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That's a great jig, Jeff!

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Cool idea Jeff!

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Used to use a similar set-up for my 6" belt sander, but find it quicker now to block plane and then touch up with abrasive in my molds which are full height+ at the top and tail.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Santa Cruz Guitar Co. called me one day and asked me to come over and look at the fixture they had made almost identical to yours Brad. They were having a slight problem with it which they showed me when I arrived. After placing the blank in the fixture and informing me to stand back J.K. ran the part through the router table. The bit ripped the part out of the fixture and sent it into the wall across the room some 30' away faster than I could follow it with my eyes. Scary? Just a bit. I would make sure that every bit I put in the router spun perfectly true, at the very least and be sure to stand out of the line of fire. Me, I'll stick with the sander. Not worth damaging any body parts to save a minute or 2.

This is exactly what I would be worried about and whatever was in the line of fire.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I updated the jig to V2 taking into account much of the feedback from here. The new jig is a bit beefier, made of MDF. The front plate of the backstop can spin to allow the block to stay registered for the second pass. I did pick up a 12” disc sander to experiment with as well. The way the jig is designed I can use either the router, the sander, or a combination. I’m thinking that for tighter radius, where more material has to come off, start on the sander and finish up with the router. I’ll experiment a bit with both to see how it goes.

Another improvement is I put the neck and tail block radius on the same sled, just to cut down on materials. The backstop can come off and flip around to use either edge depending on the radius needed.

If this goes well I’ll make a second for Tenor Uke.

Some pics:






Brad





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First test block off of the sander. That was no drama at all. You folks may have me convinced.




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I guess you'll have to get your Adrenalin fix some other way now.

Useful for making bone chikari posts too. (and other random round things with strange tapers and diameters).

Now yer cookin' Brad and you'll go through life with all ten.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I must say I'm relieved to see you go the sander route.

The main thing for me was repeatability of a quality result. I wasn’t getting that doing them by hand. The sander is very fast. I don’t see a reason for the router method at this time. I do appreciate all the advice and feedback!

Brad


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If you add side pieces to the jig that would support the work piece on both sides as well as clamping the top it might be less likely to fly across the room. Taking too big a bite or approaching the work in the wrong fashion can lead to disaster no matter what method you choose.
You should always use a tool and technique you are comfortable with - just not too comfortable.

I may do something more elegant in the future, but for now this works.



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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.