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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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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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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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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 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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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...
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 DiscussionShop Organisation

plectrum builder

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