Pretty neat idea. Looks very handy. I have been keeping the body blank oversized and screwing the top to the back and cutting out the whole shooting match after it is all glued up. The space savings is a big plus when I am doing lots of glue ups all at the same time. Thanks for posting

I've been thinking of using car jack as clamps for a while. Good to see it actually in action

All you need to press any size guitar body is a solid very flat table, a piece of 3/4" mdf that is larger than the guitar body, and two 45 lb barbell plates. Sometimes I add two 35 lb plates on top of the 45s, if I feel the extra pressure is needed. . This also has a side benefit of guaranteeing absolute flatness to the body. Oh, and I get my back and bicep workout for the day.

Great idea. I'm low on clamps but have a few jacks kicking around. Perfect. Thank you!!!

@Projectelectricguitar

6 жыл бұрын

You're welcome. Also check out my newer clamping solution that work much better kzread.info/dash/bejne/h4KNk6VyeLzXdLQ.html

You can use small dowels to lock the top in position so it doesn't move on you while its being glued up. Also check out veneer press clamps I built my press using them and they work great I think you will really like them. thanks again for the cool videos

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

+eddie julian You're right, I can use dowels in the location of the pickups. Another option is to use locating pins using cut-off staples, like when gluing up a fretboard on a neck. There are a few options I guess, maybe I'll use on of them next time :)

@paulneeds

2 жыл бұрын

Believe it or not, a light sprinkling of simple table salt over one of the glued surfaces will also help the two parts stay in place - the salt initially bites into the wood, and I’d *guess* it dissolves away. Well worth a try on less critical joins like this, although I’d stick it the micro dowel method for fingerboards - either outside the finished area if gluing before shaping, or in hidden locations like nut slots or tenons.

Very informative! Thank you!

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

+Perkele You are welcome!

A few toothpicks used as pins could be used to hold the 2 parts together, I did something similar to this and like you was having trouble with the glue acting like a lube and moving it around so I started using toothpicks as posts to hold it. But that is a hell of a great idea for a press!

LOVE IT. Gibson E2-ish. Have been looking for a way to build one. This should do it.

Great video thanks! you can also use a little bit of coarse salt between the two plates to prevent them from sliding on each other, salt crystals acts as micro dowels when you press.

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

+Adrien Bernard-Reymond Thanks for the tip. Yes, I've heard about the salt trick, but I'm not too keen on adding salt to the glue because I don't know how it will change the glue's holding and drying properties. However many people seem to use it without issues... maybe I'll give it a rtry next time. Thanks.

To fix the issue of allining the center points, you can use a tack to pin the top in the right place.

@Projectelectricguitar

7 жыл бұрын

Great idea! Thanks.

@DrMackSplackem

4 жыл бұрын

Barring that, sliding the pieces against each other before clamping will burst the air bubbles trapped in the glue. That's the reason the pieces tend to skate around.

Good work, simple but effective.Good luck with the rest of the finish !

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

+David Williams-Jones Thanks David.

Nice video. I can't wait to see how the explorer turns out!

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

+Chris Ficquette Thanks, me too ! :)

Nice job with the diy clamps ! Is there any video with the guitar in action ?

I did some more research on veneer presses after seeing your videos and found these things called veneer press screws you may want to check them out, I bought some and built a press using a frame like yours but instead of the ply wood and jacks I used a steel platen with a veneer press screw welded to it. The advantage is with the steel platen there is even pressure distribution on over the entire body. you can get them from shop fox or on ebay. Thanks again for the videos I wouldn't have had the idea to build my press without seeing your video first. keep up the great work.

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

I love it, you improved on my idea! Thank you.

what a smart dude

@Projectelectricguitar

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks!... but I don't use it anymore, I came up with a much better solution, check it out: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h4KNk6VyeLzXdLQ.html

You do a good job showing all the little nuances of building a body. I like the tips you come up with. What is the thickness of the wood you start out with when making a body of say a Strat, Explorer, Les Paul?

@Projectelectricguitar

6 жыл бұрын

The thickness of the wood is never the same. I use the wood I have and build the guitar accordingly. I can control the final thickness of the guitar by the combination of the thickness of the body and the top piece.

Perhaps you can get some heavy steel plate to better distribute the force. Also, if you can get hold of a few hydraulic potjacks, that would work even better than the simple car jacks. Potjack have a smaller footprint, so you can put four of them in your frame.

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the ideas Dries. Those are definitely good ways to improve on this design. However, I created a new and different system for clamping my guitar tops, you can see my video here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h4KNk6VyeLzXdLQ.html

@driesvanoosten4417

8 жыл бұрын

That also looks like a good system. But what I like about the cage system is that you can more easily inspect and clean up the glue squeeze out than with regular clamping.

What kind of glue are you using for this?

Thought: add a screw hook as a bit in a drill. Save lots of time with the bar raising and lowering. This works on a car too 😎

@Projectelectricguitar

6 жыл бұрын

That's a good idea . But I'm not using this jig anymore, I made something much better, you can see it in this video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h4KNk6VyeLzXdLQ.html

Im assuming this could be done with veneer? Granted the top is flat of course. I dont see this working with a compound-shape face.

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

+BassNBeards It should work with anything that's flat. It might still work with a non-flat guitar top if you place smaller plywood boards under the car jack and then clamped all around the edge of the guitar with small regular clamps (or spool clamps). That way, the car jack pressure is centered on the flat, middle part of the guitar and the spool clamps all around. I think that would work really well.

@Erowens98

7 жыл бұрын

With a veneer you would want to add cork or something somewhat soft to avoid bubbling.

@jakefriesenjake

6 жыл бұрын

Or vacuum bag it..

Neat, but ever heard of a go-bar deck?

A veneer laminating vacuum bag could work.

A country boy can survive. Macgyver!

why don't you just put the glue on the body instead of the top? Then you don't need to waist all that time with tape and weird paper templates. Thank you for sharing your videos though.

@Projectelectricguitar

8 жыл бұрын

+eddie julian That would work also. Some people apply glue to one surface of a joint while others prefer to add glue on both faces. At this point in my building experience, I prefer to apply glue to both surfaces, maybe because I don't trust myself to do a good enough job on only one surface ;)

nice cheap solution

It's now unbalanced, good job

Vacuum bag it

@Projectelectricguitar

5 жыл бұрын

Actually, I came up with another (better) solution, check it out here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h4KNk6VyeLzXdLQ.html

What kind of glue are you using for this?

@Projectelectricguitar

6 жыл бұрын

Regular woodworker's yellow glue