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I am currently working two jobs, and it pains me not having enough woodworking time. But I probably have 1-2 hours a day I could be getting something done on breaks and stuff. I am thinking about making a small work table that sits in sawhorse legs, has a dowel sticking up at the end (to hold/stop thin pieces while planing) and foam on the end so I can rest it against some part of my car. I just need it for chisel, saw etc, now, no power tools.

Anyone else doing this ? I have tried the portable workbenches, I think my idea might be better.
I am trying to finish a square-ish travel guitar before Christmas. I am building a new body for my headless 8 string multiscale neck.

Thanks.

I know a guy who built a guitar in his kitchen but it's quite ambitious to build one from your car on your breaks. You have lots of motivation and drive, kudos to you. Check out this device, it may be of some use.

The Work Mate.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER ... /202516382

Controlling RH may be a problem for some tasks.

Alex

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I vaguely remember reading an article back in the 1980's or maybe later, about an itinerant motorcycle riding guitar maker, seems he made nylon stringed instruments. Not sure I remember whether or not he made them from the back of the cycle...I'd say go for it... where there is a will there is (usually) a way......

I have a pickup with a cap on it. I have a sheet of plywood framed by 2X4's that can be slid out and supported on the tail gate and a saw horse and gives me a fairly large platform to work off of. I am usually doing some type of carpentry rather than lutherie and select the tools according to the job at hand.
Working out of a car might be a bit more challenging. And if you can only work for short periods of time you would want something that sets up and stores away quickly. Can you work out of your trunk?

Breaks? What breaks? Get a third job! Slacker.

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George :-)

That's pretty good, George. You darn near made me spit a sip of martini through my nose! The technical term for that phenomenon is "bad".

Okay, with regard to woodworking or instrument building in a car/truck, I am quite certain someone out here has tried it. I haven't. You will have plenty of problems to overcome, such as limited working space, lack of a stable bench, interruptions from curious onlookers, etc. etc. As has already been stated, relative humidity issues will be an enormous problem--perhaps one you had not considered. All that said, if you work on humidity-neutral days and find it possible to do accurate work in and around a small space, please post some process pictures here, because I'm certain a bunch of us will be interested in how you get it done. I will be. I will say quite frankly that I think you should limit your car activity to carving or something similar. I don't think you can do much else there. But maybe my negativity is getting the best of me here. I certainly wish you well and I'm actually pretty interested to see how you might pull this off! Best of luck to you!

Patrick

Someone here will likely remember the name of the woodworker who started his career building in a stairwell, with a heavy board for a bench. Hesh built his first several guitars in a bathroom, iirc. Point is that it can be done successfully.
Being a construction/home repair guy, I haul a lot of tools everywhere, all the time, and set up shop behind my truck wherever I need, and do hobby woodwork at home in a similar manner on weekends. Setting up/putting away is time consuming for me, and imho will likely be your big challenge if your estimated 1-2 hours/day isn't in fairly large blocks. I'd be interested in seeing your solutions to address that issue. Also, the humidity issue is real, and automobiles are terrible places to keep a guitar, whether a finished instrument or a work in progress. But all these can be solved, and you don't have to let them stop you. Good luck!

chris

Someday, my shop will be complete.
Someday, my shop will be complete.
Someday, my shop will be complete.
Someday, my shop will be complete.
Someday, my shop will be complete.
Someday, my shop will be complete.

Thanks all.
If I can at least do sawing and carving, that will help.
I did a harp guitar conversion (added 8 super trebles) in my bedroom, so I am used to working with constraints.
Currently I am driving a hatchback VW GTI. Maybe I will need to get another truck, sure would make this easier.
As far as humidity goes, I have found I can virtually eliminate humidity problems by making my tops much thicker.
Getting a piece of wood to clamp to is not such a big deal. I need to think about stabilizing it, for sawing.
I need to finished the braces on this project, and finish the box. Neck is done.

Sounds to me like you need one of these:

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013 ... nationals/

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If the rear seats fold down you might have enough space to make a sliding platform worthwhile. Being able to slide everything in and out quickly without having to do a lot of setup will make those short work times more bearable.

Keep in mind that interiors of vehicles tend to warm up and cause glued surfaces to come apart.

Doc

Good point. My first cigar box guitar had a maple neck with carbon fiber. I kept it in my car for two years. The only thing that slipped a little was the headstock, which was mounted at the bottom of the guitar.

Occasionally I ponder how to make a guitar without glue, to avoid the heat slip. Maybe using a lot of dowels. I don't know how to build with carbon fiber.

Ever consider a small box-trailer? Dedicated mobile shop. I have a 10' that I considered selling several times, until I got chased out of the house come spray time. Now its my dedicated spray room, weather conditions permitting.

Thanks. I don't own anything I would want to a hitch on. Maybe I need to rethink my vehicle choices.
I bought a 2x10 pine board this weekend and cut it to 36" so it just fits across the rear area of the hatch back.
I'm gonna put a couple dowel stops in and give that a try.

The dowel stop idea came from a wonderful article about building a lute using only period methods.
http://www.lutesociety.org/pages/building-lute-original-methods

Thousands and thousands of children have been made in the backseat of a car. I don't think a guitar would be harder then that. Lol


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Had to laugh. My boss and everyone vacated their offices and we are finally totally alone at the water plant. Stripping the old wax off the floor and getting everybody's leftover mess straightened out. Thought I'd make one a "workshop" in between where I store all the blueprints and maps.