Official Luthiers Forum!

Okay, I guess just a quick poll on kerfing to find out how many make it vs. buying it. I've seen the kerf making jigs but at some point don't you just want to build guitars? Making a kerf jig seems like overkill for a non pro builder like me I might have a different POV if this was my profession. I get that jigs are helpful but I'm kind of jigged out if you know what I mean.

No jig required - I gang 3 small Diablo blades with spacers between, put a mark on the blade insert for spacing, kerf the stock with miter guage and a block of wood to hold down the blank (each side radiused on the router table - reverse kerf style), and then rip. I even taped 2 pieces together and got a whole guitar set done in one go.

Easy.

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Gabriel Regalbuto
Carlsbad, California
Freedom 35!

I buy them, they are fairly cheap. I'll worry about making my own later down the road.

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

I make my own Mark. Usually reverse kerf out of Spanish cedar, spruce, walnut, mahogany etc. I don't really have a jig. It's just a piece of 3/4" ply with a kerf that I fit over the bandsaw blade from the back of the blade and clamp to the table. I just slide it so that the depth is right, make a pencil mark 3/16" or so on each side of the blade onto the plywood itself. I roundover one edge on each side of a board on my router table and rip two linings off on the tablesaw and repeat. I then slot on the bandsaw butting the glue side face of the lining against the clamped plywood and using the pencil mark as a reference. Usually a test cut or two and a couple of hammer taps and things are set perfectly. I can slot up enough for a couple of guitars in about 15 minutes. Not a production setting but works well for me and my pace of work.

Buy - at $4 a piece from Colonial - it isn't worth the bother to set up unless you are going to make a boat load.

But lately I've been doing solid linings, which I love. No kerf lining required

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John Ressler

Made mine. On the bandsaw, just put a stopper and a mark on the guide for the spacing. Really easy, fast. When you do it, do a lot.. you can get 20-25 sticks in about an hour. And you have them for many guitars. And if you make them with some retail of anything... they almost have kerfing for free

my 2 cents!

Francis

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Francis Richer, Montréal
Les Guitares F&M Guitars

Like John, I'm ripping solid linings...no kerf for me.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I buy mine. I have a supplier from eBay who supplies my brace wood also who runs his own lumberyard and sells guitar stuff more as a hobby. He recently sent me a video of his kerfing jig which works on an industrial scale as he sells it for a huge amount of uses other than guitar making.

I buy mine. If I ever accumulate enough long offcuts from Mahogany and/or Spruce I would make my own. Too easy and cheap to buy right now and what I buy works well.

Tim

I make my own with my bandsaw. That way they can be made with woods i prefer over what they sell.Most places only offer mahogany or basswood which i don't like to use anyway.

Make my own. One of those jobs where you can get a rhythm going and crank out piece after piece. I made and used reverse linings for the first time last winter on three guitars. As Mr. stock says easy to make,easy to glue. And much easier and neater to do the in letting for braces. I'm not going back to triangular. Reverse also stiffen up the sides very nicely.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I got a question for you guys that make them. Do you need to use qtr.sawn or will plane sawn work?

Another vote for solid linings. They just look so much more elegant to me, plus they stiffen up the sides a bit.

I made enough for 8 builds a while back(reverse, on my band saw) but after using it up I went back to buying it. For me it's not expensive to buy, and life's too short to spend time making kerfing. I may try solid linings sometime just for kicks.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I buy it. I'd rather spend time on the fun parts of the build.

Chris.

I make my own in a large batch but I am thinking about trying some of Kevin Ryans cool stuff soon.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Solid or laminated linings for me as well.

I did 8 guitars worth one night and will probably never do that again...
Many of our sponsors here sell it so cost effectively in assorted styles and species that it's really hard to justify going cross eyed cutting kerfs.
I have to give a thumbs up to Kevin Ryan's lining as it's so easy to install and basically just cool!

Ray

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

Thanks I appreciate the input. I've never tried solid linings I'll have to check it out.

I make my own. It really is easy and fast. I am also of the mind that if I am making a guitar, I am making the whole guitar. I also don't buy pre carved necks or bridges, slotted fingerboards, etc... Many peopled do, I'm not putting them down, but it just never occurs to me to buy that stuff.

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

Ditto.

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Alain Moisan
Former full time builder of Acoustics, Classicals and Flamencos.
(Now building just for fun!)

Ditto (...maybe it's a Canadian thing! )
(I did a tutorial long time ago on reverse style if anyone's interested)

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Dave
Milton, ON

My kerfed linings have all been purchased, but I'm tending now towards laminated linings, or using the individual little blocks when needed for classical builds.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

I make mine too. Three blades ganged together with spacers (.290" alum discs) and a sled like the one used to cut fret slots. I tape ten to twelve pieces together & go at it. In an easy few hours, I can make enough for ten or fifteen guitars.
If I was building one or two guitars a year, I buy 'em.
Nice thing about building your own is you can get them as flexible or as stiff as you want. And you can use better material than some suppliers use. (less breakage)
I'm thinking about solid linings too, these days. Next guitar, I'm gonna give 'em a try.

Us Canadians are a frugal bunch, it is said in Florida that Canadian tourists are like Catamaran sail boats, never tip.

So far I have used uncle Bob from RC kerf lining so I am the different Canadian, but some may think those of us in South western Ontario are not real Canadians anyhow.

Fred

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