Official Luthiers Forum!

First of all, Frank Fords frets.com is one of the best resources I know of. I had been checking it quite regularly for ideas on building tools and jigs, but for some reason I cant load *ANY* of the pictures on his website....nada....none.

Can anybody PLEASE check this link (or any link on his site) and see if the pics will load ?

 

Second, I am looking for drawings to make myself a fingerboard radiusing jig (the router kind). I know I have seen them, but cant remember where. Can anybody help me locate these drawings?

 

Third, Does anybody know if there is such a thing as a super thin kerf blade for a band saw? I need a 105" long saw blade and would love to have something like a .025 thick blade for an experimental project. Does one exist?

fourth, how thin is too thin for maple sides? I have a cutaway OM mold with some tight bends to make and I am thinking that .07 is about right... is this too thin?

man....I'm full of questions tonight

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

I can only answer the first question.

Yes the pictures load just fine for me. What internet browser are you using? May be time to update. BTW I am using Firefox.

_________________
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

I have IE7... just updated it the other day.

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

ok, I just downloaded and installed firefox... the pictures on the frets.com site still wont load.... I have no idea what is going on.. I can load pictures from any other web site I go to except that one...

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Hmmm... headscratcher I guess. I'm not much of an IT guy. I hope someone who knows more than me can help.

_________________
Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils - Louis Hector Berlioz

Chansen / C hansen / C. Hansen / Christian Hansen - not a handle.

Christian

hey ken, im sure there are others as well, but this is the first i thought of. http://www.michelettiguitars.com/Images/Sales.htm#FB%20Radiu s%20Jig   some other cool stuff on that site too.

_________________
sweat the small stuff.

the fretboard radiusing jig is towards the bottom of the page.

_________________
sweat the small stuff.

You have some kind of security blocker set on your computer. I had this happen before and it was a setting in windows explorer. thats why your pics are not loading. Some sites will load, others won't.

The maple will be fine at .070
john

You might want to try clearing the cache in your browser and try again.  Sometimes I get this problem if something goes messy in the cache.  I use Firefox.

25 thou seems pretty thin for a band. I don't know that a band that thin could take enough tension. I'm pretty sure Lenox makes a 0.035 kerf blade, which might be using 0.025 or 0.03 stock, you could grind off the set if there is one.

_________________
Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Ken-
As Bob says, a 0.025 kerf is pretty narrow.
Band stock that's 0.025 (common) will end up producing a kerf of 0.050 or more, depending on the set, blade vibration, etc. The higher TPI blades seem to have less set in many cases.
The thinnest bands I've seen listed with the suppliers I use are the ones that are made for small (10 inch and 3-wheel) benchtop saws- these are 0.020 stock.
However, I'm usually looking for ripping blades, so these tend to have a fair amount of set-not what you want.
What sort of application do you need the thin-kerf band for?

Cheers
John

Thanks for the help folks!   and WHEW! about the .07 sides too !! I got carried away with sanding the maple and ended up with a bunch of side sets of maple that are all .07

needless to say, the drum sander is working like it should now and I'm having a blast with it (getting ready for the next swap meet)

Heath, that is exactly the one I was looking for. THANKS!

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Ken, Hastings Saws sells a thin kerf blade that some other luthiers use for cutting rosette parts etc where they want limited waste.  The blades are stainless, designed for meat cutting originally - .020" blade and have a kerf of .029".  Minimum width of blade is 5/8" though so I couldn't get one.  He sold me a .025 blade with a .039 kerf in a 1/2 inch 6tpi.  Apparently the .029 blades don't last a long time, but are a hot item for these guys. You'll jus t have to call and talk to the guy there.  He can give you the details.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

[QUOTE=JohnAbercrombie]Ken-
What sort of application do you need the thin-kerf band for?

Cheers
John[/QUOTE]

 

John,

I am looking to rip some B/W/B laminated wood into 1/8" strips to be used for purfling. The laminated stock is a total of ~.08 thickness and I dont want to waste any more than is necessary with a kerf. I may actually be able to rig up some kind of a sharp wheel cutter to do the sawing, but thought if a thin kerf blade was available it would be a lot easier than building a special machine to cut the laminate.  I found a bargain on some long dyed black wood veneer and I can buy long maple veneer really cheap too, so I'm looking to save a few bucks in the long run by making this stuff myself.

At $3.45/ strip (LMI's 12 lot price) for double length wood purfling, this can get expensive. I can make it myself at less than a dollar per inch of width (6 to 8 strips per inch). I still have to figure a way to cut it into strips uniformly.

