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They say they will custom make the radius of your choice. Has anyone here had any experience with these? Thanks.

http://www.axehandle.net/gpage1.html

I really don't like using products that are machined on only one side unless that machining is done in the same factory and using the same heat and pressure process that was used to manufacture the board in the first place. Having made several hundred of these dishes now and cnc'd a number of other parts I have seen the distortion that occurs when you remove only one surface without some process to equalize that stress. That is why I laminate two pieces of 3/4 inch mdf BEFORE I cnc the dish. And my dishes are still only $75 each, complete with two coats of varnish!

Shane

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Canada

Thank you both for mentioning additional suppliers. I'm new to this forum and guitar building, so I'm bumbling through the process (hopefully not breaking anything as I go).

I have a few of Shane’s disks and well, they are perfect! So perfect I think Shane could offer a life-time warranty!

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Michael Lloyd

“I was born to ignorance, yes, and lesser poverties ...
I was born to privilege that I did not see ... I didn’t know it, but my way was paved” – John Gorka

We do not use MDF. The product we use is Extera and is 15/16 thick, it is a much more stable product and is more water resistant and dimensionally stable. MDF machines nicely but is not structurally strong or stable.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I agree with you John that MDF has limitations, but laminated radius dishes in a guitar makers shop in my opinion is not one of them. I use a wide range of materials in the products I make and mdf just suits well for dishes. It has mass that aids in sanding (both on a rim sanding machine or when "driving the bus") and is typically in an environment that is somewhat humidity controlled. Still, I coat my dishes with two coats of waterbased varathane and they have lasted very well and you could drive a truck over them because they are shop laminated.

I do tend to prefer baltic birch plywood for making outside forms and I use birch for radius blocks. I have machined sheet plastic parts and they suffer from the same machining errors if you only remove material from one side, they curl. I have not tried machining Extera but I think I will have to give that a go and see how it lives up to stability with only one surface removed.

Thanks
Shane

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Canada

+1 for Shane's dish and I have seen John's and they are also well made, stick with our sponsors products and you can not go wrong. Remember they also hang out here and share their expertise with us besides selling things.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866

Being over in the UK, cost of shipping from the US for heavy dishes made it essential for me to make my own. This was about 15 years ago so the choice to buy was limited anyway. I routed mine out of 19mm MDF, but glued two pieces together to make a 38mm slab. I then routed a dish on both sides. So I ended up with a double sided dish with a 25' radius dish on both sides and one with 15' radius dish on both sides. They are incredibly stable and have not moved or distorted in the slightest. I have sandpaper attached to one side of each double dish. So one side is for sanding braces and rims, the other side without the sandpaper is used for gluing in the go-bar.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

as a tool maker I do understand the stresses. In metal we control that by stress reliving. If you can get the extera , try it , it is so much better and is used in the pattern making industry.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it