decks I made up were heavy but could still be stashed under a bench while glue dried. Actually though, I made two for backs and two for tops. I had envisioned three of each, but loading
and unloading two of each were as fast as I could go. Plus, I still had to make braces, start the necks, bend the sides, and bind/sand out the batch each week. Those were wonderful times.
Kekani
Well-known member
My first vacuum took up a lot of space, then I made a vertical one, about 10" x 16" footprint, 24" high. The bridge jig is smaller than the body, but the brace bed is bigger, and flat.
I have a venturi vacuum, but I imagine a pump would take more space.
I'm finding more uses, and just used it on an inlaid fretboard.
Last edited:
jcalkin
Well-known member
There's no doubt that vacuum is a versatile system, just not for everybody.
RPA_Ukuleles
Well-known member
Yep. I use flat wood sticks made of pine. Have always thought of making spring loaded dowels, but the sticks work so well, I have never been driven to change.
Kekani
Well-known member
I'll be honest, it's a fun science project, especially with the venturi. And for sure not for everyone, especially since it's not cheap!
Pegasus Guitars
Well-known member
Aaron- I built my vacuum from the Joe Woodworkers site. Talk about a fun science project! If you are finding more uses for vacuum, get past that venturi. I never used mine again once i had a quite system with a reservoir. When I have things tight, my system will sometimes hold a vacuum for hours without the pump coming on. Very peaceful clamping.
jcalkin
Well-known member
The venturi is wonderful if you already have a compressor. It costs almost nothing to make a clamp out of wood and foam to hold bodies for numerous jobs. I made a wooden connector for 5' (the longer the better) of garden hose that trailed under my bench to deaden the noise. Of course, the compressor can't be in the same room or it will drive you nuts.
Pegasus Guitars
Well-known member
O.K., it's a rainy Sunday morning on Hawaii island, time to pop a fortified loaf of luthiers bread into the oven and head for the First Church of Shop to make go-bars, which is what I did. http://www.pegasusguitars.com/making-go-bars.html
I just picked up supplies to try and make some. What are the metal pins for
Thanks for posting it
BuzzBD
Well-known member
The rods are the stops for the springs and spacer dowels. You can also use 8-32 all thread.
Brad
Brad
jcalkin
Well-known member
Nice guide, Bob. Those are the prettiest gobar decks I've ever seen, too.
Pegasus Guitars
Well-known member
Thanks John. People call me to the floor all the time for using curly koa to make shop jigs. In my defense, having cut koa for over 30 years, there is far more non- useable instrument partially rotten curly koa than sound wood, and I use that to make my jigs.
Pegasus Guitars
Well-known member
Just a quick follow-up on my post on making go-bars. I've made many, many useless jigs that turned out to be a waste of time and $ over the years. That's the way it goes when you're chasing a better way to do things. However, I am happy to say these go-bars work great. I've been using them for 3 days now and have not needed to use any of the old wood sticks. The new ones never slip out and fly off, and they never break. The uprightness of their position also makes clean-up a little easier. If you decide to make some, spend the time and slight possible waste of materials to make at least 2 working bars before you go off cutting all the materials. I'd suggest making a few of them a little long so that you have some room to trim a bit. I've found that I needed a few slightly shorter or longer ones to accommodate rough cut braces that were higher or lower than others. Enjoy your building!--Bob
Attachments
Last edited:
Moore Bettah Ukuleles
Well-known member
I've been using spring loaded rods for about 15 years. Couldn't imagine a better way. I got the idea from Mike Chock (Hana Lima) who had instructions on his web sire. I've gone a step further by tapering the dowel ends and dipping the tips in that rubberized stuff they sell for tool grips. (The cork tips I used previously kept falling off or need constant replacement.
