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After carefully planing/sanding and jointing the edges of flatsawn 6/4 stock I glue each piece with a thin stringer in the middle. Invariably once glued and clamped with Besseys or cam clamps I always end up with the 6/4 stock not as square as it would be sitting there 'dry'.

This usually isn't a huge issue as I start with the stock being at least 4-1/4"; plenty to straighten up later, but I know there's got to be some other (better) ways out there...

That's a tough one. We use a hydraulic press with 1" thick steel plates reinforced with 3" angle iron. You can see the plates flex when it's up to full pressure.

If I was going to use hand clamps I'd likely get some rectangular steel tube to make cauls out of. Put some MDF pads on them and cover them with packing tape to make glue removal easier.

If you have enough length, I find it helpful to put some dowels in the ends to help with alignment, and then a caul or two with a pony clamp near the middle.

I've started using epoxy for the task too, which gives you plenty of time to get things lined up. Still, it's never perfect, but a pass over the jointer and through the planer and it's good to go.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

1/2" dowels in the waste area, use two of course.

Or you can cut a 1/4" channel in the ends and use a piece of 1/4" MDF or WHY to align the glue up.

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And be careful when applying the clamp pressure so as not to induce any side load in the "sandwich".
I sneak up on the clamping pressure by applying a little at a time with each clamp making sure that the clamps "square up" without making any of the pieces slide out of position. Just trying to be careful to not induce any stress in the neck that might later result in twisting.
Nelson

Andrew...I use two 1/4" dowels in the waste area as well. I have always glued up the 3-piece sandwich of the laminates separately first and then glued up the 2 main pieces of mahogany with the sandwich. I have been using Titebond but plan to change to epoxy to eliminate water adsorption and potential twisting.

I set the glued up block on a series of 4 pipe clamps on the bottom and then apply Bessey clamps on top. Once glued up for a few days I then square everything with a plane.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Thanks for the tips guys. After a stop at the BORG for some dowels I'm gonna give it a shot later tonight.