Official Luthiers Forum!

Was thinking about this...

I do not have a table saw by the way, will have a band saw though.

How does one go about making kerfed lining? I know you can buy it from the usual suppliers but they really do add up when you buy a bunch of them. I was thinking of taking some of those basswood sticks that are usually used for wall moldings and cut kerfs carefully with a bandsaw into them.

Or what if I just bend them to match the side on a bending iron, and glue them on?

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I disagree with Filippo - you can't assume that the cost argument is not valid for someone without knowing their situation. $16 per guitar is not much and I just bought some myself, since I do not have my shop completely setup yet to make some.

I made a device to feed these into the bandsaw - I will look for it now - I think I found it on a mandolin forum - and I copied the design.
I'll post a picture when I find it -

As far as solid linings - if you can bend it - then use it - no reason it has to be kerfed. Solid linings are perfectly acceptable as well as laminated linings. If you make a little mitre box - you can kerf a few sticks on lining within an hour -

here's a few pics I found - that I copied my device from - can't find pictures of mine -

_________________
It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

But question wasn't "Why shouldn't I make my own linings?' it was how to make linings. No arguement intended either - I know those can get out of hand quickly. Like I said - I sort of agree with your point as well, as I just bought some for my guitar -

_________________
It's this new idea from recent decades that everyone gets a participation award. - MUX

Simply searching youtube for "cutting kerfed linings guitar" turns up several suggestions.
Googling "making kerfed linings guitar" turns up 160,000 results, not all of which are useless.
Sometimes it's easy to forget there is a guitar world outside OLF too.....

_________________
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.

Here's a tutorial (on making reverse-kerf using a bandsaw) I did several years ago......... it's in the "archived" tutorials from before the format change.
viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=14647"

_________________
Dave
Milton, ON

Using a band saw makes it slow- though I have done it this way. If you take a wide board cut to the length you want and then kerf it on the table saw using a fret blade, you can kerf a large amount all at once. Then rip it into the width of strips that you want. From there you can either route a round edge on it and make it reverse kerfing (beware of tear-out from the router) or set your band saw to cut at an angle and make standard triangular kerfing. Easy and cheap.

_________________
ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com

On my first build, I went out and bought a big huge board of Spanish cedar.

I ripped a bevel on the edge of the board, straightened the blade up and then ripped off a 5/32" strip (flat on the back, bevel on the front.

Then I took a plane and knocked off the knife edge and to make the strip as tall as I wanted.

Then I made a little mitre box and used a back saw to saw all the slots. To "save time" I taped two strips back to back and sawed the kerfs like that, making two strips at once.

It took me exactly 1 bottle of wine and 3 beers, and about 4 hours just to kerf, not including cutting the strips.

I "enjoyed" it and will be doing that on the next build I'm starting now.

If I did this for a living, I'd surely buy them. It is a bit of work, but I wanted to make as much from scratch as possible.

Mike

I've made my own for 3 F5 mandolins I built. I found it to be just one more part of the project that I enjoyed doing. It doesn't take very long with a bandsaw although I don't really remember exactly how long it took me. I just put a mark on the bandsaw table and eyeball it. Very very fast and plenty accurate enough for me. I plan to continue to do it this way unless I start hearing complaints from people getting in there and measuring the spacing.

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

Three thin kerf blades ganged up with Lee Valley blade stabilisers for spacers. Using a sled with an index pin, on a table saw, I can make enough for 5 guitars in about an hour and a half. The more you make the the more time affective it is. I'm just about out so next time I run some I'll try to get a few photos.

There's probably other fast ways to do it but this one works well.

Good Luck,
Danny

I cut them with a backsaw and a home-made miter box.
10 minutes per piece.
I cut them when I got no paying work, so...
Plus, I gots some basswood I'd like to use up before i buy pre-made kerfed linings.

There is a fellow here (Kieth ?? Chris Paulick knows him) that has this automated jig for making it on a band say. Search the toot forum or YouTube. It's pretty dam cool.

Me? I try to pick my battles carefully. This ain't one I am entering. Stuff is too cheap.

