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Jigs & Tools

Hands-on with the Shaper Origin!

When I was first searching for a CNC to add to my shop, I ran across an odd tool called the Shaper Origin. The tool was in essence a self-correcting router that works like a hand-held CNC machine. I spent some time watching the videos on their site and reading through the blog. It was … Continue reading »

Categories: Jigs & Tools, Woodworking | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

First Impressions: Stepcraft-2/600 CNC

It started innocently enough. The woman who was doing engraving work on my guitars was suddenly out of business. When I started searching the web for alternatives, I was presented with dozens of results for engraving machines and very few for services. This got me thinking that I could maybe just do it myself — buy … Continue reading »

Categories: Jigs & Tools, Guitar Building, Luthiery, Woodworking | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Simple Machine Shop Upgrade

I love my shop. The power tools, the hand tools, the padded luthier workbench, and the integrated dust collection. Especially the dust collection. One point of frustration however, is the relatively limited storage space. And so I’ve had to find spaces in every crevice and corner, and install shelving and hooks around the wood-paneled walls. … Continue reading »

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Starting the Kimball Dulcimer

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Building a Mountain Dulcimer

After finishing up the “Back to Basics” dulcimer, I took a few shop days to prepare for the next build. This time was spent building a couple keys jigs/fixtures that I was lacking. Something I knew I wanted for the next build (and future guitar builds) was some spool clamps. If you’re not familiar, spool clamps are essentially … Continue reading »

Categories: Uncategorized, Woodworking, Jigs & Tools, Guitar Building | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Some Long Overdue Shop Upgrades

Although I’m rather anxious to make progress on the acoustic guitar project, the recent departure of a close family friend caused me to shift gears briefly to build them a going away present. During the glue-up process, I was frustrated by the lack of suitable bench space. My old glue up table was a $50 … Continue reading »

Categories: Remodeling, Woodworking, Workshop Addition, Jigs & Tools | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Couple Minor Shop Enhancements

Over the last couple months things in the shop have been fairly quiet…mainly due to things in the house being more noisy! Of course, our now 5-month-old son Nathan’s an absolute joy and easily the least-demanding baby of the three. This weekend I snuck away for a bit to put the finishing touches on my … Continue reading »

Categories: Workshop Addition, Jigs & Tools | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shark Pole

This past Christmas, Santa brought me a Shark Guard. I used it to complete Nathan’s crib,  but knew I’d need to get it properly mounted before the next project. So I bought a 6′ length of 1″ square tube steel, a metal cutting blade for the jigsaw, and a bag ‘o 5/16 nuts, washers and … Continue reading »

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