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I am currently debating on how to go about building this simple jig. However, I do not want to spend 89.00 on stew mac fiberglass go bars. I've seen Hesh's spring loaded go bars, but I can't find springs at a reasonable clip so far. Building this thing cheaply is my main concern. I have a lot of weddings to attend next month. Also how many bars do I need? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Joey

1/4" Fiberglass Driveway reflectors at HomeDepot. Pull the reflector off and cut to length. I think they are about $1-$2 each. You can get a pack of the rubber end caps that fit on the metal closet organizers and they fit perfectly. They will keep the rod from slipping.

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Dan

I bought 72" rods from Goodwindkites.com. What's up with the weddings? Are u being tapped fir gifts?

+2 on goodwinds.

Here is my deck, please excuse the mess.

Here is mine, just some threaded rod, ply as a stiffener with MDF layers, held together with some washers and nuts, i made it adjustable so that i could work on stuff at different heights. Also added some clear rubber hose as the threads will chew up wood pretty good, PVC could be used too. The go bars are from Bluescreek guitar, a sponser.

the whole setup maybe cost 40$ plus the cost of the gobars which John has for much cheaper than else where if you dont want to go the route of cutting up you own. (i like the rubber caps on mine)

Built-in over the leg of an L-shaped bench, quartersawn ash bars.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I ripped spruce (SPF) into 1/4" x 3/4" bars. I go to benchtop-to-ceiling in my basement shop. there just happens to be an i-beam running 36" above my workbench, which was coincidental, but much appreciated. The whole setup set me back only a few dollars for the SPF.

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

no more sagging floors, either. it's a win-win!

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"...you have to get over your strict adherence to your largely imagined notion of absolute perfection..."

Joey, I made mine recently (see viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=29126 ) for basically nothing..... just "tuned" (ie planed) some of the many feet of trim moulding I've accumulated over the years, and used the plywood protected ceiling as the top deck as others have done. The lower support is my vise-mounted plate carving jig, which is height adjustable.

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Dave
Milton, ON

Mine is like Nates.
I love that thing!
A real time saver, and worth every penny.
Go bars from LMI,
can't remember how much.

I run mine off of the ceiling, too. Long go bars is not an issue for me, and not having the top of the go-bar deck in the way is a real treat. Remove the bars and away we go.

I'm building classical guitars, so they are built on a solera, which is not easy to stick into a regular go-bar deck.

Its funny, because when I started doing it this way everybody was using the regular deck, now I'm seeing many more people brace off of the ceiling.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Mine's on the ceiling. I use mostly various sized wooden dowels with rubber thread protectors. I also use the fiberglass driveway markers with the same thread protectors.

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

I too, found the 2' go bars a bother to use. It's nice to have the extra head room when cleaning up glue etc. I now have a storage shelf above one of the benches which is (really) well braced to the ceiling. Tonewood storage above & double 3/4" MDF shelf for the top deck.
I glued some canvas to the upper deck, after having a bar slip & scar a soundboard. The fabric effectively stops the bars from slipping.
I tried several kinds of wooded bars before I sprung for 1/4" fibreglass rods from "Into The Wind". Oak worked OK, Bigleaf maple relaxed after a very short time, so I tossed them. Alder did the same. Fir was the best I tried. Nice & springy & didn't take much of a "set" overnight.
I really like the extra head room, using 3 1/2 foot bars. I cut the bars to work with a large guitar body glue-up & simply shim up the dishes to the correct height when gluing braces or thin bodied instruments, like a Weissenborn.
I found the wooden bars worked fine & the cost was almost zero. The advantage with fibreglass is they are more tolerant of height differences.
Todd... What is a "corl pad"? I googled it with no results.

I put mine where a vent would go in an old kitchen cabinet that was installed in my garage (where my shop is). Its just a slot system, so when i have to compensate for the width of a guitar, i just flip the sliding drawer over and i get an extra 3-4 inches.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube

Which letter is next to L on the keyboard ? Lol

Mine is a plywood shelf mounted beneath the ceiling, similar to Daniel's. My go bars are cut from leftover 3/16" red oak strip flooring. The total cost was $0. I hoard scrap wood and was thrilled to have something to use it for.

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

Ha I wish it was just gifts....travel, lodging, tux, food, bachelor party festivities and gifts.

Oh and thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.

Here's mine



I used to have a free standing one, and it was somewhat easier to use. The best thing about this one is that its out of the way, and the height (90 cm go bars). I think I will move it so I have access at least on 3 sides. Like Laurent, I prefer straight grained ash for the bars, but oak and birch is OK too. I bet hickory or perhaps osage would make great bars, at least they seem almost indestructible in archery bows. Most straight grained woods probably work, but you will have to adjust the dimesions according to its denisty to end up with equal pressure for the same length bars (as with bows).

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

i don't have any pics, but mine is suspended from the joists above my bench, and the bench is in a spot where i can get to it from both sides. makes it easier to clean up glue and a little easier to reach around and through all the sticks.

Here's mine. It's on a shop-made cart with a bunch of drawers (that I still need to finish). The whole thing is on casters so I can pull it out, rotate it and so on while I work then park it back in a corner out of the way. Started out with scrap wood bars but am now using 3/16" fiberglass rods from the kite store.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

If you have a harbor freight nearby they have a 3/16 fiberglass wire running kit that has 10 39 inch rods in it, part number 65326 that sells for around 14 bucks but is goes on sale for 7.99 or so all the time ,if you cut the rods to 2 foot lenghts and cut one with the female end and one with the male end then take two pieces and screw them together you can get about 20 pieces out of it..

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MK5acoustics.com

These are all surprisingly diverse....

Here is mine: