Lining clamp extrusions dirt cheap - first and last call

John Watkins · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2009 1:37 pm

These are going bye bye soon, as I've been storing them for years now. I thought I would offer them up to the community before they go to the scrap yard in case someone is feeling ambitiuos. I'm not looking for much more than scrap pricing, or roughly 1/10th the price of ones that are cut and assembled already. I'm not looking to profit on this (quite the opposite), I just can't bear to melt them down if someone can use at least some of them.

I have 8 boxes, each box has a dozen 10' extrusions in it. It's enough to make roughly 10,000 1/2" lining clamps. I also have about 30 lbs of the latex bands.

I can cut them down to ship UPS I guess. If interested, PM me with how much of it you might want and I'll get you a price.

truckjohn · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2009 2:12 pm

Any chance of a pic or two?

Sounds interesting....

Thanks

ChuckH · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2009 2:17 pm

What is a lining clamp extrusion? .......sorry

Dennis Leahy · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2009 3:13 pm

ChuckH wrote:

What is a lining clamp extrusion? .......sorry

Hi Chuck,

Did you see that video from the Living North TV segment where Grant Goltz was demonstrating guitar making at a trade show? He is using some of John's clamps to clamp on linings. You can see it here: Last Show of the Season, and TV

John, let me ask around. I can think of a couple of people that may want some (but probably not all) of the extrusions.

Dennis

James Orr · **Joined:** Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:37 am **Posts:** 4820

Dennis, thanks for the link. I'm really enjoying the TV clip.

John Watkins · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 7:18 am

Ok, here's a pic of what the extrusion looks like. I've had a lot of people ask what one box would cost, but you need two pieces from separate boxes to make it work, so I think what I'll do is just price them all as 5' pairs. That way it's easy to ship UPS, etc. I'll have a price in a little while. We're adding up how much is actually there.

John Watkins · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 7:52 am

Ok, here's the deal; the price will be $25 for a five foot section that includes both the male and female pieces. One five foot section will yield about 90 1/2" clamps or 130 3/8" clamps depending on cutting waste.

I've created a temporary part on my web site to make it easy. It's located at http://www.cncguitarparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=338

I have 28 sections for straight clamps (reversed linings), and 40 sections for angled clamps (traditional linings). I'll include an appropriate number of rubber bands with each order for free.

If you'd rather not use the web site or you just want rubber bands, you can email me or PM me and we'll sort it out.

Thanks!

douglas ingram · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 8:51 am

That looks awesome, and the price is great. I'd order some but for the spousal consequences at this point in time...

WaddyThomson · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 11:55 am

I just placed an order for a set of the reverse kerf ones. Thanks, John. Really seems like a great deal. Didn't know how to delineate between the two, but just said what I wanted in the comments section. Hope that works.

Cal Maier · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 3:25 pm

I just finished placing an order for the reverse kerf lining also. Thanks for this great deal John, I'm looking forward to using these clamps on my next build(s). Clamping the linings has always been a mish-mash of clamps etc., with the right type clamp it should be a breeze. bliss

Cal

GHatcher · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 4:17 pm

I am trying to determine how I would cut these into individual clamps. I have table saw, Miter saw, and jig saw. Any suggestions?

Also, how much would shipping run?

Thanks, Greg

WaddyThomson · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 4:49 pm

It's extruded aluminum, so a table saw or band saw would work. Carbide blade on table saw, and bi-metal blade on band saw.

Zach Ehley · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2009 6:39 pm

I placed my order. $25+shipping for parts to make that many clamps. You'd be crazy to pass that up. You should have had this deal at the get together a few weeks back.

Shipping was just over $10 for me, but I'm only 80 miles away from Johns shop. I dont know how much it varies as you get farther away.

ChuckH · **Posted:** Thu May 07, 2009 9:22 am

Dennis,
Thanks buddy for posting that link to Grant. I never knew he was such a craftsman. He makes beautiful guitars and kayaks. And, has such an abundant supply of various exotic woods. I now know what is meant by "Lining clamp extrusions."

Thanks for sharing,
Hutch

John Watkins · **Posted:** Thu May 07, 2009 12:45 pm

The ones we sell complete have been deburred in a vibratory tumbler and then anodized, but that's not really necessary. All you have to do it cut them, knock off the burrs with a file or sandpaper, and put the rubber bands on. If you want to make it super easy, get a deburring wheel for your bench grinder. I use this on bridges, truss rod covers, etc. also to get a mirror shine in 10 seconds. An example can be found at http://metalworking.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=2701058 A little pricey, but they last for years in a guitar shop.

