my attempts at homemade luthier clamps

[nkwak]

I figure I needed to gain some confidence in basic woodworking before my first build gets fully underway so I attempted to make a cam-type luthier clamp. I couldn't get the cam to work though so I decided to try a thumbscrew to open the "mouth" of the moving jaw instead.



They still twist but hold well enough to exert pressure and won't come off easily:


BTW, my younger son has been taking an interest of everything I do which can be cute sometimes!

[naccoachbob]

Pretty slick, Neil. Shame the cams didn't work. I don't know what tolerances you have to have on those, or how to decide the exact size of the cam for where it fits in the clamp, but the ones I got from KMG work really well.
Just be careful how much pressure you use, so it doesn't starve a joint.
The cams are easy to close, but I bet they put some pressure down too.
Are those oak? They look pretty solid.
Looks like you have a pretty good apprentice there too! He's at that fun age.
Bob

[nkwak]

I don't know what the tolerances are, really. I followed the plans from here and adjusted when things didn't work so well with the first attempt:

http://www.woodshoptips.com/tips/050304/index.htm

FWIW, blame user error but when I made the cam for the first one the band saw protested mightily because...well, I used oak so yeah they're pretty solid. Cheap too. I figure I made all 4 clamps for as much as it costs to buy 1 or 2 of the ones listed at Stewmac. Believe it or not, but those thumbscrews were the priciest part. The wood was actually pretty cheap.

BTW, yeah the little guy is a lot of fun - but a challenge too: very headstrong. I also have a 6yo boy but he's got autism which is a whole different level of challenge. Don't get me started though.

[enalnitram]

I just started #4 and I don't own any cam clamps.

Have you thought about building a go-bar deck? Or is there a space in your house you could use as one? (...am looking at the area under your kitchen cabinets...)

[Tony_in_NYC]

Martin,
You really dont own any cam clamps? I could have built all of my guitars with only the cam clamps other than closing the box. Talk to Ken Cierp. He sells cam clamp kits. I got one set with my first guitar and they were not hard to make. I actually made them with hand tools even though a band saw and a drill press would have been mucho helpful. I used a backsaw to cut the slots and my hand drill to make the holes for the pins. They work great. I am certain the kit to make 3 is cheaper than buying them from StewMac. Although...if you have made it this far without them...maybe you dont need them!
Those clamps look great nkwak. Nice work.

[naccoachbob]

Those clamps from Ken were definitely a lot cheaper than Stewmac or LMI. I got 6 when I did this build and they are the handiest clamps for me - period.
I understand the challenges you speak of. My close co-worker has a daughter, 26, who is autistic. We are a state agency, and allow volunteers, so she comes up here sometimes and helps out. And my daughter is very headstrong - just like the ole man. That's a challenge too.
Bob

[enalnitram]

Martin,
You really dont own any cam clamps?

I don't. I followed the methods used by builders that I admire, and they don't (typically) use them either. I found that it works for me, and achieved a good result. I glue braces to top and back with go bars. some of the best builders in the world have put amazing guitars into the hands of amazing musicians without using cam clamps. Ken Cierp is a self-admitted non-go-bar person. so we disagree. to each, his own.

I really don't want to ruin the thread by making it into a "why use them at all?!" kinda back-and-forth. I was just saying that if Neil had a hard time making cam clamps, why not try other homemade clampy methods and see which one he likes best. that's all.

[naccoachbob]

I was just saying that if Neil had a hard time making cam clamps, why not try other homemade clampy methods and see which one he likes best. that's all.

I agree. Use what you can find and make work. I'm not going to spend a fortune making these things, much as I'd like to.
But there are many ways up Everest.

[Tony_in_NYC]

Martin...for all of the time I have been on this forum, and all of the times I have seen Go-Bar decks used for gluing braces, I could not for the life of me figure out how you glued the long braces without cam clamps(or at least deep throat c-clamps)!
If you will excuse me, I need to go bang my head into the wall a bit. Maybe it will shake my mental block loose.

[enalnitram]

Mario Proulx put together this documented build with lots of go bar action in it. check it out...

http://www.proulxguitars.com/buildup/build1.htm

Martin...for all of the time I have been on this forum, and all of the times I have seen Go-Bar decks used for gluing braces, I could not for the life of me figure out how you glued the long braces without cam clamps(or at least deep throat c-clamps)!
If you will excuse me, I need to go bang my head into the wall a bit. Maybe it will shake my mental block loose.