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Article discussing the uses and pros/cons of different types of clamps in guitar making:

http://www.ericschaeferguitars.com/clamps-how-many-is-too-many/

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http://www.ericschaeferguitars.com

I never heard of anybody having to many.

Conversely, I don't have many at all. I have four 12" jorgenson clamps, 6 spring clamps, and Stew Mac's deep ibex clamp for the brideg. I'd love to have more, but they're pricey and I haven't run into any issues.

I clamp my braces and glue the top and back to the rim in the go-bar deck. The clamps I have are fine for clamping the neckblock, heelblock, and headstock overlay. I use a radius block and a neck caul to glue the neck to the fretboard with the clamps I have on hand, and have Stew Mac's bridge clamping caul. Other than that, there aren't many clamping operations I can think of.

We can break a lot of our processes into sub-processes that allow us to use fewer clamps. In my view, go-bar decks count as clamps (but I know that's not the subject of the thread).

I suspect we should investigate the various types of clamps we need before we can answer the overall question. I mean....a thousand spring clamps would be a thousand too many if what you really needed were three bar clamps.

How many is too many?

If you can't fit any new tools into your shop because of all the clamps, then you have too many clamps.

I use spool clamps made from 1/4-20 threaded rod , 1 1/2 X 1 1/2 X 3/4" blocks using a plate-nut and a wing nut. I have always wanted to round the corners but I haven't managed in ten years. A cork face would be nice but the melamine seems to work well.

Bob

I've been buying the 6" screw clamps from Harbor Freight on sale for $2.99 ea.
They are really good clamps, better than the Irwins I have.
I buy all they have when I go.
Funny, the last time I glued a drop top on a solid body, I could have used two more.
So, I reckon I don't have enough yet.
Dan

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Clamps? Too many? You jest. No such thing.

1 more than you need at the time.....that's too many

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

How many clamps is too many?......nobody knows!!

Not that I would ask, but I'm sure my wife could answer that question!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Rod, I got verklempt looking at that photo

Is this too many?

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Looks like two and a vice are enough!

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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.

Building a sailboat in the 70's, my brother and I ordered Sitka Spruce for a mast in "spar grade" which is allowed to have pin knots of a certain size and spacing. Maurice L. Condon (still in business) called and said they did not have spar grade in that size, would we accept "aircraft grade" as a substitution - this is the grade that was used to hold on wings of planes and was not allowed to have much runout, let alone knots. Of course we said yes.

Then the problem of clamping a 9" assembly - we had to borrow all the clamps of that size that 3 other home boatbuilders had - a total of 140 if I recall:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/22697323352/in/album-72157644804469517/

So the answer is - it takes 4 amateur boat builders to get enough clamps.

Looking at that mast now, 36 years later, there are some guitar tops in it - one small area has 63 grain lines per inch.

Ed