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I never have dreams that I remember - not in 10 years - but this morning I woke up with a fully formed idea for cutting the length of the sides to fit the mold properly. I gave it a shot with some scrap and it works perfectly:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/25248630024/in/album-72157665930252361/

Ed

Well that works. If I were you I would name that technique.

I guess I am not seeing the "advantage" of such complicated method? Simple mark and trim has worked for me over several decades.

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/rim.html

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Ken

Everyone has had success with their method - just something to think about. So thinking about it, if you had the shim ready to go, same one every time, you just open one end of the mold, make the cut and close it, then turn the mold around and repeat. Seems quicker than marking and making 4 cuts, especially for those of us that do not do this very often.

Ed

Looks like a good idea to me. I pretty much do it the same way Ken does but with this method you zap both sides at once nice and flush. Would work well especially if you intend to not have an end graft.

Funny when you solve problems in your head like that isn't it

Way to go Ed. I have always wanted to get a perfect joint, but never quite get there. I always make a graft so no prob, but I'm going to try the Rubyjoint!

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Pat

Cool!
(Hopefully the Rubyjoint won't morph into the Rubejoint and Goldberg will get the credit. )

I truly admire free thinking -- hope it works out well, I just visualize problems once a real set of sides are used -- clamping, alignment, interferences, keeping the mold closed at the joint on both ends etc.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I might be missing a step in hte process, but this looks similar to what David Verburg has in his Uke / Guitar construction guide. I cut a set this way but the form I had used a standard hinge on one end so I had to temporarily unscrew the hinge, clamp the sides, cut, put the hinge back in place. Your method looks easier than that. In the book David describes:

"The sides should now be trimmed to length while they are held securely in place in the Inside Form. The trimming is done through the head and tail ends of the Inside Form by using a bandsaw or a dovetail saw and sawing through the vertical slot in the inside form. It is best to do this one side at a tie while firmly holding the side in place with both the spreader jacks and clamps at the head block and tail block of the side"

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I think it's a good idea as long as you can keep joint between the forms clean and sharp. I might try it.

Call me crazy but I mark the sides and cut on the bandsaw before I trim the profile. Just another way to do it.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Looks fine, nice one.
Also worth a look - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrgRKKsxL-M
About 2.50
Used this method last build, worked fine and a sight quicker than hand/eye/saw/shoot....

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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.

Pretty clever! Are they going to be a saw kerf short on each end? Probably does not matter except do you see a gap when you put in your spreaders?

I usually mark, draw a line, cut outside the line and work up to it with the disk sander until with one half clamped in the mold the ends are right on the centerline and repeat with the other half until it snaps into place.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Great if you use that sort of mold. Mine don't come apart, so I mark the sides, scribe them deeply across inside and out, and break them off.

I use the method in the video method too and it works great.

Ed - That's a clever idea and it would work with my mold. I may give it a try.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I was watching John's video with the sound off because my lady was listening to a yoga video. At 4:22 I thought he was praying that it would fit! LOL

But seriously, I draw a straight line on the workbench, with the side clamped in I mark from the inside, cut on the bandsaw and sneak up to the line on the Disc Sander like Dr K.

It works pretty good, but it's never air tight which would be nice so that I would have the option of not doing an end graft if I wanted.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

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Pat

Thanks all

I have been thinking about it all day and I think it is a keeper. Even if your table is not quite square to the blade, it works fine since you are cutting both at once. And a sharp blade and slower technique would solve the fuzzies problem. I don't usually put on an end graft and I work on these joints for a good long time to get them right - I think this will save me time. I will make the cut with the top down and flush with the rim of the mold so when it sits on the band saw table everything is stable and the square.

Terrance - the shim holding open the end of the mold is the same thickness that as the kerf of the blade so each end is flush with the mold when the cut is made - perfect fit.

Ed