Guitar holding jigs for spray finishing [Pictures] - created 11-03-2008
parker, jeff - 11/03/2008.16:55:09
I am pretty new to guitar finishing and am wondering how other people do some of the common things. I have a couple of classical guitars to spray and wonder if it is worth making a jig that would allow you to spray them flat and allow them to dry for a bit before hanging them up to dry. Or do most people just hold in one hand and spray with the other. I watched a stewmac video the other day and saw both. I am planning on using nitro for the first time with a hvlp sprayer. I did not know whether to put this in finishes or jigs.
I'm not fond of hand holding while spraying, because you'll get as much on your hand and arm(hopefully well protected) as the part itself.
I set up my booth so the guitar bodies lay flat, and can be rotated. a simply screw hook a each end will do(if you use a bolt on neck), or, as I do here, a block is bolted via the neck's bolt holes. A clamp holds the hook at the tail end, and I can spin the body around with my left hand. at the end of a coat, I always spin the body so the top faces the floor; tis way, if there's any dust or insects around, it/they won't land on the top. Dust specs dissapear in the darker woods much more than they do on light spruce, where they stick out like sore thumbs.
That is great very simple. The guitar is awesome. I see a fire extinguisher in the corner a reminder I need to get one before i use my booth. Thank you
I've been spraying various instruments, held in my (protected) left hand by some sort of handle for 20 years or so. It's much faster for me to be able to rotated the piece and spray all sides, then hang it back up and grab the next one.
Mario, have I seen the wood in that guitar before?
Jeff, I made this "guitar rotiserie" using a conveyor wheel I had laying around. The wood wedge at the top left is used to lock the rotation, otherwise I can turn the guitar by moving the wheel around. I use 1/4-20 hanger bolts screwed into the ends of the "popsicle sticks" which are ripped down hunks of 2x4. With this I can hold it in my hand to spray, or use the rotiserie. I use the rotiserie almost always to prevent an accident though.
Of course I hadnt thought of Mario's idea to keep the top down, but will in the future. I hope to get that nice well used look to my booth like Mario's as well
Here is a clearer view of the spinner. The stick locks into a pocket that clamps the stick with screw knobs. Its very solid, so I dont have to worry about dropping an instrument.
Good idea, Henry.
I like the pressure pot too. I'm going to go back to a pressure pot one of these days (I used to use one). Having the weight of the finish material hanging on the wall rather than in your hand as you spray sure is nice, and you can spray -so much faster- without that fluid sloshing around in the gun developing bubbles.
Do you guys with these holding jigs have several of them in the finish room, or are you spraying only one instrument at a time?
Mario, have I seen the wood in that guitar before?
Doubtful, as I re-sawed this cocobolo myself
I can do 4 bodies at a time in my booth, if needed, but I usually shoot one at a time.
John, what are you using to hold a mandolin while spraying?
I turned some handles of hard maple and oak that fit in a tapered end pin hole. The handles are a little over an inch in diameter and taper down to end pin size. Snug the handle in the end pin hole, grab it in my left hand and spray away. I have drilled holes in the ends of the handles and I have little posts that I can fasten to a bench, shelf, whatever. I can slip the handle down over the post with the post in the hole in the handle and the mando sits there, upright with the finish curing.
BTW, if anyone wants to do something similar, you don't have to have a lathe, just get a scrap of wood (something hard and strong), taper it down until you can start it into a violin peg shaper and shape it to fit an end pin hole.
Ah, sucks to be me; I don't use a tapered end pin on my mandolins
These are some great ideas, I wonder if anyone has placed one of the rotisseries on a lazy susan. My spray booth is a little cramped and I think it might be hard to get around all sides.
Back when I had a job (working for a manufacturer) I had a turn table for banjo resonators. Each resonator sat in a little cradle that fit into the turn table (lazy Susan) Give it a spin and just hold the gun still and hose it down while you count revolutions, put that one back in the rack and grab the next one.
