Hi all,
I’m working towards making a start on an acoustic build (in other words, trying to build up the courage 🤣) and have been gathering some of the tools I will need.
As you can see I’ve been making cam clamps, before I make any more, I’m just wondering if I should make some with different length of jaws. As you can see from the picture, the jaws are 180mm total length, maybe longer or shorter ones would be useful? The ones I’ve made should be a suitable length for e.g. gluing the bridge, but I’d appreciate your input before I make anymore.
Another question I have is regarding a bending iron, which I think would be a pretty essential bit of kit but I don’t want to spend a fortune on one when it might only be used for this project. Again any advice on cheaper alternatives would be appreciated.
All the Best,
Brian👍🎸😃
@brie Nice work on those clamps! You will find you can never have too many clamps so keep up the production cycle. Maybe some longer ones would be handy. It's rare to not have enough space behind your clamped work so less likely to need shorter ones.
@brie As for the heating iron, I decided to make a Fox style bender. It was a bunch of work to make but very little cost and I find making the jigs really gets you thinking about the making process. The silicone heating blanket cost about £70 so not too bad. Add a couple of spring steel sheets too and its about £100 plus your MDF and an acme screw.
@huskyworkshop Thanks for that, I think I’ll go ahead and make a few a bit longer and some the same length as the originals. They’re easy to make, and I usually have suitable materials at hand, so I can just make more as and when I need them and in appropriate sizes.
Brian👍😃🎸
nice clamps
You are off to a start, Brian. Your cam clamps will handle tasks but it is a good idea to have a few shorter cam clamps and a few longer cam clamps. This will make life easier during stages of the build.
For bending the sides of your guitar, a steel pipe setup can work really well. You do not have to spend a lot of money on this.
Since you are building your guitar from scratch it is also worth thinking about guitar parts. A made bridge and a well made nut and a well made saddle and good tuning machines and good fretwire can make a big difference in the tone of your guitar and the tuning stability of your guitar and the playability of your guitar.
Choosing the guitar parts for your guitar is one of the easiest things you can do to make your guitar better. Guitar parts, like a bridge and a good nut and a good saddle and good tuning machines and good fretwire will make your guitar sound better and be easier to play.
@nethanpaul86 Hi, and thanks for the advice👍😃 My cam clamp production line continues !! I’m up to six now a couple of them longer than the original ones I made, I know you can never have too many clamps, so the work continues 😂😂. These home made ones may not be as good as the shop bought ones but boy are they cheaper. Once I start on the guitar build itself, as it’s my first acoustic build, I will be following Mark’s excellent Build your own acoustic guitar course and it seems sensible to use one of his kits but I might decide to use some different hardware e.g. tuners and fret wire. After all if you have bits left over at the end of one build, it gives you good reason to start the next one (wouldn’t want to see things going to waste would we).
All the Best,
Brian👍😃🎸