Body Half and Wing Glue-up Helpful Hint

Dirk Diggler · #1 05-05-2008, 05:59 PM

Hello,
Well in my most recent build I discovered a fun way to keep a body glue-up to hold without slipping. It only required 2 large clamps to hold the body together and 2 small C clamps to keep the pieces at the same alignment front to back. When I was done it really required very little sanding after they were glued.

Oh and an extra fun one I almost forgot to mention is I use a clamp to hold the bottom half vertical for gluing and clamping.

Here's the trick, I took 4 pieces of maple I had lying around, they were 2" x 1" x 1/4" these will act as the clamp protectors on the top and back. You now cover them with Reynolds Release foil, dull side out. This works great and keeps the glue from sticking on the clamp protectors. After about 45 minutes the glue was still wet underneath it and I was able to wipe it off with a sponge and the body set great.

I took the small C clamps with 2 protectors and set the clamp right in the middle of the joint, clamp down on the one side and put the long side of the protectors 90 degrees to the joint.
Now you can put the other clamp at the other end. So now you have one half in the clamps and now you can add the other body half and the protectors just guide the body to where it needs to be. Now tighten the clamps pretty snug and then you can use the large clamps to hold the wide part of the back of the body and at the squeeze on the top and leg spot.
Crank them all down and wipe the excess glue away.

I was able to do it with a joint at about a 10 degree angle on the body halves.

Sorry if my description made no sense, the pictures should help a bit.

Any questions feel free to let me know.

Dirk

Lonnybass · #2 05-05-2008, 06:14 PM

Interesting. Have you ever given any thought to using a biscuit joiner instead? Don't know if you're familiar with how they work, but essentially you are able to route two perfectly aligned semi-circular notches.

The biscuits, which are generally made of beech, absorb the glue and expand inside the notched sections, making slippage and misalignment of the wings and neck virtually impossible. This helps create a VERY strong joint with extra surface area and rigidity the second you attach the pieces together.

Lonnybass

Dirk Diggler · #3 05-05-2008, 06:47 PM

Hello Lonnybass,
Oh yes indeed I'm well aware of that technique and I own a biscuit joiner. But no I really don't want to use those, I prefer just glue.
Also it would be difficult to biscuit when both halves are at an angle, yes I know they can do angles but it seems like a tough one to figure out. Also won't they leave a void if not perfectly aligned?

Dirk

Nelson Guitars · #4 05-05-2008, 10:51 PM

I like biscuits. Just need to be careful to put them places they won't be seen later. What angle are you talking about? Aren't the two sides square to each other?

Nice clamp system. I avoid the problem by clamping up before cutting at the outer shape. Especially with a neck through it is often a good idea to do the inside cut for the horn before assembly, but I just leave the outer shape to cut later after the body is assembled.

Greg N

Dirk Diggler · #5 05-06-2008, 11:02 AM

Hey Greg,
Actually the body halves are about 10 degrees tilted back, I find that to be more ergonomic. That's why the biscuit thing might be tough to do easily. Plus I was very happy at how flush the front and back came out with my technique. I've never been able to get them that tight to tolerance before. Very little sanding on the joint and it's crisp, smooth and you can hardly see it. Once it's gets the Danish Oil I'm guessing it will disappear.

Also I cut to shape first so that I can have a full compartment of the same wood on the back. Up till now I have done only neck through so this was a fun change from the norm. Also it's having a Roland pickup only and that's why the odd cutout on the bottom. I am using the customers existing external GK pickup and took apart the little plastic control pod and will be mounting it internally.
By the way this is going to be a 6 string piccolo bass with 13 pin connector.

Dirk

jordan_frerichs · #6 05-06-2008, 12:01 PM

lol. did u actually glue that thing in your bathroom???

beejomatic · #7 05-06-2008, 08:48 PM

Boo-yah! and Hooray! for showing the concept of angling the wings towards the back of the body! This makes contouring the body way easier. The problem with biscuits (IMHO) is lateral slippage. The wings and neck will line up ok across the face plane of the body, butwill slip sideways, if you will. Has anyone tried using pins on the mating surfaces of the neck and wings? Hiscock aligns fingerboards to necks this way. Is there any reason it wouldn't work on other parts of the instrument? Thanks again, Dirk, For a super tip! I'm gonna try it on my fretless fiver....

beejomatic · #8 05-06-2008, 08:50 PM

Nelson Guitars · #9 05-06-2008, 10:40 PM

I like it!

The biscuits would work fine for this. Just orient the face of the tool to the face of the joint and then adjust the fence to match what ever the angle of the face or back side is. I assume they match on either side of the joint. This will make the biscuit square to the face of the joined surface.

Another trick is to install locating pins of some sort where you won't see them later or run into them with a router. A simple way to do this is to hammer in two small brads in one side and then cut them off about 1/8" or less proud of the glue surface Then dry assemble the pieces and clamp them together driving the brad into the other piece. Separate and glue then re-assemble putting the brads back where they came from.

Greg N

Dirk Diggler · #10 05-08-2008, 09:08 AM

Yes Jordan that was in my bathroom, we had a cold stint and my shop isn't heated.

Nice carpet eh? LOL

And the real reason I created this technique was to make my life easier and to prevent the usual slipping during
glue-up. It really helped the pieces lineup perfectly, I will try it on my next neck thru. I only ever do one side at
a time on neck thru so this technique should work well for that too.
Dirk

**Rodent** · #11 05-08-2008, 09:38 AM

dude - put the seat down!

all the best,

R

Nelson Guitars · #12 05-08-2008, 09:39 AM

The thing I like about your foil idea is that there is no chance of wax getting into the wood fibers. This can be a problem with wax paper on hot days with materials close to finish dimension like you have. Not usually a problem for lacquer, but can all of a sudden appear if you stain the wood.

Always like your stuff Dirk.

Greg N

Dirk Diggler · #13 05-09-2008, 08:32 AM

Oh yeah and the release foil is the best for cooking too! Burn all the cheese you want it just slips right off. I haven't tried it with epoxy yet but I bet it would work well, same for gorilla. I'll let you know when I get chance to experiment.

Yeah I never had any confidence with wax paper, and I would sure
hate for anything to mess up the nice top and back on this one.

And sorry Rodent I can't pee sitting down.

LOL
Dirk

DavidRavenMoon · #14 05-09-2008, 03:53 PM

Biscuits can make the surface sink in after the glue dries. I like to use small brads instead.

I use one of these clamps:

4-Way Equal Pressure Clamp

I also usually cut out my body shape after the wings are glued on... but both ways are valid.

Dirk Diggler · #15 05-09-2008, 06:42 PM

Hey David,
Those clamps are pretty slick, do you still need to use a brad with that clamp though?
Dirk

DavidRavenMoon · #16 05-09-2008, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

Hey David,
Those clamps are pretty slick, do you still need to use a brad with that clamp though?
Dirk

Not really. It really holds things in alignment well.

I actually used a slightly different clamp where you supplied your own 2X4's, and the other parts were metal and plastic that screwed on to the wood. But I can't remember where I got those. Same idea though.

You can never have too many clamps!