***** Guitar Project Jigs, Tools & Techniques Online Resources Archives OLF Video Page Library of plans MP3 Library Inlay Class
Offical Luthiers Forum





And our community proudly sponsored by:

RC Tonewoods | Stewart MacDonald | LuthiersForum
TasmanianTonewoods | OLF | OLF MERCH
Luthier Suppliers | Pacific Coast Woods | ELEVATE
OLF X | Tasmanian Acoustic Tonewood | Luthiers Forum Store!
Luthiers Forum | OLF Facebook | AVAIL SPACE
OLF | Alaska Specialty Woods | A.Hix Tonewood
Duke of Pearl | Birkonium CNC | Space




Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Mon Jul 21, 2025 9:45 pm


Board index » Luthiers Forum Rooms » Guitar Building Forum

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Forum rules


Be nice, no cussin and enjoy!




Post new topic Reply to topic  Page 3 of 3
  [ 62 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3
  Print view Previous topic | Next topic 
Author Message
Chris Ensor
 Post subject: Re:
PostPosted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:04 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:51 pm
Posts: 1204
First name: Chris
Last Name: Ensor
City: Springfield
State: Missouri
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
James Orr wrote:
Hey Chris, just out of curiosity, how do you approach florentine cutaways?


James,
I actually just finished one with a florentine cutaway. I did nothing special. I ran it around the jig just like I do a body with no cutaway.

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com
Top
 Profile  
 
Pat Foster
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 11:40 am 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat May 17, 2008 1:11 pm
Posts: 2390
Location: Spokane, Washington
First name: Pat
Last Name: Foster
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Just thinking off the top of my head . . .

Looks very similar to this one from Canadian Luthier Supply and others that have surfaced over the years. Your zero bar is a nice addition.

IMO there are pros and cons to having a separate dumbbell for each size of cut. If a jig uses only dumbbells with no adjustment, the user doesn't have to pay attention to the yaw of the body, meaning keeping the body in the correct position with respect to the tangent of the curve of the body. This is also how the Stew Mac jig works at the cutter/guide level. They work well because the bit and the dumbbell centers are concentric, in line with each other. On the other hand, it is nice to have the adjustment to get any cut desired, which yours offers.

Seems like a bunch of dumbbells AND the adjustment would give you the best of both worlds, yes? Use a dumbbell that's close to the desired cut, then dial it in with the adjustment. The bit and the dumbbell might not be exactly concentric, but if they're close, the yaw errors would be minimal.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com
Top
 Profile  
 
Chris Ensor
PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 9:40 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:51 pm
Posts: 1204
First name: Chris
Last Name: Ensor
City: Springfield
State: Missouri
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
Pat,
I was originally concerned about having the cutter being non-concentric to the guide. On version one, I had my machinist make me a set of different sized guides. After using the jig for a while and trying it in its current configuration, I found that it is very easy to use this way. I get wonderful results and find the versatility to be a wonderful feature. It is also great to be able to set the cut to the exact binding/purfling you are using.

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com
Top
 Profile  
 
Pat Foster
PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 10:16 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat May 17, 2008 1:11 pm
Posts: 2390
Location: Spokane, Washington
First name: Pat
Last Name: Foster
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Chris,

That's good to hear.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com
Top
 Profile  
 
jfmckenna
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 9:52 am 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 10:44 am
Posts: 6262
Location: Virginia
That's a beautiful looking jig you got there and very clever too. I built something very similar and was based on the old Laravee apprentice / canadian luthiers model but I'm not getting terrific results with it. I notice that you mention technique is important and that you focus on resting the guitar sides on the outbound ring of the dumbbell first. I think that's probably a good idea. So my question is what happens if you tilt the body inward so that it rises up off that outbound dumbbell? I think that is the problem I have with my DIY one.

BTW what did you use as a doughnut? I had a hard time finding something out there in the wild and finally settled on a piece of door knob hardware.

Here is an older pic of mine that I have modified since.

Image
Top
 Profile  
 
Josh H
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 11:19 am 
Offline
Koa
Koa

Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:36 am
Posts: 1595
State: ON
Country: Canada
Status: Professional
jfmckenna wrote:
That's a beautiful looking jig you got there and very clever too. I built something very similar and was based on the old Laravee apprentice / canadian luthiers model but I'm not getting terrific results with it. I notice that you mention technique is important and that you focus on resting the guitar sides on the outbound ring of the dumbbell first. I think that's probably a good idea. So my question is what happens if you tilt the body inward so that it rises up off that outbound dumbbell? I think that is the problem I have with my DIY one.

BTW what did you use as a doughnut? I had a hard time finding something out there in the wild and finally settled on a piece of door knob hardware.

Here is an older pic of mine that I have modified since.