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

[QUOTE=WaddyT]Ken, Hastings Saws sells a thin kerf blade that some other luthiers use for cutting rosette parts etc where they want limited waste.  The blades are stainless, designed for meat cutting originally - .020" blade and have a kerf of .029".  Minimum width of blade is 5/8" though so I couldn't get one.  He sold me a .025 blade with a .039 kerf in a 1/2 inch 6tpi.  Apparently the .029 blades don't last a long time, but are a hot item for these guys. You'll jus t have to call and talk to the guy there.  He can give you the details. [/QUOTE]

THANKS !!!

I called them and ordered 3 different kinds of blades so hopefully one of them will work. 2 of the blades were actually designed to be used for cutting meat, so if they dont work I can always cut up some venison with them . One of the blades is the .022 thin kerf 10 TPI blade

 

now if I could only figure out why the frets.com pictures wont load...

 

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

I think the meat blades are the ones that Dave Schramm, Greg Byers and some other guys use for just what you are trying to do, i.e., making purfling, rosette parts, wheat and such.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Ken-
I know that some folks (eg Sergei deJonge) are using circular fret-slot cutting blades for this application, so that might be another option. I watched Sergei and Joshia cutting veneer strips this way.
A good setup with temp fence to the table (plexi is good) and effective hold-downs is important. This is all easier with a small saw (so you can stand beside the work easily) and possibly another person to pull the work through.
That said, if the bandsaw will work for this, it's probably a safer bet in terms of binding and kickback.

Cheers
John

Ken
C.T.Holden used to have a set of plans for his fretboard radius jig. He also used to sell the jig ready made. Looked like a good one. I wanted a set of plans but I haven't been able to find his website lately.

Also have you thought about using a pasta cutter to cut your veneer strips. Something like the Acme Pasta Machine at around 50 bucks.

BTW, I should have added that I've rigged up a dremel and saw blade to do this sort of thing in the past. Put the dremel in a drill-press vise so it can slide, and make a hold-down for the veneer.
Some scraps of plywood , etc can provide the surface for this.
">Quick jigs

Cheers
John

I bought one of those circular veneer cutters, and it works pretty well for single strips.  It might struggle with multiple layers though.  I like the Pasta Cutter idea for cutting sheets of veneer into strips.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

[QUOTE=WaddyT] I think the meat blades are the ones that Dave Schramm, Greg Byers and some other guys use for just what you are trying to do, i.e., making purfling, rosette parts, wheat and such.
[/QUOTE]

Waddy, good sources for thin kerf blades are McMaster-Carr or MSC Industries. Look under jeweler blades. These are the blades that were recommended by Bob Gleason of Pegasus for fret slotting and for building a gang blade to cut kerfed liners. You will also have to find or make an arbor adapter for most standard table saws.

_________________
Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

[QUOTE=Don A] [QUOTE=WaddyT] I think the meat blades are the ones that Dave Schramm, Greg Byers and some other guys use for just what you are trying to do, i.e., making purfling, rosette parts, wheat and such.

[/QUOTE]



Waddy, good sources for thin kerf blades are McMaster-Carr or MSC Industries. Look under jeweler blades. These are the blades that were recommended by Bob Gleason of Pegasus for fret slotting and for building a gang blade to cut kerfed liners. You will also have to find or make an arbor adapter for most standard table saws. [/QUOTE]

My suggestion was purely about band saw blades.  That's what we were talking about.  I don't know about rotary blades, or jewelers saw blades.  If there are jeweler band saw blades, I didn't know it, but it is a good point, and I'll check it out.  The hard part to me with McMaster Carr, is that unless you know exactly what you want, you can't find it there.  The most user unfriendly online catalog I have ever seen for finding an item unless you know the exact specifications.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Remember this thread??

I happened to get a chance to get out tonight and went by the local flea market. I always look for stuff there because I can buy some specialty tools at good prices in some of the stalls.

anyway, even though I have ordered 3 different thin kerf blades for the band saw for sawing up laminated veneers into thin strips, I still am thinking about it. I found these blades today:

I dont know if you can read the price on them, but it is $2.98

I bought a couple even though they have a little surface rust on them. They are brand new and sharp though. I measured the thickness of the blades at .021 but because of the set in the blade they cut at .042. Too wide for cutting fret slots, but just right for cutting the laminated B/W/B veneers I am making. They are 3 5/8" in diameter and have a standard 5/8" arbor hole. Now I just need to think of how I can mount these things in order to use them

I still dont know if they will work, but at that price, I cant go wrong!

I have no clue what they are actually meant to be used for, but I know what I am going to try

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H