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Hi Guys,
I've just been loaned a cheapy table saw for a diy project and wondered whilst it's in my possession if I should rip up some go bars and I wondered what sizes and woods people use I'll have to go to my local wood yard I was thinking quarter sawn ash or oak but haven't a clue what size to rip to.

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I use oak that is 3/4 x 3/16" and about 34.75" long. Plan on making your go bar deck about .75" shorter than the go-bars. The oak works great...I get a good clamp load from them!

Trev

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Hi John, ash is my favourite wood for go-bars. Mine are about 6-8 mm x 15-20 mm and about 900 mm long, and the straighter the grain, the longer they will last. It is best if they don't have to bend too much...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Excellent advice.
It doesn't matter if your lumber is flat-sawn or quarter-sawn, but do check for runout or 'wavy' grain as it will cause a weak spot in the stick.
For size- you really have to 'feel' how stiff the stick is- this can vary a lot from board to board.
Also, if your 'deck height' is greater, you will need thicker/stiffer sticks. You will want to have different thickness/length sticks available if you work on both top/back plates (gluing bracing) and guitar bodies (gluing on tops/backs) - unless your 'deck' is adjustable height.

And, as Arnt says, it's best if the bars/sticks don't bend too much. Safety glasses are a good idea until you get some 'feel' for go-bars (and even after). Sticks can get nasty when they break.

Cheers
John

I use dowels from the lumber yard or hardware store. I'm the goofy guy flex testing the stiffness of every 1/4-5/16 dowel in the case. I have hundreds of them and when I think one is a bit to wimpy I grab another. The weak ones get cut/glued and doweled into something else. Survival of the fittest.
Kent Bailey

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EXCELLENCE IN SCULPTURE, CARVING, LUTHIER, ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK AND DESIGN

http://www.kabart.com

I have some round-section fiberglass rods (available from kite supply places at about the same cost as wood dowels for me) and I find that they tend to 'pivot' and swing around quite easily. I much prefer flat bars of some kind - either wood or heavier fiberglass. They seem to 'stay put' better.
My next set of wood bars will be more like the ones Mario Proulx is using in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2SuYAYJ5oQ&NR=1

Cheers
John

I use red oak in almost the same dimensions as Trev. I started with 5/16 X 3/4 but left too many dents in the bracing. I now use 1/4".


Danny R. Little

I use 3/16" fiberglass rods purchased from
http://www.goodwinds.com
I like them because the tension is more consistant than wood, they are affordable and goodwinds also sells the plastic tips.
I recently purchased 24 48" 3/16" fiberglass rods with plastic tips, I asked to have the rods cut in half so I received 48 24" rods. With shipping I spent $41, thats .85 each....perfect !!

Gregg

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Gregg

With the price of oak at my local timber yard I'll be using pine until I pass another timer yard I know is cheaper but it's over 100 miles away so I only pass once or twice a year. Today I was offered a bit of 3/4" x 4" x 45" and offcut and that was £14 I've seen boards in yandles 3 times the size for the same price, they also had a lovely board of imbuya 36" x 1 5/8" x 52" at £100 if only I could resaw it Hmmmmmmmmmm

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

I've used pine, spruce, red oak, Angélique and ash for go-bars. As been noted before, regardless of the wood, the straightest grain is mandatory. Also grain direction matters: by getting as perfectly flat sawn stock as possible one can resaw quartersawn bars that will not twist or break easily. Ash is the best by far IMHO, it bends well and has less "memory" than the others.
Lumber price really doesn't matter here as even a small board can yield quite a bit of go-bars.

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

John,

I have used straight grained maple, sycamore and oak. Mine are all made from pieces in my scrap bin. Call your local millwork shops... where they actually make the moldings. They will probably let you have the scraps that will be useful to for go bars.

Good luck.

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...

I went the Goodwinds route as did Gregg C, but I cut them myself. I cut them in different lengths to vary the tension they apply.

Bob

straight grain maple here. 1/4" x 3/4". My deck height requires my go bars to be 34" long.

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I love this excitement over sticks. Enjoyable read. Never knew there were so many options. Thanks for the input since I need to get some soon.

Ed

Bob-
I'm not sure about this- some engineer should jump in here- but I recall reading somewhere that the tension didn't change much with more bending of the bar. Perhaps I'm mistaken.
I have different bar lengths to accommodate full guitar bodies as well as tops, etc.

Cheers
John

I don't know if you folks are as cheap as I am, but.....if you have a look at old shipping skids, you'll find that many of them have some very useful wood in them. The lower rails of hardwood skids are often made of oak, ash, beech, locust or maple. It's certainly not high quality wood (they're only skids after all), but for things like the clamps being described in this thread it would be more than adequate. Skids can often be had for the trouble of hauling them away.

cheers

John

Anyone glue cork to theirs to avoid denting the wood being clamped? Or would this make the bars slip?

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

Once the gobar is bent into a 1 or 2" arc any additional bending will not increase the downforce but instead puts additional kinetic energy in the system that, if released, will shoot the gobars sideways or wherever. In other words, don't overbend them, you're just setting yourself up to get one in the face if it lets go. Easy to check, by the way, if you have a small scale.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I have done that too, but I find it more convenient to use this cork lined plywood cutout as protection from dents.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

i'm with kent. i stand at the hardware store bin and flex all the dowels.
about the cork, for glueing backs and sides i also attach the cork to the caul.
sometimes, though, i'll stick a small piece of cork between a bar and a brace that i don't want to scar up. the cork has never caused slipping. if you feel like spending a few minutes gluing it onto the ends of your bars i think it's a good idea.

If you are using a radius dish, figure that into your go-bar length calculation, as well as the average height of your guitars (on top of the radius dish).

Mike

One could probably use some of that tool dip stuff. The stuff to dip your pliers handles into. Be easy to dip the business end of your go bar into this and hang to dry. Give a nice padded end without too much hassle.
Link

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