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Peter Morande DiscussionShop Organisation

Returning to Instrument Building Soon.

Hi All, I wanted to check in with folks in the industry and ask for some advice. I have been on a building Hiatus for a number of years now (Hand Injury, Medical Issues). Things have gotten much better, and I am fully able and capable of building once again. The 2nd biggest hurdle I have had was a lack of opportunity for shop spaces to build. I now have a viable workspace and full use of my hands once again to build. The problem is that, o…

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Private member
Hi Peter and buona fortuna on your re-start. I would look into a thickness sander, drill press and small bandsaw. And dust collection! A good router that you can also mount on a router table. A laminat…
Private member Discussion3D Printing

OG Proper's Relief Gauge Parts

Hey folks! I picked up a neck relief gauge from Doug in one of the earlier batches, maybe the introductory run? Some of the small feet caps that thread onto the moving legs of the tool have cracked, broken, or become worn down. I contacted StewMac about purchasing replacement parts, but they don't sell subparts for the relief gauge and otherwise won't help me. They appear 3D printed, so I was wondering if anyone with the means to print s…

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Private member
Ha! Mine took a freakish heicopter dive off the bench first day i had it and shattered the feet on each end ( flat style ) and i had hoped to sorce some replacements as well! Definitely looking to sou…
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Has anyone tried the DL action finder?

Trying to see if anyone has tried this device by chance and if so what was your experience with it.

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I wanting to see what someone's experience was with it before purchasing because its close to $200...the software you get access to with purchase is nice though.
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Bandsaw methods

After several years of fighting with my bandsaw blade jumping off every few inches of cut (it needs a new bearing on the top wheel), I decided to try something bass-ackwards. I put the blade on with the teeth facing the 'wrong' direction. Not only did that solve the problem of the blade jumping off, but it has made the cutting of pickguard material much smoother. Has anyone else experienced this kind of situation? Do you have any other…

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Private member
I just rebuilt an old Delta 14". If you want to replace the bearings, it's relatively simple. Supplies: --Bearings, say from Noma Bearing --Rubber tires, say from Carter --Home made block to tap in bearin…
Private member DiscussionShop Organisation

Physical management of work-in-process instruments

A growing work flow in a small shop means I have in-process guitars stacked all over my work surfaces. I need to protect them and keep all the pieces together but also to have them readily accessible, and cases are less than ideal for that. Never mind the caseless guitars. I'd be grateful for advice on containers/stacking/shelves to protect and organize the growing mess. Thanks!

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If you have the room to go 48 inches deep, this was our solution. Stores lots of projects and all the drawers slide out. Just like at the morgue.😉🙃 Of course you don't have to make it as tall as we d…
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Non-CNC cauls for Stew-Mac sound hole clamps

I don’t have CNC capabilities so I could not duplicate Dave Slimmer’s version ( https://loothgroup.com/loothprint/bridge-clamping-cauls/). Got a 12x18x1/2 inch HDPE cutting board on Amazon for under $10 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D3LQVA), drilled a row of 1/2 holes about 5/16” deep with a Forstner, cut the HDPE into 5 sided chunks so I could orient by touch, and free handed the brace grooves on the band saw. The clamp swivel pads are 1…

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Yeah, I think the current concerns with microplastics is impacting cutting board prices.
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Not exactly a tool or a jig, but...

The tuner app I’ve used regularly on my smartphone for years has slowly become bloated with useless features, heavy, and totally impractical. I tried a few alternatives, but I didn't really like any of them. Since we are the kind of people who prefer to just build things ourselves when we need them, I decided to built my own tuner: completely free, ad-free, and actually effective. I even threw in some links to my social media. I think I'l…

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I haven't uploaded it to the Play Store yet. If you want to test it and know how to install unknown apps on Android, I can share the APK file on GDrive
Private member DiscussionSuggestion Box / Bug Reporting

Recorded Zoom programs

Is there a way to see recent zoom meeting recordings or an index of links to the unlisted YT? Thanks.