There are only 30 extrusions left, 20 angled and 10 straight.

John Watkins · **Posted:** Thu May 07, 2009 12:47 pm

In terms of cutting, a 50 tooth blade in the chop saw or table saw with an occasional squirt of WD40 works great. I cut all 100 or so pieces in half in about 15 minutes this way. Make sure it's positioned in a way that doesn't allow it to teeter-totter.

John Watkins · **Posted:** Mon May 11, 2009 7:38 am

Quick update; Reversed lining version is sold out. We have about a dozen left for angled, traditional linings.

John Killin · **Posted:** Thu May 14, 2009 11:25 pm

How are you thinking about dividing yours up? All 1/2" or something else?

John

LuthierSupplier · **Posted:** Fri May 15, 2009 11:04 am

John Killin wrote:

How are you thinking about dividing yours up? All 1/2" or something else?

John

I plan on cutting some that are 3/8" to fit around tight cutaway's and waist areas. The only problem I see is that the rubber bands will no longer fit. I guess I could just wrap with a lot of smaller rubber bands. Anyone have any other suggestions?

KHageman · **Posted:** Fri May 15, 2009 11:31 am

I just purchased some of the extrusions last night. What a deal.

If any of you have friends, relatives, etc that reload their own ammo for pistols or high powered rifles, you might find they have a tumbler to take off the rough edges of your newly cut clamps. Many reloaders use a tumbler to polish the shell casing after they have been used and before they reload them.

Just a little information.

Ken

John Killin · **Posted:** Sat May 16, 2009 7:53 pm

I got mine yesterday. Thanks John this is a really cool deal. Now I just need to come up with my plan for how to divide up the 5' section. Oh and cut them. Should be a fun afternoon.

John

So as a planning question, how many 1/2" clamps does one generally use when gluing the linings to a full sized guitar?

LuthierSupplier · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 9:02 am

John Killin wrote:

So as a planning question, how many 1/2" clamps does one generally use when gluing the linings to a full sized guitar?

If I remember correctly, it is about 50-60 per side(meaning 25 for the top right and 25 for the top left) depending on the size of the guitar.

John Killin · **Posted:** Sun May 17, 2009 1:50 pm

LuthierSupplier wrote:

If I remember correctly, it is about 50-60 per side(meaning 25 for the top right and 25 for the top left) depending on the size of the guitar.

Thanks Tracy, that gives me an idea on how to start thinking about this.

I just want to optimize the 5' the best way I can. Generally I can see my self building guitars, eventually some with cutaways and some ukes. I think my tenor uke had about 32" of lining material per side (top/back).

I measured a Dredish guitar I have and am figuring there is about 56" of lining material that would be used for that guitar. Assuming that I had 60 1/2" clamps, that would roughly mean that I would have about a 1/2" space between each clamp. Is this acceptable, or should I go with more 1/2" clamps? I know I am way over thinking this.

So how are others who picked up the 5’ stock planning on dividing it up?

LuthierSupplier · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 3:42 pm

John Killin wrote:

I measured a Dredish guitar I have and am figuring there is about 56" of lining material that would be used for that guitar. Assuming that I had 60 1/2" clamps, that would roughly mean that I would have about a 1/2" space between each clamp. Is this acceptable, or should I go with more 1/2" clamps? I know I am way over thinking this.

So how are others who picked up the 5’ stock planning on dividing it up?

John,
I've used these clamps on a SJ with a 16" lower bout and only used about 52-55 1/2" clamps with no spaces between each clamp to do the whole top side or the whole back side. So I'm not sure how you are measuring. If you have a mold of your guitar, you should be able to put some tape on the inside of the mold and mark the centerline halves. Then pull the tape off and mark off 1/2" marks. I think most larger guitars are around 25-27" per side(meaning treble or bass side of the lining). Most kerfed linings do come in 32" lengths, but you end up cutting about 5-7" off before installing and fitting. Hope that helps.

Zach Ehley · **Posted:** Mon May 18, 2009 4:04 pm

And remember that 1/2" clamps will be much farther apart than 1/2" intervals. There are two band thickness in there.

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