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Are go-bar decks worth getting? I don't mind spending the time or money to make/buy one but want to make sure they are worth the effort.

Thanks,
Ed

Speaking as a total amateur...I'd say if you are doing any amount of guitar building the Go-Bar idea is about the handiest thing ever invented. One can certainly clamp braces and the bridge and such for gluing in other ways, but I can't imagine anything anywhere near as convenent and effective. If I wasn't working with a luthier and have the use of his Go=Bar setup as I build my guitar, I certainly would be strongly inclined to make one.

I think it fallls under the guideline, "It's impossible to have too many clamps."

Experienced builders who actually know what they are talking abou tmay have a different idea, but that's my take on it.

P.S.I just looked at StewMac's Go-Bar offering. It can be done more cheaply. The luthier I'm working with built a solid frame out of 2x4s and plywood, which doubles as heavy-duty shelves when he's not gluing something. He made the bars from wood -- maybe hickory or ash, something springy -- so the only specific go-bar components he bought were the radiused dishes. Actually, I'm not sure he even bought those -- he might have made the dishes as well,

A lot of good guitars have been built without the GBD and many are now being built with the GBD. Martin uses them. It's a personal choice, though GBDs really do have their benefits.

Martin has upgraded to a hot bag and vacuum system.
A GBD can be very helpful in a hot hide glue build.
The following videos, one for bracing and the other for gluing up a body, display the GBD advantage.

Thanks guys. I'll be either buying or making a go-bar deck. Lots of tools to buy or make before I tackle my first guitar kit.

Ed

A go-bar deck was probably the easiest helper I ever built.
Two pieces of ply, 4 threaded rods, a few nuts and washers
thrown into a bag, shaken up and there ya have it. Well,
maybe a bit more work than shaking up the parts in a bag,
but not much. If you do a search here and on the web for go-bar,
poring over the results will keep you busy for quite a while.
If you opt to purchase, you won't find a better GBD than the one
offered by John Hall Blues Creek.

-tommy

I did my go-bar setup on the cheap. I screwed a hunk of plywood to the floor joists above a work bench in my basement. I considered doing the same thing in my garage above my table saw.


Fiber glass rods are nice, but expensive, so I use 1/4 in. slices of 3/4 thick maple that's left over from the wood I chop up to make my block banjo rims. As long as I keep making banjo rims, I'll have an endless supply of free bars.

I've decided to make the go-bar deck. Does anyone have dimensions they could share with me?

Ed

penndan wrote: Fiber glass rods are nice, but expensive

Not if you use discarded dome tent frames, from tents that have given up the ghost fabric-wise. You can find these frames in thrift stores. Heck, you can find the complete tents for ten bucks or so, and throw out the fabric.

I have been thinking of making up a gobar deck too. For the top and bottom, are single sheets of 3/4" ply all you need? Or is it better to make it thicker (and more rigid)?