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Would anyone like to share (show or describe) their set-up for candling?
Time I made one instead of trying to line up 2 plates in front of a bulb.
I'm thinking a slim 24" strip light @ 20 W behind a 4mm perspex sheet (suspended on supports) mounted on a MDF board 24" x 18".

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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.

I hold mine up against a window getting sun.

Sun here, too. But Colin lives in Aberdeenshire...

Colin, now that you guys are almost out of gas, may I suggest a.....


candle?

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Trevor Gore, Luthier. Australian hand made acoustic guitars, classical guitars; custom guitar design and build; guitar design instruction.

http://www.goreguitars.com.au

Good idea but not much sun in Scotland. I just use the bulb that lights the workshop. I doubt it's necessary to have anything more complicated than that. I tape join one side of the plates and pass the joint over the bulb, deliberately opening the book to allow a glint of light to pass through. I close it shut. if it blocks out the light, I'm done. If light still peeps through, it's back to the shooting board. Takes less than a minute.

i also use a window... can´t you get a little bit of sun there?

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Someone did report seeing it in 1989. 25 th anniversary is coming up so there might be a chance next year.

Here's mine. 150 W lamp in porcelain base,
plexiglass top. Works real good to find all the gaps I get, one of these days I would like to not find any. Takes up to much room but I like it better than a window or light.


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Window here too.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Yep .. overhead fluorescent ....

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

I use the window sun light when available. But my shop fluorescent light work well too.

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Another day, another dollar.

I was just over in Scotland, I thought I saw something that resembled daylight... but what do I know about sunlight, I live so far north my next door neighbor is Santa, we have NO sun this time of year, even on a clear day! Anyways, any ol' light will do, beggars can be choosers and all that

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

...i know it is probably ideal to view the whole joint at once, but can't you also just run a small LED flashlight behind the pieces...?

Cool, that looks like the staff of Ra showing where the Ark is hidden.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Last time I just put a lamp under my workmate! Worked well.

Nick,
Great idea! Looks like i'll be tossing my light box and freeing up some space.


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LED here fellas.

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Pat

My address is "Ben Lomond". My ancestors were Scots. Despite all that, we have a fair amount of sunshine here. (My guess is that that the town was named by a nostalgic Scot on a foggy day. We have a few of those as well.)

My shop has many large windows that are perfect for candeling. I've tried using the shop lights, as well as the windows. In my experience, having a flat surface to try the plates on is crucial. The windows reveal flaws that the lights obscure. Building guitars in Alaska in the winter, I'd want a light-box. Building guitars in Alaska in the winter, I'd want a ticket to Scotland--or California.

I think I'm going to make a box that holds a florescent strip for candling (not much sun in Newcastle either, plus my windows are too small) and can be hung up to use as a work light.

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We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at guitars.

I use the window if there is sun, so I only do joint tops and backs when she's out.


Ha, Mega! I used to live in Glasgow for 3 years, everybody was talking about it

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...why does the light coming out of the box have to emanate from a narrow strip? why not have the whole top of the box translucent, so it is more useful for other things...(tracing something/used as a light/showing your uninterested girlfriend your x-rays from that one time you broke your thumb/etc)?

You certainly could have a very wide light box if you wish, but you're checking a joint that's hopefully seamless. If there is a discrepancy, it would be in the .001" range.
Even a light of .25" would be plenty.

Brent

With a light box for candling you might also be able to see hidden defects in the top and keep them outside of the soundboard area.

Pat, I love that! Can we see a picture of the back side? Is it just leaning against the shelf or does it have supports that hold it at that angle? I'm getting tired of cranking my neck to get the sun at the right angle in my sliding glass door. Thanks, Wendy

I use a 2ft square florescent fixture that I put a piece of white translucent plexi over. I've also use it for sorting and viewing photo transparencies. Works great for both.

This is my set-up. I "borrow" a pane of glass from the shelves in the background and place it over a pair of aluminum beams (2x4's would work too). I use a 2' fluorescent work light under the glass for illumination. You can see my shooting board at the end of the dining room table.