guitar sanding vice

[Greg Martin]

I need to make a foam lined vise so I can securely scrape the rims.Have any of you made something similar ?? love to see pics. Here is one,I wonder how the crank really functions??

[Bryan Bear]

I have seen a few of these and they work well. I don't have much shop space and didn't want to have another free standing item to move around. I made something similar built into my bench. Essentially, I drilled a couple holes in the side of my bench and mounted the non crank side of some pipe clamps on the inside of the bench. I can slide the pipe clamps in when not in use (I do have the cranking parts of the clamps sticking out, if they are in teh way for something, I simply pull them all the way out and put them in the closet. I have wood slats lined with foam that go on either side of the body. When you clamp it down you are essentially squeezing the body (between the foam pieces) against the edge of the bench. I keep planing on making some guitar shaped padded planks similar tot he picture, but I never get around to it. Straight pieces seem to work fine, I move the body around a lot to get a good working angle anyway.

The pipe clamps are mounted wide enough that the body sits between them.

[Patrick Hanna]

I'm sure there are troji plans here on the forum somewhere. If not, I'm sure they can be googled up. I'm with Bryan on this one. I can see its usefulness. It would be a great item to have. But I only build when the mood strikes me and I have limited floor space in my shop. I improvise. However, if I were a pro, building all the time, I doubt I could get along very well without some version of this tool.

[Michael Lewis]

Since this was posted in the archtop section I assume that is what you intend using the 'vise' for. I caution you that applying force to the plates is risky. I suggest you configure something that holds the body along the rim where you can apply more pressure with less risk.

[Greg Martin]

hmmmm ! ok thinking cap back on. the goal of the "vise" fixture is to safely hold the body so scraping of the rims and or binding can be done . Michael your concern for putting to much pressure on top and back is a valid and concerning one. what if the foam was hollowed out to allow room for the arches??? Ok Im sort of stuck on this right now, Im open to suggestions. got pics ????

[Bob Gramann]

The Carruth scraper, available from StewMac, is quite easy to work one-handed leaving the other hand free to hold the instrument. Since getting one, I've never had to clamp the guitar to scrape the sides or the bindings. For some operations (like sanding the fretboard level when it is on the guitar before fretting), I do find it convenient to clamp the guitar. I made a vacuum clamp using a piece of wood and some weather stripping. It doesn't work on unfinished porous woods like mahogany or walnut. It will clamp the guitar horizontally to the table.

[Michael Lewis]

You shouldn't need to grip a guitar tightly enough to cause damage, usually. Do figure out how to hold the guitar body along the edges, and more pressure can be applied to the end blocks but not right next to them where the top andback plates are not supported. Be careful with any padding you choose as it can become contaminated with dust of various kinds and cause marks on bare wood. Rosewood and ebony dusts are prime 'soilers'.

My 'holder' is The Apprentice, designed and made by Bill Schmidt some twenty years ago. It is mostly used for holding instruments flat but can accommodate holding them on edge.

[Greg Martin]

Since Ive mostly done electrics over the years I made a version of the stewmac/ neck jig, which works well , mostly for neck work .It does what it was designed to to but man is it a space hog ,Im thinking about modifying it to be like the Apprentice rig, but thats for another time, I really need a fixture to hold the archtop to work the rims. Ive figured how to take the floor stand unit with foam and build it as a bench mount unit,toattach to my festool mft table and instead of a crank Ill use a flat bunge strap to apply just the correct pressure between the very soft foam I picked up. Man foam aint cheap any more !!

[Dave Stewart]

I've used a simple leg vice on my bench for decades (basically just a pipe clamp through the bench leg), which allows me to use it as a troji (with 4" removable foam pads either side) or a mount for the Benedetto type holding jig.

body jig 1.jpg (31.36 KiB) Viewed 16491 times

[Steven Smith]

I've got a troji in my shop just like the one in the photo. I find it very useful and never felt even close to damaging a plate on an acoustic when clamping it although that might be a concern with an archtop, I haven't tried one. One thing I did change is the handle on the clamp; it sticks out more than I like in my small shop so I replaced it with one of those 2" diameter jig knobs. I find the troji most useful for scraping bindings, neck flossing, sanding sides, and installing tail grafts. i.e. pretty much anything that requires work on the sides. The Carruth scrapers are great, I have two of them so far, and, IME, they work even better when you don't have to hold on to the guitar. I think a bench mounted unit would be fine too or anything that can clamp the guitar sideways although I like it that I can move the troji over by my downdraft table when I do my initial sanding on the sides with a pneumatic drum sander. As always, different strokes for different folks and you must find out what works best for you.

[Craig Bumgarner]

Here's my vise, homemade of course.

It attaches to my bench with two bar clamps on either end. The black handles vise screws are Jorgensen 6700 Press Screws (~$15/ea.). The clamping pads have a piece of 1/2" foam for protection and simply slip over the rails. The pads fit snug enough not to fall off when carried to and from the bench, but free enough to slide as needed. The clamp takes 30 seconds to set up or remove from the bench as needed. Works fine with arched plates, see picture. Works good for sanding sides and bindings. Good for working the neck joint and tail inlays. Also works good for holding the neck in a vertical position for working the heel. Good solution if you are short on space like I am.

[Patrick Hanna]

That's a nice idea, Craig.

[Greg McKnight]

If you have a workmate or something similar, here is an idea for you:



I plan on making one of these soon.

[Greg Martin]

dave, is the leg vice adjustable by adjusting the pipe clamp as normal from under the bench? could you post a pic? Ive always liked the idea of a leg vice but the build of a proper bench is to time consuming, your version seems very doable. I also like your body support jig mainly because it can easliy be stowed away . thanks

[Dave Stewart]

Greg, yes the pipe just goes through an elongated hole in the bench leg, with the "backer" half of the pipe clamp fixed to the backside of the leg and adjusts like a normal pipe clamp (sorry, no pics). The other requirement is the notched (1/4" alum.) foot operated "comb" at the bottom. A slot in the comb falls over a large pin in the bench leg bottom for gross adjustment. (Google leg vises & you'll see what I mean.)

[Pat Foster]

Sylvan Wells showed a vise-like thing on his web site like one I saw in a Fine Woodworking book about workbenches, if I recall. It uses pipe clamps like Craig's, but is mounted to the skirt of my bench with pipe flanges. I used 1/4" plywood covered with carpet for the jaws so the would flex, exerting less force on the arched backs, and more on the edges. It's been 10 nyears, and I'm still satisfied with it.

Pat

[Greg Martin]

Thanks for the Wells guitar site. he has one of the best informational sites Ive seen a treasue trove of great pics and articles. Ive been drooling on his shop layout all morning,and the guitar stations are genius !!