Mike

I do the opposite....kerf on the band saw and triangulate it on the table saw. With my 10" bandsaw and a jig, I kerf a 3" wide piece at once. That is enough to make four strips, or enough for one guitar. I have an angle jig that attaches to the rip fence on the table saw. It elevates the kerfing above the table, allowing the small triangular scraps to fall harmlessly out of the way, rather than pinching on the saw blade. A hollow ground plywood blade in the table saw cuts so smooth that no sanding is required. The whole process takes me about 20 minutes.
The main reason I made the effort to construct a jig is because I like the freedom of design and materials. I have used many different woods for kerfing...from sassafras to butternut to holly.

_________________
John

If you gang four diablo blades on a table saw and cut 10 strips taped together, 40 "kerfs" at a pass, things go pretty quickly. Bandsaw methods might seem a little slow, unless automated, but done for one guitar at a time aren't too onerous. The big bucks and chicks, that's why we're here, right!

I can imagine the economics are a bit different when talking about shipment to Taiwan from somewhere else... I would guess that the shipping costs would exceed the cost of the linings....

I bought some tonewoods from Australia... the shipping costs were > 1/3 the price of the backs and sides I purchased.... I bet shipping charges on Linings would be 2x to 3x the cost of the linings...

You can also cut it with a hand saw..... The fine tooth models seem to make less clean up work.....

Super narrow kerf saws aren't necessary, though - and sometimes cause a bit of heartburn when making the curves...

The usual way is to have some sort of veneer slat to stop the blade from cutting further...

Once you get into a rythm - it goes very quickly...

One last option.. You may be able to contract this sort of thing out to a local cabinet shop...

Thanks

Yea, the only way I can defray the high shipping cost is to make a large order, such as buying a radius dish along with whatever else I need, which does help defray the shipping cost, that's at least according to Stewmac's quote. Also at a high weight, Fedex suddenly becomes much cheaper than USPS priority.

I'd like to find some good tonewood supplier in Australia though, because it's closer to Taiwan therefore lower shipping cost, plus less hassle with Lacey too.

As far as kerfed lining goes, I don't know... I am thinking maybe just borrowing a circular saw from a friend and slot a board then cut them into strips on a bandsaw.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I've done it by hand with a mitre box and a dovetail saw. I've done it on the band saw. I've also purchased them. Because purchasing doesn't seem to be a good option for you (due to shipping costs), you can have good success with any of the methods described here. All are a fair amount of work, but not very difficult. Just tedious. You'll be fine. Just launch in and do it.

Patrick

Try out the hand saw... It is better than nothing.... and you can do it right now instead of waiting....

Another thing you could do is to glue in tentellones until you can get your kerf lining production sorted out....

Solid linings are a great option.. especially if you have access to local, cheap wood that bends easy....

How about buying some linings from one of the Taiwanese guitar factories... They may very well sell you some if you ask nice....

Thanks

hand saw...

That's the way I did it too. Just eyeball it. Sometimes I would cut through... opps... no big deal linings are easier to install in pieces anyway. I also liked the look of the not cut to perfect evenly spaced kerfs too.

Now I just use solid linings, much easier imho.

Holy cow that is brilliant

I usually make a bunch, so I don't have to do it again in a year or whatever. As has been said, with drum sander and a table saw sled, it goes quite fast, besides its a great way to use up scraps; I have used mahogany, spruce, maple, birch, ash, poplar, and probably a few more. I can't detect any difference in sound that I can attribute to choice of wood in these.

As for buying them ready-made, because it makes sense if you 'value your time' etc... Well, why stop there? Why not buy fingerboards, bridges, rosettes, bindings, even whole necks, end blocks and braces already shaped, and really speed things up?

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

+1

_________________
Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

As I recall, the price was not so bad... but if you study the video, you can see how it is built.

Mike

Although a plan would be really helpful...

just a little update: I've decided to not get the bandsaw until I get my first commission. Instead I got a really good jig saw and will get a small benchtop table saw for straight cuts, so I'll just rip some strips of wood and do it on the table saw several at a time.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com