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My father and I are about to starting our 4th build, and are still loading up on tools, and have yet to buy a thickness sander. There is a set of EIR on Allied that I would really like to buy, but Todd is unable to offer a thickness sanding service at this point. My question is, is there anybody in between California and Nebraska that I could pay to thickness a set of wood for me. I have not been able to find anybody locally that is able to do this for me. Thank you for any suggestions

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--Kyle Burner--

I think usualy you join the back set before sanding, find a cabinet or woodworking shop in your area,final thicknessing is subjective... Jody

General Industrial in Nashville sells Performax/Jet 10-20 sanders for VERY reasonable prices. They are on ebay. One fellow here called them after I got one for $450 and asked for the same price and they sold it to him!

You mileage may vary.

Mike

I agree with Mike - I am that other fellow . $450 for the Performax 10-20 is a great price - I love it.

Glenn

Howdy Kyle,
I live in Illinois. If you want to send it to me I'll thickness sand it to your specs at not cost.

PM me if you like

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

I'd be happy to do it for you too Kyle.

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jw ( o)===:::

Hi Glenn, did not forget your name, just repecting your privacy.

Kyle, you are missing the best part of building... shaping the wood. I love doing this task. Why do you think you are getting offers?

Oh, I forgot. You WILL need a dust collector. Cools the drum and gets rid of all that dust.

Glenn, I ordered that paper Ken Hodges was talking about from Klingspor (its blue). It is 10 times better then the stuff that comes with the sander. Just save the original strip as a template.

Mike

There's a tool called a safe-t-planer that works pretty well. I'm saving for a sander myself, but in the mean time, if you've already got a drill press, 50 bucks is relatively cheap. There's even a video on how to use it posted in the OLF right now. After safe-t-planing, 30-90 seconds of sanding gets you there.

Miek

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Mike Lindstrom

Rosewood usually planes easily. If you have a hand plane, problem solved.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks for the responses guys. I know that thickness sanding is an important part of the build, we are currently looking into what we will want to buy in the near future.

The safety planer looks like a slick set up might have to think about trying that also.

Chuck and Joe thank you for your offers I will be messaging you!

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--Kyle Burner--

You know Kyle, I have a 19 month old boy and I can't wait until he is bit older so that we can build together. Reading several post by you and your father here and at AGF really makes me feel warm.

I just hope my kid likes guitar or buildling one.

David

Kyle,

Zootman offers free thickness sanding on orders over fifty bucks...

Ray

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Guitar Building = Continuous Improvement Process

Learn to use a Wagner safety planer and well tuned hand plane. You won't regret the education. IRW and spruce plates are a breeze to do and you'll have more control over your results.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

What everyone said. All gave good advice. If I were in your situation, I'd search out a cabinet shop or a technical/trade school in my county, and I'd ask them if they would help me thickness my plates. I would offer to pay for the service. If you are lucky (as I once was) I expect you will make friends with a teacher or a cabinet builder who will be glad to share tips and help you in many ways as you go along. There really is a lot of merit in the Saf-T-Paner, too, and if you search through some other threads in this forum from the previous week, you'll find an instruction video clip series about using the tool in a drill press to thickness your own stock.