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Ian Davlin
If on desktop hit the adv search button on the right hand side. Then hit shows to select the show type you want to see. The search is stackable, so if you hit "Dan and Doug" for the show and then sear…
Private member Discussion3D Printing

More free prints

Few more prints up for grabs to anyone in the US who responds first. Fret sander and two screw holders with the gridfinity lobbed off so they are just free-standing.

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Private member
I am tempted by this offer, but I have already taken advantage of a free offer on here before. Need to give others their chance.
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

LOOTHTOOL VL’s Precision Feeler Gauge Set !

LOOTHTOOL I've made some purchases on LOOTHTOOL, but it will not let me review. SO, the VL’s Precision Feeler Gauge Set is a rock solid 10 of 10 or five Amazon stars. Nice blades, EXCELLENT tool box, well marked, I'm thrilled!

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Absolutely worth a mention! Paid for itself in time saved the first week I put it on my bench. Thanks Buck for doing all the big thinking behind it...
Ian Davlin DiscussionSuggestion Box / Bug Reporting

Back By Popular Demand - Basic Website Functionality

The sub menu is back by both popular and reasonable demand.

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Private member
Thatsa nice! Did you simply tell Claude to “make it so”? (I’ve used it three or four times in the last five minutes - it was THAT useful!) And ——— wait for it … you can add the search term into the sear…
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Suggest an alternative to concave fret file

(for background context, I'm probably in the dozens of fret jobs so far, and no I don't let frets leave my house like this) When I got started getting interested in building guitars, I got the StewMac bundle of fret files/book, which comes with the concave toothed file. Over time, I ended up getting both the Narrow/Medium and Wide/Jumbo files. I don't do it often, but occasionally I do something like shown in the picture, where I'm clearl…

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What you're depicting in the picture above is what typically happens when a hollow (toothed or diamond grit) file that is too small for the size of fret us used to try and introduce a crown to fret th…
Private member DiscussionSuggestion Box / Bug Reporting

I can't seem to find the resource page

Looking for the resource page that had all the links on it. Along with the Amazon suggestion lists from various luthiers

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Ian Davlin
https://loothgroup.com/hub/?type=useful_links this is the resource page. you can find those on desktop on the righthand side where it says filters. We're going to make this slicker here in a bit. Here…
Ian Davlin DiscussionSuggestion Box / Bug Reporting

The New Website Bug Reporting and Wishlist Thread.

Please, if you see something, say something. If you want something, ask. Bugs, wishlists etc. Stack them up here.

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Inside this content window or "container" is the green radio button "SUGGESTION BOX" supposed to be a clickable link? I've seen some of them are and most of them are not. IMPLICATION: Cannot see a…
Private member DiscussionShop Organisation

plectrum builder

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Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Tool for shaving back braces

I am retopping a guitar and while it's open I want to reduce the mass of the back braces. Since the sides are in the way, I can't figure out how to cleanly cut the excess brace wood away; anything I've tried involves the handle hitting the sides and preventing a controlled, clean cut. Is there a tool - say a "pull finger plane" - that I can pull from the edge to the middle of each brace to facilitate this?

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My problem in this parlor guitar is that any chisel I currently have is too long and I can’t address the middle third of the brace without coming in at such an angle that I can’t control the chisel pr…
Private member DiscussionTools and Jigs

Hackman Finland Wood Pecker chisels?

I picked up a set of these chisels a couple years ago at an estate sale. They were in a very sorry state but had clearly been used and loved. I gave them a good cleaning and sharpened just the smallest one, which took a very nice edge. I'm debating sharpening the rest in order to sell them along with my Narex chisels (which I haven't loved) and replacing them all with a couple Lie Nielsen chisels only in the sizes I really use. Anyone h…

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Hey @member the Narex chisels are ok. Out of the box they needed a good amount of sharpening and polishing, which I put off for literally years. But I finally used Rye Bear's method and got them to a…