Official Luthiers Forum!

Has anybody figured out a low cost system for uv curing finishes? The cheapest I've found is just under $2,000 from uvIII.
Thanks!

There's a big room outside your shop that'll do the trick: blue ceiling, big yellow light in it...but it's a bit slow. It has worked for some in a pinch, though...

The bulbs and ballasts in the UV lamps are pretty expensive and I think even if you were going to build the lamp it'll end up over 1K. I'd love to know if you find a cheaper place, though, since around the 2K mark is a good price last I was looking into it.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Would a tanning bed work in a pinch? Or perhaps one of those fluorescent lights that only emits UV rays designed for sanitizing stuff...

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Send a PM to Joe White. He probably has a good answer

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

They need a specific wavelength of UV light to cure the finishes, so odds are that a random UV light from another application won't do the trick.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

If someone is serious about needing a light contact me privately via email or PM. I might be able to help.

Fred

The sun will take a week to fully cure the finish. A bulb with the incorrect bandwidth will not
fully cure it...no matter how long the exposure time.

$2k is in the ballpark for curing the UV finishes available from the best manufacturers of it.
Buying bulbs and other components to try to build a unit puts in an extremely dangerous position.
One slip and you'll be no more...so unless you're expereinced in working with high voltages....
leave that to the guys who are selling them already built and ready to point at a guitar.

Check periodically with Gordon at UBIII and you may catch a slightly used or a refurbished
unit at a nice discount. That's how I got my first one.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Is it any more dangerous than working with tube amps?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Tai,

It's similar to working with tube amp components and anyone who has knows the dangers there.
I believe that the wattages and amperages are much higher in the UV light fixture, though.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars