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Anyone got any sweet jigs?

My spidey senses tell me this is unnecessarily cumbersome...




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Did my first one a short while ago and just butted into the table saw fence. Seemed to work ok


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Just whack a couple of staples in the spare real estate and cut the tops off.
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=46648&p=617073&hilit=+staples#p617073

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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.

The only jig I have for scarf joints is for cutting them on the table saw. I typically just clamp them to a table, kinda like you're doing, except I have a gluing caul that covers the face of the headstock to allow for less leveling in the next step. It also looks like you pieces are still oversized, which is fine if you have a way you like to do it, but I might recommend getting those closer to your final dimension before the glue up.

Keeping the parts from sliding out of position is paramount when assembling scarf joint necks -- if you do more than a couple, a dedicated fixture is a very good idea to help assure quality and speed up the process.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Looks like everybody's contraptions use lots of clamps. So be it.

I like the drill press visas...

I got lazy squaring up everything on the (Insert flat surface), so I squared up one time for a jig.

Here's a simple jig I borrowed from Kathy Matsushita's web site back about '06, used for cutting the scarf
http://www.patfosterguitars.com/ziriom/large-1.html

Where the red clamp is I added a block to it to keep things from creeping around, so I could use the same jig for cutting and clamping.

http://www.patfosterguitars.com/ziriom/large-5.html

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I don't use a jig, I use two small drill bits to drill and pin the pieces together in the correct position, Then I can disassemble it, add the glue, re-assemble using the pins and clamp. I don't seem to have a photo, but hopefully you get the idea.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

+1 with jim watts, instead of drill bits, I use 2 simple toothpicks to prevent from sliding after I spread the glue, and it works like a charm.

Is that Bubinga?

I imagine that has to be a real joy to carve.

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Straying a little bit here, but I have this jig for doing scarf joints.

I also use toothpicks for basic alignment, supplemented by a few strips of masking tape to create a 'hinge'. Add a few cam clamps, and done. I cut it on a bandsaw and finish with a hand plane.

For those of you cutting on a table saw, can you do it with a 10" blade or do you have a larger table saw? I seriously doubt that even at full extension I could cut the scarf, especially when riding on top of a 3/4" sled. If it is a 10" blade, what size neck blank are you assembling?

I cut mine with a 10" blade, 3" neck blank.

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"I've been had again"
Tim Benware
Creedmoor, NC

Yes, I use a 10 inch blade as well. The key is the blank does not ride on top of the sled if you want to use a 10 inch blade, See Ben-Had's picture,
Mike

I have used a taper jig and clamped the blank to it and run it through the tablesaw. That works OK. Tim, your pic looks like the jig is static and you raise the blade up through the blank slowly. Is that the case? That seems like it might address a bit of the blade wobble I experienced with the sliding taper jig.

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So since my table saw is cheap, the table is thin, which allows a little more height than most nicer models, or so I've gathered. Usually my neck pieces are about 2.75" wide, which is fine. Sometimes I have to finish it off by hand if its too tall though.

[/quote]Tim, your pic looks like the jig is static and you raise the blade up through the blank slowly. Is that the case? That seems like it might address a bit of the blade wobble I experienced with the sliding taper jig.[/quote]
No, it has a miter bar and is used like a sled. My saw is set up pretty well and the cut is pretty exact, not much left to do but glue it up.

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"I've been had again"
Tim Benware
Creedmoor, NC

Well, this is a lot simpler...


While dry fit, drilled two 7/64 pilot holes that conveniently fit BBQ skewers...


Add skewer...


Trim flush and Mark which is which...


Clamparooney! From 8 slippy slidey clamps to two cooperative little helpers. Level up!

Thanks for the idea, Jim!