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The newest Luthier Tips du Jour instructional video is on Youtube. The topic is making forms. Subtitles are available in both English and Portuguese and you can translate them into any other language by using the CC option on Youtube.
As always, comments and discussion are welcome.
Enjoy!

Hey Robbie,

The vid link is broke, comes up as a private video.

Thanks for doing all these videos, they are a great resource!

Steve

seems I always forget to change them from private to public when I post. It is now working. Please try again.

Love the old-timey effects. I used the exact same piano music for a video I edited for a short "silent" film a youth group did. Thanks for the video! very helpful.

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

Very Cool Robbie !!

Gregg

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Gregg

Great video as usual Robbie.

However, I dont agree that its cheaper to buy a mold.
4x8 sheet 3/4" mdf- app. $30.00 (multiple molds)
2 6" threaded spreaders- $12.00
Buckle latch- $4.00
Hinge- $2.00
Screws and glue- nominal
(keep in mind this is the way I did it, there are more or less expensive ways)

So thats approximately $35.00 in materials per mold provided you only get 2 out of the MDF sheet,
LMI sells molds for $100.00. It should not take more than an hour to whip one up, so unless you count your time as being worth more than $65.00 an hour (I am sure there are those here who do, but I do not), then it is not cheaper to buy one.

Those LMI molds sure are spiffy though!

I could kiss you . I'm about to make another mould and could use an easier method. Now all I need is a Tips Du Jour video on how to build a guitar making machine and I'll be set

Edward my friend look at the pics of the LMI molds and ask your self how one takes those spreaders out of the box through the sound hole when the back and top are glued to the rim...... Maybe I'm missing something but those great big honkin spreaders are not likely to be able to be angled correctly to pass though a 4" or less sound hole.....

Great vids as always Professor Robbie!!!

I was referring more to the joinery on the ends Hesh. You make a good point though.

Those threaded rod spreaders are nifty. Out the window with all my turnbuckles...

I don't know. I think I'm partial to those new fangle talkies. Ca-rumba, that's a lot of molds! I couldn't tell but have you found a way to catch chips with dust collection when you're using a pattern bit. I use plywood just because I'm no fan of MDF dust.

Thanks Robbie

Filippo it May of been longer, I dont have a clock in my shop.
What I did was make a single of each side portion with the jigsaw/drum sander, rough out the next portions, glue/screw and route with template bearing, and repeat. Shouldnt take half a day?

Another great vid and just in time. I am about to build my first form.

My thought, too- Hesh. What were they thinking?? Is the idea that once one plate is glued to the rims that they will be 'stable' ? Looks like an invitation to un-square sides to me...
I wouldn't even want to try to get Robbie's lower bout spreader (block with glued-in (8"?) aluminum tube) out through the soundhole, though it must be possible....
I much prefer the 'old-style' spreader with threaded rod, two wingnuts and two loose blocks. It all 'falls apart' and comes out the soundhole easily. A turnbuckle is a variant on this.

Also, the video is interesting but really only directly applicable to folks with an industrial-scale shop (big shaper, etc) making many jigs at once. It's almost as though the video is trying to convince people to buy the commercial product, though I don't think that was intended. Making molds is not difficult and if you have scrap plywood or MDF you can glue up scrap in the layers.
Most of Robbie's videos are really good- directly applicable to the home shop. I love 'em!

I agree with Edward- I can make a single mold (and bending form with the cutout) in an hour or so - not counting glue drying time. And a commercial mold will need to be $hipped at considerable cost, especially if across the border to Canada from the US. I just got a parcel in the mail from Allied with some trussrods and fingerboards and the postage charge from USPS was $62. I expect a mold would cost $40-50 to ship. So at $150 and wait for 1-2 weeks vs $25 and have the mold (and bending form, and spreaders) tomorrow, it's a no-brainer for me. I do have bandsaw and router and clamps, etc.
For somebody without a router, a commercial mold might make sense, I guess.

Cheers
John

This video came out about a day after I finished my second form. That is just my luck. Great video!

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Always remember you are unique......just like everyone else.

Robbie, good video... although it was hard to see everything through all that mdf dust.

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

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