With a break like this with plenty of surface area, I would just glue it without any additional supports. My glue of choice is hot hide glue, but there will be lots of opinions on that and many option…
I think that's a good move. One thing I might do to kick things of is to hit the area with some ultra thin master glue so it wicks under the area and prevents more chipping from potentially delaminate…
Hi guys, I finally managed to sort the problem out. Seens like was a simple issue that I cant see in that moment. I took the whole bridge apart and did a complete setup from scratch. I read somewhere…
This is precisely why Leo Fender developed the insideless guitar. A compromised neck block is super hard to come back from and when I see something like this, it leads me to believe that it's the tip…
Chris, can I add this for the council of elders show ? Also, we are going to have @member on pretty soon to talk about a job about this dramastic. Here's a link to the live show co…
What is the current best foam cutter? Hot wire foam factory or have we moved on? There are some short ones on Amazon that look cool. My current set of the originalish ones are pretty bent. Seems like a shorter shaft would be superior.
Does anybody have a link to the drill bit they're using with the foam cutters? I know TWoodford uses an airplane but, but not sure where he got it from.
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my hardware store had a pretty small long bit, I can't remember the diameter, but it was close enough that the foam cutter got stuck-ish. You don't need a hugely long bit.
I've had something in the works in the background but keep hitting walls I'm not happy with. As such, I'm still using the original Hot Wire Foam Factory I first recommended and they're still going strong...
Doc
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Thanks for posting the video. I was racking my brain trying to think of what the heck you would want foam cutters for in lutherie. This make sense. I used them in making foam rc airplanes and stopped doing so due to the fumes. I was thinking maybe it was to do some kind of lost casting technique for tuners or something lol.
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Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not (if you are ignore the rest) but in the off chance you are not...
Nichrome wire is nothing super special been around a long time. It's just a material that can take hi amounts of current and give of large amounts of heat (due to it's resistance (like a resistor) without snapping. A steel wire lasts about 3 seconds with similar voltage and amperage across it. This allows the wire to be made really thin like picture frame wire or thinner so it's light weight and doesn't take much space. You can see the wire in a toaster if you look down from the top it's what's being guarded off and what glows red when the toaster is on. I'm any case you can find the wire in a large variety of kitchen appliances like toasters, crock pots, slow cookers, some small convection ovens. Pretty much anything that gets hot and is cheap. I should note that I think it's starting to be replaced with ceramic heating elements as the ceramic is less of a fire risk. So depending on your location and consumer protection laws the easeness of procurement may vary
@member You just got me off my ass and inspired to make a new resistance heater video. I had all the stuff on my old website which I nuked without consideration a few months ago.
Here is the parts list from McMaster if you're interested in replication without toaster destruction. This idea comes from the mind of Frank Ford.
Best foam cutters was one I made from wire (NiCh wire I believe) recovered from a toaster hooked up to a car battery charger. Otherwise I have used one similar to what is linked above
I've used the Hot Wire cutters for at least three years now, I like them a lot and they last a long time for me .. only one fried on me. I typically carefully sand the tip where it's crimped to keep the diameter consistent since that little crimp will catch in the narrow hole. (I like the narrow hole, usually don't need any dust/crazy glue remediation, the fret crown will cover). After use each use I clean them with 4-ought steel wool to keep them nice and slick .. early on I used to get them stuck in the dt joint and had to pull them out with pliers ;-)
Since Ted W's videos became so popular, Hot Wire has responded with a 'luthiers kit' where they produce shorter wires and a reostat included for heat control etc. Pretty good investment for ~ 100 bucks.
DON'T use them on a celluloid board ;-)
BTW, the drill bits are called 'aircraft' for whatever reason, but I usually cut them down a bit, and often a normal bit will hit the 'pocket' and I'm good to go.