[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XENwIVt-1b-13bR7En04dhbkSCCB4DGI-KMCxN4UA_3VfdWcK3XyrDAj3WM0he7EprYj0VVr8Xyo4jhcBGf8iGb080nHvs1W-XKnh7tLqYb1rlpmcs57Tz8rBpMdmKKFkhqyH7T8CJtUFiAy8e6gNkMeCfrxpi10oJMKn5nPDnEQZwo1EjPKj_YeoyV1TO2QAWO2GJe5LY5hLgkTeM4JQeNwKoVmjacwBW-wvAQtl3gWj22_yTqrdm-QFT6bb-6Hf8qq1Jmx1-
_XgI6oD0Tg90i9C8vfMHE5AAFIjTyKW6BwnGbTWKVtncNjMLOa3lKuy60lJV3sYDZ0pBMmFGekhhaPpyG9kNJhV6SD0zYVZ7j-6FrbUGfNJf7OK7iMYdzRuVz6S2S0m2OcVPB0T8p4ND-DiKz2RKPwtmPgQa1CRXDWPwFhkSUXTYRJ4guaBjcOHXm7QFV_8Dc_7Q1rcF2vZAtQ83pxBcuV3nGrspPSeWc-ahnCqIKI0VQ5UpEXsO0JQP64UbMxhVIfOk-CUp3eZ0jLPtCTQAJcyG81TYw8yGyG4PhOPXv-UgV6NqcoYRY2MksrYg=w954-h955-no[/img]


Just a suggestion if you are finding yourself tilting the guitar body off the dumbell during cutting. I know a number of people who use this style of jig and prefer to cut with it at eye level. So you either have to mount it high, or most people I've seen do this (and I've done this myself) will kneel down in front off it. That way you can always see that you are getting contact on the dumbbell while cutting. With some practice you will get the feel of cutting channels while standing. Another thing I always do is put slightly more pressure towards the back part of the dumbell while cutting. This ensures that if I tip the body it comes off the cutter.

_________________
Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com


These users thanked the author Josh H for the post (total 2): jfmckenna (Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:06 pm) • James Orr (Thu Mar 17, 2016 12:39 pm)
Top
 Profile  
 
Chris Ensor
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 11:24 am 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:51 pm
Posts: 1204
First name: Chris
Last Name: Ensor
City: Springfield
State: Missouri
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
jfmkenna,
I hope this helps:

Attachment:
Binding Jig Cut Results.jpg


In case 1, you get a channel that is perfectly parallel to your sides (regardless of how square your sides are to your plates). This is what makes this jig so great.

In case 2 you get a channel that is not full depth. This is easily fixed by taking another pass and making sure you are contacting point 1.

In case 3 you get a channel that is tilted into your top/back plate and is too deep. If this is on your binding channel and you plan on using purfling, it is not a big problem. If it happens on your purfling channel you have a few options: 1) If it isn't too deep, blend it in by hand. 2) If it is deep, use a wider purfling or "design option" (inlay). I guess you could try to use a filler as well, but I don't suggest it.

Case 3 is easily avoid if you pay close attention to contact point 1. When I am routing my channels, I am kneeling and only watching contact point 1. I usually take about 3 passes to make sure everything is fully cut. I have done this with every system I have used. Once you no longer hear the bit cutting, your channels are full depth.

The donut is made of a hard plastic- usually either nylon or delrin.


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com


These users thanked the author Chris Ensor for the post: James Orr (Thu Mar 17, 2016 12:41 pm)
Top
 Profile  
 
jfmckenna
PostPosted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 1:08 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Tue May 13, 2008 10:44 am
Posts: 6262
Location: Virginia
That's a great chart Chris thanks. Yeah I think I've run into case 3 a few times and have 'fixed' it by then adding purfling which was not planned but hey, it looks good anyway ;)
Top
 Profile  
 
Doug Balzer
PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 11:42 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:04 pm
Posts: 712
First name: Doug
Last Name: Balzer
City: Calgary
State: Alberta
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
I just ordered one from Chris. Looking forward to having no more excuses for less than perfect binding!

_________________
Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something
Top
 Profile  
 
Chris Ensor
PostPosted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 10:39 am 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:51 pm
Posts: 1204
First name: Chris
Last Name: Ensor
City: Springfield
State: Missouri
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I happy to announce the arrival of a new accessory for this jig- a solid guide.

Attachment:
solid guide.jpg


This guide makes the jig usable on lots of different sized instruments- from shallow bodied acoustics to ukes, electrics, and so many more. It is interchangeable with the standard dumbbell guide. Boy am I excited about this one!


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com


These users thanked the author Chris Ensor for the post (total 2): Clinchriver (Tue May 10, 2016 3:40 am) • James Orr (Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:19 am)
Top
 Profile  
 
Doug Balzer
PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 9:36 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:04 pm
Posts: 712
First name: Doug
Last Name: Balzer
City: Calgary
State: Alberta
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
Image

Got mine. Love it.

_________________
Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something
Top
 Profile  
 
Chris Ensor
 Post subject: Re:
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2016 4:17 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Sat Dec 05, 2009 3:51 pm
Posts: 1204
First name: Chris
Last Name: Ensor
City: Springfield
State: Missouri
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
Doug Balzer wrote:

Got mine. Love it.


Doug,
I am glad you like it. I love your bench by the way!

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com
Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  Page 3 of 3
  [ 62 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3

Board index » Luthiers Forum Rooms » Guitar Building Forum

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 24 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com