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8020 source

Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 2:43 pm
by Steve Sawyer
I've been following Alex Higgins' build journal for his Hossenfeffer bass, and noted that he built a version of Matt Vinson's neck jig - a DIY copy of the StewMac rig.

I'm the first guy to try to use wood to duplicate a tool or jig, but if you live anywhere near a scrap metal dealer, particularly if you're in an industrial area, you might want to stop in and poke around a bit.

There is a scrap dealer a couple of miles from my house (Haggerty Metals in Plymouth for anyone in the SE Michigan area), and they had a crate - about 3 feet on a side - filled with perfectly good 8020 aluminum extrusions, which is the same stuff that StewMac uses for their jig. Folks in industry will make a prototype or mockup out of 8020 then when it gets disassembled they just scrap the stuff. I picked up the pieces you see in the pic below along with the aluminum angle for $20 - they're scrap dealers, and they sell everything by the pound!!

Note the two double-wide pieces in the center are the same thing that StewMac uses for the long beam on their jig, and the smaller pieces are what are used for the "arms" to stabilize against the guitar body.
8020.jpeg

Re: 8020 source

Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 7:42 am
by Todd Stock
Excellent tip, Steve - there are 20 or so scrap dealers in a 50 mile radius of my shop...scrap 1/4" aluminum plate is another thing that comes in handy!

Re: 8020 source

Posted: Thu Mar 09, 2017 8:05 pm
by Bob Hammond
I'll have to mosey on over there to Haggerty from the East Side - HW.

Re: 8020 source

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 6:05 pm
by Mark Day
Hmmm. I'll have to remember that place. Looks like a good source for material for building your own CNC.