Making kerfed linings with the BobCutter - video!

The sides of the guitars are really thin - just 3/32". So to glue the top and back to them, there are hundreds of tiny glue blocks around the perimeter of sides. They are triangular in section, about 1/4" wide and 1/2" deep. For convenience in handling and gluing, these are made in strips connected by just a hair of wood - no more than 1/100" or so. As usual, Stewmac sells these ready made, but I went to Forest Products Associates this morning and bought a small board of basswood and made my own.

Here is a short strip of the finished product:

It needs a light fine sanding to remove fuzz - I don't think I'll do this until after the linings are glued to the sides - they'll just fall apart from handling if I try to do it now.

Here's the jig I used to allow me to semi-automate all those delicate cuts on the bandsaw. First I milled 8 36" tapered strips on the tablesaw. Then I made the jig, which consists of a sliding board running in the slot on the bandsaw's table top. On the board is a long trough, perfectly fitted to the strips, which slide from right to left as I cut them. I made a hinged tab which slips into each just-cut kerf, as I move the strip gradually left, ensuring that each slot is equidistant from the last. The block of wood clamped to the back of the table ensures that the blade's cut stops exactly where I want it too, and no further.  This video shows it in action:

Here's the result: about 24 feet of nicely cut kerfed linings, which is enough, I hope, for 2 guitars. It took about 2 hours on the bandsaw jig to cut all the kerfs, which is about the same amount of time it took to make the jig and rip the strips.  Tomorrow I bend the second set of sides.