Official Luthiers Forum!

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Mike, not trying to be contrary here, but in case some one is thinking of building there own rig and needs to save a bit of money

Motor~ 120v 1/3 Hp 1725rpm evaprative AC motor with 2" input sheave $45 (local hardware store)
Shaft~3/4" 4140 tgp (turned ground and polished) x 36" $25 (from steel supply house)
Threading shaft ends~ 1 RH 3/4-10 thread x 1.5", 1 LH 3/4-10 thread x 1.5" $50 (local machine shop) or free if you have a lathe capable
Drive sheave~ 4" dia x 3/4" shaft evaprative AC sheave~$10max
2 Piller blockbearing assemblys~ 3/4" $30
V-belt~evaprative AC V-belt $10
Buff Sticks(2)~ $50
Buff Pads~ (14" + arbor hardware):$75
Total~$295

Now for the shaft you could use 1018 cold rolled bar (low carbon alloy, common steel round bar) and buff it to allow it to except the bearings form the pillar block assemblies and save another $10 or so on the material. But 1018 cold rolled can be bent much easier than 4140 tg&P and 1018 will fatigue much sooner. Also will not fit the bearings the way it should and cause the bearings to wear sooner.

Also if you go to actually buy this stuff,don’t ask for pulleys. Ask for sheaves. A pulleys is a sheave or series of sheaves mounted in a block and shaft assembly. I am not picking on Mike here as many people call sheaves pulleys. but if you ask for a 4" pulley your likely to get a surprise.

I have to apologize is some small form. I was looking on the net a realized that so many vendors call sheaves pulleys. I guess even though the word pulley is really an incorrect descriptive noun for a sheave it has become commonly interchangeable despite the fact it takes at minimum of a block (housing), shaft and a sheave to make a pulley.

Anyway I guess if a vendor wants to call a sheave a pulley I will have to live with that.

Man I am sure glad that you guys are not in charge of solving the global economic crisis......

Yeah??? Who you got's better??

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Hmmm! "Bringing in the Sheaves" takes on a whole new meaning!

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I have six of those cool little scissor jacks, but outside of just messing with them when they got here
I haven't had opportunity to use any of them yet. I'm sure I'll get my chance and will be glad to have them
on a shelf in the shop.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Filippo,
I still get regular calls to do repair work from players in both Philadelphia and New York as well as areas
closer to me. I am pretty picky about which ones I take and refuse since I'm so deeply backlogged with my
commissions. If I have a chance to get inside and nice old Martin or Gibson, I like to do so as much for my
continued education on vintage instruments and the methods used by their builders as for the repair.

I use jacks inside a guitar to press a loose brace back in place for gluing, but always with corresponding
clamps on the outside of the guitar to allow for sufficient pressure. They're more suited to that sort of repair
then to anything having to do with a caved in top. If you use the correctly, there's not a chance of popping
the top or back off of a guitar. I've already planned to make my own set of various cauls for specific repairs
that will make them very versatile and efficient. They're nicely made and relatively cheap for what they can
do...if use you use your imagine.

I may use two or even three of them to apply even pressure along the length of a brace that's been knocked
away from the top or back.

Having six of them will give me the ability to have two or three separate repairs going at any given time if
necessary. I haven't used these yet, but will appreciate having them when I get a chance to.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

As an aside; for anyone contemplating building a thickness sander, the same rule applies. Bigger drum diameter means more ft/sec of sand paper if rpm remain constant. But you already knew this.