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If you use registration pins for various alignment tasks, what is your registration or location pin of choice? Do you like different types for different applications?

I just got done using an iron to remove a fingerboard that I epoxied on last night, and my toothpick registration pins weren't quite robust enough. I also wasn't careful enough in making sure things were staying aligned as I clamped, so I've got technique issues to work on as well.

I'm not really happy with toothpicks anyway since each one's a different size and I have to use the nearest drill bit size. I do like that I can leave them in place during glue up and I won't mess up any edge tools if I have to cut through them later. Toothpicks work best when you can sort of mash them into place so they expand to fill the hole, but I'd like to be able to make registration holes and be able to take the parts on and off a few times till I'm ready for glue.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

I use 1/16 dia brass for the fingerboard.
I locate my fingerbord iniatlly using a #43 drill bit through a couple of fret slots, the enlarge the holes in the neck blank and from the back of the finger board staying just shy of the fret slot for the brass pins. The pins live there permanately.
Hope that description makes sense.

Edit: excuse me I use a #60 drill bit not a #43.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I use the same brads I use to drill the holes. Drill in the fret slot completely through the board.

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I use brass finishing (picture hanging?) nails and pull them out once the glue sets. The ones I use match a 1/16" bit just right.

I drill with 2 or 3mm bits and then stick them in. I don't use them for the fingerboard though, just leave the neck oversize and glue wood stops on the right side. While tightening the clamps what I have to do is to push it in place, and it is good enough.

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Build log

I have a selection of 1/32", 1/16", and 1/8" stainless steel dowel pins that I use for registration. I wax them first and then its easy to pull them out when the glueup is done. Sometimes I just use round toothpicks; I just cut them off flush and leave them.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I use 4d bright finish nails - cheap and easy to find. I clip the ends off and clean up any burrs with a file. A 2mm drill bit makes a hole that fits just right.

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

For bridges I like the steel pins from LMI. I've drilled holes in my bridge clamping caul to match the locations where I drill for the pins in the corners of the saddle slots. This way I can leave one pin through the bridge as I slather on HHG and then use that pin to locate the bridge location, install the other pin, clamp and be done with it. The pins come out easily after the clamps are set and before the HHG is completely cured - hence the holes.



For fretboards I use the staple gun trick inserting a staple and then cutting it off just slightly proud. For head plates I do the same thing only with wimpy desktop staples and stapler.

I buy a 1/16" aluminum welding rods from a local welder. It's cheap & easily heated with a lighter or soldering iron to ease removal. If you hit it with an edge tool, you won't damage the edge... lots of plusses.
Also, it is great for inlay & side dots.

I use 4 penney finish nails and do as Wayne.

Chuck

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In the past, I used the shank of the same drills that I used for he holes. The torque from the clamp still severely distorted the holes and the board was misalligned. It is not necesarily how robust the pin is, but also you need care to avoid the torque moving the board.

Yeah, I should have been more careful with my technique, it was late and I was in a hurry and didn't even think about it while I was clamping it up. I still think a more precision fit would help out, though, it had a tiny bit of play when I was gluing it up. Spent most of my shop time today fixing up the mess. Added another problem to it when I got a little chipout on the edge of the neck. Check http://guitarmaking.blogspot.com if you're curious to see the damage.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

I've taken to using the LMI tiny drill/pin set for fretboards and bridges. The last time I tried using the staple method, when I fired the staple into the back of the fretboard, it split the fretboard right down the middle! Not doing that again!!

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Kinda depends. Sometimes I use a 1/2" brad that matches a 1mm drill. The pic shows an embedded toothpic I use to keep the plates from sliding around. (Some say one thing to look for in a Stradivarious is the half-toothpic, still visible in tne purfling line at the tail, that he used to locate the plates .... got it from him! )

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Dave
Milton, ON

Dave, that's a good one, I can use that.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thanks for the good ideas, everyone, lots to think about. I especially like that plate locating pin, Dave.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

I have a jig that keys In the truss rod slot. I use it to drill the locating holes in the neck and clamp the fretboard to the other side to drill corresponding holes in the fretboard with a stopped drill bit. I use 1/8" wood dowel segments. It's worked well.







I've used 1.8mm nails from Ace Hardware with a 1/16 drill bit for locating headstock veneers and bridges.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Nails or rather panel pins. 1.5 mm OD, into holes about 3.5 mm deep in fretboard back, then nip them off with endcutters. Then imprinted into neck (clamp) when lining up. Then I drill into the neck blank on the marks with same drill.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Thanks, Terence. I actually used a much more rudimentary jig similar to that, basically just a piece of plywood with the centerline clearly marked, (2) 3/32" holes drilled (roughly toothpick size) and one side labeled "neck" and the other "fingerboard." I really like the idea of not disturbing the fret slots. I think it's also easier to align the jig to the fingerboard, and then align the jig to the neck, compared to aligning the fingerboard directly to the neck. I've been kicking around ideas for a more robust/accurate jig. I spent a lot of this morning browsing around on mcmaster.com looking to see what's available and found some things that seem promising.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

There are times when I read what you more experienced guys are doing and think "What am I missing?". I use 1/8" ebony pins to locate my fretboard to the neck and to all my fixtures. It seems most you guys are using a metal pin so I need to ask " What am I missing "?

Tim

I don't think you are missing anything. If you have a method that works for you, keep using it until you have a compelling reason to change. There are probably a dozen different ways to do it. I use nails because they are cheap, easy to adjust and easy to come by.

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

Terence, is your template tapered to match the fretboard? or do you line up the centerline of the fretboard with the trussrod locating dowels?

Chuck

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Chuck,
It is the same size as a 1 3/4" nut 14 fret board but I use it for all sizes by clamping the fretboard on the centerline with the nut flush with the end of the jig.
TJK

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

For fretboards -- I cut the T-head off of T-pins...
Clamp the fretboard to the neck manually -- lining up the correct fret on the neck/body joint...

Chuck the headless T-pin into the drill and drill them into a fret kerf to register the fretboard on the neck.

Then, manually un-chuck the T-pin rather than pulling the whole thing out of the fretboard/neck......

I usually use 2 or 3 to maintain the alignment...

Then, after it is all glued together -- you can just pull the pins out by their shanks sticking out the fret slots...

For bridges -- I found some countersink machine screws that perfectly fit the un-reamed string hole I use.... Clamp bridge down and drill thru the soundboard at #1 and #6... screw machine screws into the hole and viola.. great alignment... (Stew mac sells a similar solution)

Thanks

John

I to vote for real dowel pins. either wood or plastic. The soap bar force on a glued fingerboard can often overcome the thin wire pins in softer wood. once you take the time to build a drill jig with drill bushings and snap your board on like a Lego piece, you will finally know stress free glue ups.
three pins is best. A board can slide offline in the middle even when the ends are anchored.
Wood dowels tapped through a draw plate works well.