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Tj Thompson
Registrace 30. 11. 2012
Various sized dowels
I couldn’t decide whether to make this post about my inexhaustible need for various sized dowels, or my decades long love affair with my belt sander - decided to combine them into one. I use this sander for nearly everything. Once you grind a cutout in the steel bed (see pic four) and can gain access to the very edge of the sanding belt, the sky’s the limit 🚀. Before I got the CNC set up to rough out pyramid bridges, I used to make them completely by “hand” right at this little cut out on the sander 🤪. I still make custom size pearl dots by first grinding the shank end of a drillbit flush, and then supergluing a rough sawn piece of pearl onto that end, chuck it in the cordless drill and voilà, in a few seconds (if it doesn’t pop off 😬🤞🏼) you have a custom pearl dot!
I go back-and-forth about offering these custom wooden plugs (some tapered!) on my website. Somehow just can’t wrap my mind around charging for tiny pieces of wood. On the other hand, there were times that I would’ve paid a small fortune for one of these (ever have to plug an old tuner screw hole?!) tapered plugs. and of course, these are no ordinary dowels, since we luthier types, need them cut from the face of the board just like our tops, backs, sides etc. they are fragile and can be tricky to handle.
In case it’s not clear, here’s quickie video demo of the process. go easy on me, possibly the worst dowel demo ever.. once I got the lights, camera and Tripod set up it was of course exactly where I needed to be. 👨🏼🦯 💖
I go back-and-forth about offering these custom wooden plugs (some tapered!) on my website. Somehow just can’t wrap my mind around charging for tiny pieces of wood. On the other hand, there were times that I would’ve paid a small fortune for one of these (ever have to plug an old tuner screw hole?!) tapered plugs. and of course, these are no ordinary dowels, since we luthier types, need them cut from the face of the board just like our tops, backs, sides etc. they are fragile and can be tricky to handle.
In case it’s not clear, here’s quickie video demo of the process. go easy on me, possibly the worst dowel demo ever.. once I got the lights, camera and Tripod set up it was of course exactly where I needed to be. 👨🏼🦯 💖
zhlédnutí: 97
Video
Shimming an Original Bar Fret Wider to Increase compression
zhlédnutí 315Před rokem
Shimming an Original Bar Fret Wider to Increase compression
Gibson Belly Corrector Instructional video
zhlédnutí 10KPřed 2 lety
Gibson Belly Corrector Instructional video
Slothead Stringer
zhlédnutí 3,2KPřed 4 lety
Made this video for a client who was terrified to change strings on his new TJ guitar with a slotted peg head. He thought I was joking when I told him that it’s actually easier. Just add about 1/4” of length for each consecutive lighter gauge string. oh and thank you to my fellow guitar-maker friend Vivian for her fine iPhone camera work.
I wish I could learn to work with bar frets. Everyone I know refuses to use them.
These were manufactured in 2011, at the Fender USA Acoustic Workshop in New Hartford, Connecticut. I have # 16/30 and within a year of manufacture the top started to bulge. Luckily it hasn't gotten any worse, with proper humidification. Great playing and sounding guitar and I think they were just over a grand brand new.
I like your knowledge. Another popular luthier on YT claims that Gibson guitars are supposed to be perfectly flat, so when I heard that and I looked at mine and saw it wasn't I started getting really concerned. I went to Long an McQuade and picked up a brand new J-45 and it doesn't look much different than mine. I'll be bringing you mine in the near future for some work. I hope you're willing to do a video of it getting fixing of the mess someone did to it 30 years ago. Yes, it was put in storage for all those years and has sat begging to be played.
Nice!
Brilliant!
♍️📐🤘🕊️
Wood has to reach 240*F before the lignum softens enough and the wood compresses permanently. I suspect this will spring back in short order.
Link for the clamping cauls?
You can find it on our website! proluthiertools.com/product/radius-top-belly-corrector/
nice video TJ. So is 0.054" your (and "the") standard fret slot width for bar frets--at least on a new fingerboard????
My heart stopped when i saw that electric jigsaw!
This is interesting. Got anything for going the other direction? My 55 ES-175 is sinking pretty badly.
So satisfying to watch! Perfect job as always 💖
Thank you!! 😊
Trabalho artesanal perfeito.
Obrigado Aramis!
Great video. Thanks. Now to order a set of those!
Nice!-
💯💯💯💯💯
with all volumes up full, I can barely hear the sound on my computer speakers
:(
We'd love to have you on CZcams. Ted Woodford speaks very highly of TJ so I figured id look him up.
these cauls will repair a slight tilt, however many acoustics suffer from bulge that recede all teh way to the back of the guitar, many use a bridge doctor, cuals and then heat with pressure to get that wood back to its original place, these cauls only deal with the wood right at the bridge, not the bracing going to sides and back, for that you need heat and pressure.. inside heat or outside heat, both is best, then clamping pressure or weights something to push the wood back into its original position heat loosed wood fibers, then it can be shaped, that's how the sides are made, that are extreme bends so you can see heat can loosen wood to a degree it can move a lot.. many warmer high humidity climates with cause this type of bulge quickly a bridge doctor inplace can save that from bulging as well as placing your guitar ina climate controlled environment, case, whatever, spare room with dehumidifiers, and cooling.. again for success with this system you want to catch it early, if you have like a half inch of movement you need the full monty, the cuals, the bridge doctor, and the heat, a heat lamp inside the body and a heating pad on the top, protected fo course then clamping to pressure the bulge back down, allow to cool in place, if you have an extra cold area to allow this cooling even better.. speaking of colder spot this is something guitar makers need to look into and that's flash freezing the instruments, wood is a lot like metal in that respect, they cryp metal to make it stronger, if you cryo wood it alters the atoms and the wood wants to freeze into the position its in... not kidding here, I've observed this in nature all too often once frozen wood is stronger than non frozen wood, I know this from braking the same types of wood for fires, wood that's never been frozen and wood that's been frozen same species, again freeze will alter atomic makeup making the wood stronger and more resistant to bulge or movement.. if you have a large sub freezer place your guitar in it, however its CRITICAL the moisture content is well below the normal 45% or so, bring her down to 15-20 and we all know water expands so we don't want to move anything with expanding moisture content, other than that you can re-humidify and it's still a stronger wood! this is easy to test with a cryo freezer and humidity content tester, easy.. be sure to kiln the wood to low levels.. then do a strength comparison between cryo wood and non cryo wood you will see 10-15% improvements, this has been known by inuit and many siberian natives for some time, wood will be taken to the coldest areas for arrows, canoes, so forth, its know to make the wood stronger, why Inuit natives can take down larger game with less weapon, no jokes.. remember this MUST be a flash freeze, slow freeze actually reduces strength.. native treat in frozen salt water, the water is below freezing by 15 degrees but saline allows it to remain liquid.. yup so as much as -10 degrees below freezing.. try it
when you slapped that straight edge on the magnet and it clanked I tasted metal in my mouth.. weird
Your tip on the double ball end string made a lovely difference when I tried it on my guitar, thanks very much from Ireland 🇮🇪
Plz more video Thompson 🙏🙏🙏