Official Luthiers Forum!

I know there was a recent thread on closing the top using various methods including using a gobar deck.

Considering the gobar deck can also be used for holding top and back braces would you say a gobar deck is more or less a piece of equipment that you can't do without ?
J

I could do without it but honestly it is the least expensive clamping system around and I feel it is also one of the most efficient and is also very versatile for guitar making, especially when it comes to clamping braces and tops and backs to the rim set, and because of all this I choose to not be without one.

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All I can say is if you took mine away I would be a very unhappy builder. I use it for gluing braces, and installing tops and backs. It and radius dishes are a gift from the gods as far as I am concerned.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
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What Fred and Rod said.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

John: Have been building off and on since the 70's and have never used a go bar deck.It's not because I'm against them but rather I started out building without one and just kept on that way. Either way can work.
Tom

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A person who has never made a mistake has never made anything!!!

I love my go bar deck. I'd be unhappy if it were gone.

I've been away from my shop for almost a year, but I just finished a repair job on my kitchen table using cam cramps on the braces and spool cramps on the top and back. The whole time I was really missing my Go-Bar deck back in my shop. It just makes life easy. Maybe cause I'm used to it. You can still get the job done using other methods but the GBD is a piece of equipment I wouldn't want to be without.

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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 build without using a go-bar deck.

there are other ways to do everything.

-jd

I just wish someone would explain the etymology of the word "go-bar". but seriously, very usefull, very inexpensive. Goodwindkites.com for the bars and tips and ur local Borg for the rest.

Working on my first build. Debated for a month about the Go Bar Deck.

Now I am wondering what took me so long.

Tried gluing my first brace using some clamps and a caul. Needless to say after the 4th or 5th attempt at getting the placement correct I wiped off the glue and went to Lowes to get my parts!!!!!!!!

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Tim

I am convinced, one ordered from Stew Mac today

Many thanks

John

What they do when they slip sideways

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Now, I love our sponsors and all but......

You just lost the inexpensive part by buying from Stew Mac. The "hardware kit" they are selling costs about $15-20 max and the "go-bars" if you're looking for fibreglass rods can be had for about $1-2 a piece from a kite makers shop, including tips. With the Stew Mac "hardware kit" you still need to provide the plywood.

My go-bar deck is just part of my shop. The base is one of my work benches and the top is the underside of my "loft area". The go-bars are scarp hardwood flooring ripped on the table saw. This is as simple as it gets.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I am a recent Go Bar convert.

I am head over heels in love with this system!!-no more fumbling with cam clamps.

It definately takes me less time than clamps ,thus shortening my building cycle.

I don't have a seperate deck, I just extended the shelf over my bench and use that, Just like Rod Trues's set up in the previous post.

Great system, you can make your own deck (and go bars) from scratch, and it's very versatile.

Depending on what you're gluing, cawls are useful to protect the top of the piece being glued. you can put a dent in a top pretty easily with a go bar.

Also, don't underestimate the power of one of those fiberglass rods as it slips off the top, or other work surface, and shoots across the room, like a bolt from a crossbow.

Eye protection is not a bad idea...

Some people prefer them to other methods. Some don't. Need them or can you get by without one. The simple answer to the original question is Yes. You can get along just fine without one. There are several ways to do things they are used for, just as well if not better. So then it just is a matter of what you like and don't.

Clamping could be done other ways, but I really like the simplicity and speed of using the Go-Bar deck.

When gluing braces, you can get to every single spot imaginable and clamp with a go bar rod.

Love it. Wouldn't want to be without it.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

I LIKE it.

I bought pipes and flanges from the borg (Todd is right). Uh, I hesitate to bring this up since it points to my ever present ignorance, but do not use MDF for the top of your Go-Bar deck.

I wish the height of my Go-Bar deck was adjustable. I bought 72" rods from Goodwind Kites. I cut what I need with a dremel.

Mike

After the first go around with wooden go-bars I rebuilt my deck using 5/8" All-Thread so it would adjust. Works great. I put clear vinyl tubing around the All-Thread up to the point where I wanted the deck set for gluing braces so it makes a good reference and its saved a few dings in bodies and tops already. Its easy to reset the height for tops and backs. Now all my go-bars are 24" long so I get two out of each 48" kite rod.

Edit: Oh Yeah, the top and bottom of my deck are each 2 layers of 3/4" plywood glued together.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"