The method I use for spraying mandolins, seldom any more, is to hold the mandolin by the neck and spray the body and headstock. After all the spraying is done and cured I finish the neck shaft. It makes things so much easier to control this way, and usually the neck gets an oil finish any way, which is a separate process. Even if I were to use lacquer on the neck I would do it this way.
Michael, how do you "blend" from head to neck. (I'd like to try true-oil on a neck, while maintaining lacquer on head)
Or, maybe it's more sensible to true-oil the head as well?!?
No blend. clean and bare wood from the neck joint at the body, to the lower points of the headstock and along the veneer of the back of the headstock. This usually takes the form of a "V" where the veneer ends just under the nut (back of the neck). Basically, look for a break in the surface or some line to follow where you can make a clean job of it.
Thanks Michael. One important step closer. Think I'll try this on my next untinted neck.
Oh, I tint most maple necks before oiling . Make sure you rase the grain several times first, and let it dry thoroughly before moving to the next step.
Consider where the overspray would end up, and also consider what nearby objects will do to the spray pattern. It is hard to spray near a table top or nearby wall or into a corner on your work because of backpressure and eddys.
A 'bed of nails' and/or long triangular prism's (offcuts from 60 degree rips on table saw) will both raise the work and allow you to flip it upside down onto a soft surface just sprayed.
Sometimes the truck is awaiting and there is limited patience, so many organ parts get the hand held approach (with a quick drying clear topcoat), both for the part and a large piece of cardstock, more often there is time for an assistant to mask things. The boss is real good with a gun.
I took these ideas and came up with this jig. I cut a guitar handle so that it just slides into a two inch plastic tee. The weight of the guitar creates enough of a bind that it is easy to rotate yet will stay at any angle for sprayingThe jig is mounted to a two foot disk that is on a lazy susan. Ot was easy to spray with one hand and slowy turn the gutar to get the light just right to see the spray.
and another
I'd put a stop on the far end of your handle for safety's sake.
Ditto what the boss said.
Where's the exaust fans?
For my booth as I live in Alaska and have to deal with cold tempratures I built a box for the exhaust fan which is what the lazysusan is sitting on. I have a place to slide some foam between the fan and the out side louvers. the intake to the fan can be seen slightly in the first photo just under the lazy susan and holder. Clean air comes in from upper left so this is a down draft booth.
In using the jig, a stop did not seem to be needed to keep the guitar from sliding out but it would be undoubtably more prudent to add a c clamp in the future.
those are great pics,but what about spraying a set neck guitar when neck is already glued.Ive tried the hanging method and seem to get uneven coats.
Make a simple "rotisserie" to support the instrument. That way you can spray the whole thing without handling it, other than turning it over to gain access to the unsprayed areas.
Greg I sprayed a guitar with the neck attached this weekend. I took the plastic tee and sawed the top off with the band saw then sawed a piece off that about one inch long. I placed the guitar neck in the tee and taped the Tee piece on with masking tape. In between spraying the body I could spray the exposed parts of the neck, by sliding the guitar neck through the Tee. Since I was using lacquer it flashed fairly fast. I concentrated on the body and when that was done I hung the guitar by the head and put a few more coats on the neck. Not as nice as a rotiseree but I have not figured out how to make one on a classical guitar that does not have a jack hole or strap button on the lower bout. I can take a picture if I have not described this well.
pictures always work.Ive tried a dowel in the jack hole of the lespaul but it puts the head to far in the air
Cool jigs guys, thanks for sharing! As few guitars as I have to finish, I've just been hand holding on a handle attached through the neck bolt holes in the headblock, but I imagine that could lead to repetitive motion injury if I was doing a lot more work than I am.
As far as keeping dust out of the finish, I've had great luck with a little portable vinyl wardrobe that I bought at WalMart, one of the ones with a zippered door and an overhead hanger rack. Just spray the guitar and hang it inside to cure. I have a second one that I use in conjunction with a vaporizer for rehydrating cracks in repair applications prior to regluing.
And I would like to say that really is a lovely guitar there Mario! Is the binding snakewood? The figure really pops out beautifully!