laminated linings

[Michael Minton]

I’m now doing basswood or mahogany, 3 pieces, about 2.5 mm thick, which I prebend in my side bender (obviously, I’m shooting for stiffer sides). The first 2 are 15 mm tall, the last I do at 10 mm. I glue them in individually because I don’t want any gaps whatsoever (I mostly use “reinforced” clothespin type clamps and I don’t know if they have the mojo to do 3 at a time). I suppose by using a more powerful clamping method you could do 3 at a time (but I’d still worry about slippage). I glue them in the form, because I don’t want to take the chance of them changing the profile.

I use a 28 foot radius on the top, 15 on the back. Interestingly, I’ve found that that I don’t have to “pre-trim” them (a la Michael Bashkin’s technique) to get them to accommodate the radius, except maybe a tiny bit on the upper bout of the back that I trim off and it isn’t really noticeable.

[Michael Bashkin Bashkin Guitars]

Hi Ray:

I use solid linings and do a laminated glue up of three pieces in a male/female form, in about a 4″ width which is enough for one guitar. With accurate forms the linings fit the sides well and I am looking to increase the stiffness. The linings are full shaped and bent before they are attached to the sides. For me, I’ve found that inorder to have a consistent lining height, that shaping the back linings to match the taper and radius of the back makes for a precise fit. Others, like Michael, have not found this necessary or use 1-3 sections to get around this. I don’t think the species matters to much but I often use Cherry.

[Ray Cutler]

thank you both for the help. I came upon a Beau Hannam video and followed his method. I first bent the 8 total pieces using my Fox bender. I put the first laminate in unglued and then glued the next 3 pieces to the unglued one in order following the form of the body. after I had the four glued up I removed the set and will clean them up and put a roundover on the bottom edge then glue them in to the side. I hope my description makes sense. Mr. Bashkin I look forward to meeting you in September at MASW

[Michael Bashkin Bashkin Guitars]

Thats great. See you in September!

[David Lang]

Yes, I use 3 laminate layers glued up on a form same shape as interior of sides. I prebend each laminate layer on fox type bender before glue-up. After glue up I shape formed lining on a shaper and a 1/4” bit. Works great. Shaper part has a little pucker factor.

[James Huntley]

I use laminated sides, typically mahogany. I like to keep them on the thicker side (around .085”) getting it that thickness on a drum sander. Then bend them in a fox style bender followed by gluing in pairs of two (8 individual pieces in total for a guitar). For gluing I use titebond but have also used epoxy. Both work well, but titebond is less messy.