Go Bar system

    The humidity the last few days has kept me from progressing, but at last I am back at it. I think it would be a good time to discuss glues and clamping setups. I am very traditional when it comes to glues and clamping, the reason is simple, it works. Traditional hot hide glue is my go to glue for most of the construction of the guitar and the go bar clamping has so many uses that I would not be without it. If you decide to become a luthier at any point in your life invest in a good go bar system and a hide glue pot. Many of the tools I have in my studio I could probably live without, but these two things are pretty much indispensable. I can not number the times that I have had some odd part that clamping with anything else would be nearly impossible without extreme jigs and strange clamping arrangements, the go bar deck does everything. There are only a few steps in the creation of a guitar where the go bar can not be used, purfling/binding, kerf lining, and perhaps the fret board (though I believe I have even used it for that at least once!) for every other process in the glue ups the go bare is my "go too".
    Go bar decks are a fairly ancient technology utilizing flexible strips of wood, or in modern times fiberglass rods, that evenly distribute the perfect amount of pressure for nearly every joint you can think of. I have not been surprised walking into a few boutique cabinet and furniture shops and seeing massive go bar decks. They are relatively inexpensive and can replace 90% of the clamps a person owns, much like good planes and scrapers can pretty much replace sandpaper.
     Hot hide glue has been the premier choice of luthiers for over 300 years and if those beautiful violins violas and cellos can attest to its staying power and tonal abilities it is safe to say it will be around a very long time to come. Hide glue is reparable with a simple heated knife, because heat reactivates the glue, it is stronger than the wood it is holding together, it dries to a crystalline structure that transfers sound better than any modern glue I have tried and it is long lasting because you make your own. There is a bit of investment when you first start out as a good glue pot is not cheap, though a person can get by with a double burner as long as they keep constant watch on the temperature, for me the glue pot makes too much sense not to use it. 1 pound of glue can last me a very long time, and the batch I make up can last me weeks of heating and cooling and reheating because it never really goes bad, if too much water evaporates from the batch I made up (usually less than an ounce) I just add a little water.
    The glue I use is over 250 gram strength, which is not the easiest to work with. Usually I shoot for 316 gram strength because of its high shock resistance and durability but it sets up so much faster than the lower gram strength glues like the common 165 gram strength you can get at most luthier supply stores. The cost of all that extra strength is being very proficient with your glue setup and pre fitting everything before the glue comes out of the pot. 165 is sufficient for most parts of the guitar and for the beginner it is much easier to work with because its set time is a fair bit slower than the 316.
    In any case hot hide glue is my number one choice for 90% of any guitar build, the exceptions being binding and purfling (I like to have a bit more time to work with these areas) and when I utilize carbon fiber components inside the box, for the carbon fiber two part epoxies work the best. If you have not tried it yet, do so. You will find a new dimension of sound from your instruments.

  


Bridge plate being installed

    I will take a moment to explain my thoughts on bridge plates, simple little complex things that they are. I used to use maple and rosewood plates and they were ok, though I never liked the sound of the guitar with either of those woods attached. To me it never made sense to put two different kinds of woods together that expand and contract at different rates with humidity changes. In the last few years I have moved exclusively to a pin less design with my bridges, which has freed up that area for experimentation. I started using spruce with a small thin reinforcing strip of carbon fiber not long after and the improvement to the sound was astonishing. I run the spruce plate with opposing grain, much the way the back strip reinforcement is done to allow for the stresses of the torqueing and twisting of the soundboard without losing integrity. The spruce plate with the carbon fiber reinforcement is actually about half again lighter than the bridge pins and rosewood plate setup, and it is actually stronger.
    In the picture above the carbon fiber is not yet installed, it will run across the section where the bridge pins would be located normally, which leaves me the option to do a pinned bridge if a customer requests it without changing the tone I have worked so hard to achieve. The carbon fiber will never tear out or wear down like rosewood or maple or any other wood for that matter and you still get the benefit of all that beautiful wood sound.

    I have not had a single failure to date with heavy strings pinned or non pinned heavy and light players and everything in between so until I find something that sounds better and is this strong and light, this is what I will use.

    Next time I will be getting into more of the geometry of this particular guitar and how unique it is compared to normal guitars, though it is subtle and your eye may not catch it unless pointed out to you. I will try to get some pictures explaining the geometry and why I have chosen it for the Colonial Grand Symphony project. I will also be discussing the next few steps in the process so stay tuned, until next time... Joseph Vallis