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View Full Version : My low tech copy carver



craigw
Nov-25-2014, 4:43pm
Here are some shots of my copy carver and using it to hog out the excess wood to come close to the final graduations that will help make this mandola top sing. There is still final shaping with chisels, finger planes and sanding blocks be done after this process but this does the heavy lifting that old arthritic hands don't like real well. A lot less mega doses of Motrin, huh? This carver is pretty simple in design and in the use of common materials. It is basically a Baltic birch box with piano hinges in each corner and another piano hinge that attaches the back side to a rolling carriage that allows it to swing from side to side and up and down. I had to construct a table with tracks (plumbing pipe) that the wheels (cooler pulleys) roll on smoothly. The wheels are connected to a 5/8" steel rod and run through pillow blocks which attach at each wheel to the carriage assembly.I had to fashion a mount for the 2 hp router and a corresponding stylus on side that follows the carving mold and tells the router where to do it's work. I usually make at least three incremental passes over the entire mold's outer profile then do hand work to smooth the top surface before hogging out the inner surface profile. Then its' over to the bench for fine shaping using thickness calipers to arrive at final plate graduations.

kjbllc
Nov-25-2014, 5:20pm
very clever!
I appreciate that kind of techno

craigw
Nov-25-2014, 5:51pm
I have a batch of two 2-point mandolas that I'm trying to get ready for WIntergrass in late February. Here's a shot of the wood sets I posted on another forum a couple days ago

Rob Zamites
Nov-25-2014, 6:14pm
Brilliant design!

amowry
Nov-25-2014, 6:19pm
Nice work Craig! it looks like it works well.

Dobe
Nov-25-2014, 6:19pm
If it works, the tech don't matter. Well done ! The pyramids were some low tech stuff too (I think ?)

craigw
Nov-25-2014, 7:11pm
I won't take credit for the design. I saw this posted on the internet 7-8 years ago as it was being used by a crafter who carved fish replicas. The simplicity and the ease of obtaining construction materials appealed to my frugality and I've been using it ever since. It is easy to use. I've used different cutters, settling mainly on either 7/16 ' or 1/2" flat bottom end mills with a slight radiused edge. Most in that variety are up cut and the problem with those is that on the end of the outward pass the cutter would tend to dive into the material (sucking itself in) and cut a little deeper than was desirable. I searched all over the internet and found some down cut end mills and that solved that problem. For the present mandola project a guitar maker friend who also taught wood working loaned me a 3/4" bowl cutting bit that has a neutral cut and seems to leave a smoother edge to the cut. I could be switched over to use one exclusively, Jury is out til I finish all these mandola plates. For the stylus, I use a nylon spacer you can find at either Lowe's or Home Depot and install it on the end of a section of drill stock with the corresponding size of the ID of the spacer. Its' placed in a common drill or drill press chuck you can also get at the hardware store and fashion a mount for it to attach to the front of the box dead center ahead of the carving mold.

Timbofood
Nov-25-2014, 7:17pm
Home built is good!you know exactly what goes where. When my brother and I built an adirondack guide boat(Blanchard design) we were too broke to afford a band saw so, we bought a kit, made hundreds of clamps and had a good time, you learn how to do things when you start making "different" projects.
Good for you Craig!

Michael Lewis
Nov-26-2014, 2:51am
Craig, what ever happened to Cliff's copy carver?

Austin Clark
Nov-26-2014, 9:03am
Nice work Craig. Looks solid!

Bill James
Nov-26-2014, 11:34am
"Craig, what ever happened to Cliff's copy carver?"

It was copped by Clyde from Cleveland along with the copper clappers.

Sorry couldn't resist, carry on.... :)

Nice work Craig

craigw
Nov-26-2014, 12:21pm
I never heard what happened to it Michael. I'll bet Dan Bernstein would know since he and Cliff had been working some together. (For the enlightenment of other readers, we are referring to Cliff Sergeant, noted builder of Loar inspired mandolins who passed a way a few years ago.)
Awwww Bill! But you did start my day off with a good laugh.

Michael Lewis
Nov-29-2014, 2:57am
It might be worthwhile to ask Ruth. I don't think Dan took it, he certainly isn't making mandolins.