Question About Cutting Forbon

[Norcal_GIT_r]

I know alot of you guys use routers for cutting forbon.
I was wondering, do you know if a scroll saw like these
http://www.grizzly.com/products/cate...spx?key=560040
would cut forbon?

Thanks for your help.

[Pep]

It will work but I think you will find it hard to get a perfect looking product. I guess you could use a sander afterwards to touch up the peices. You might end up going through blades pretty quickly. What I am doing now is using a bandsaw to rough-cut the forbon and then using a router (on a table) to do the actual shaping. I thought it was pretty scary at first using the router but after making a custom throat plate out of plexiglass and making templates that keep my hands out of the danger zone I am MUCH happier. The great part is that you can do a full set of tops or bottoms at the same time rather than having to shape each one individually. I got my setup for relatively low $ as well. Router + table = $100 @ home depot. Bandsaw = $140 @ sears. Also drillpress for $40 at harbour freight. Nothing fancy about these tools but they all work well for what I use them for.

Previously I was rough cutting the forbon using a hacksaw then shaping it on a belt sander. It was messy and time consuming. Now it is just messy.

[Norcal_GIT_r]

Thanks Pep for the reply.
I'm really hesistant too get a router. I'm not a wood worker and I really want to keep my fingers.
I was hoping someone knew of a saw or other cutting tool I could use too cut forbon.

I was planning on get getting a belt/disc type sander to clean the edges and do final shaping. If been doing cuts with tin shears, but it breaks the forbon away more then cuts it.

Any other suggestions?

[Pep]

If you are totally opposed to the router, here is another gizmo that David pointed out in another thread.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=257

It's called a robosander. I've never used one but by the looks of it it will do the same thing as a flush-cut router bit. You would need a drill press for it.

As far as the scrollsaw is concerned, I would highly recommend a bandsaw over it. The blades last MUCH longer and you can use it for lots of things like making templates and such. Here's the one I got:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

It's not a fancy one by any means but I am impressed with the build quality and most importantly it cuts straight and has enough power for light and medium duty cutting. If you get the blade pack with it you get 3 different sizes for different types of cutting.

The belt/disc sander works fine. I have a ryobi combo for big jobs but I got one of these to help make templates and do some misc light shaping:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=43749

It is low power but works fine for forbon and plexiglass.

[David Schwab]

If you are totally opposed to the router, here is another gizmo that David pointed out in another thread.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=257

It's called a robosander. I've never used one but by the looks of it it will do the same thing as a flush-cut router bit. You would need a drill press for it.

I have a Robosander (not sure which David you were referring to!) Its a very handy tool. The key to using something like this, just as with a router is to make a template of the bobbin/flatwork. This would be the exact shape and size as the forbon piece you are going to make, but be made out of something like plywood... usually 1/4 to 1/2 thick. The router or sanding drum follows that pattern. This is better than trying to cut them out by hand using a scroll saw, because the edges will be nice and straight.

I recently made a pickup using just the robosander as a sanding drum (no pattern) and doing it all freehand. I got the sides straight with some sandpaper on a flat board. I would want to do it all the time, but it came out well.

I don't find routers to be dangerous at all, but it's in the way you use them. You obviously don't want to have to hold a small part in your hand while cutting it out! If you are using a hand held router, your fingers are up above the bit, holding the router. Your work piece has to be secured to the pattern, which needs to be on a large base, which in turn would be secured to your work bench. Using it this way, there's very little change on harming yourself while routing.

The part where people have accidents is in not unplugging power tools when changing bits! The other area for problems is not coming up with a safe method to work on something.

You can also use a router table, and once again the key to safety is making a jig to hold the work-piece, while keeping your fingers at a safe distance.

Forbon would probably work well with the Robosander. You would basically do the same thing, as far as making a pattern. In my experience the bearing on the Robosander is not quite the same size as he sanding drums, so it shapes things a bit larger. So always do some tests first to make sure everything coms out the right size.

I would also go and look for some wood working books having to do with patterns and such. They are using full of good ideas. When I started building guitars I new very little about wood working, but I got books and videos, and even though I wasn't making chairs and stuff like that, I got a lot of good ideas for making the stuff I wanted to make.

A third method, and one I think Fender used, is to stamp out the flatwork. You'd need an arbor press, and have to make a die. It's safer than the router method, but a lot more work to get set up!

Manufacturing things is never simple, but with some planning it's not too hard either.

[Stan H]

As far as the scrollsaw is concerned, I would highly recommend a bandsaw over it. The blades last MUCH longer and you can use it for lots of things like making templates and such. Here's the one I got:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes.

On sale thru today too, thanks for the link!! I just ordered it.

[QUOTE=David Schwab;11852]A third method, and one I think Fender used, is to stamp out the flatwork. You'd need an arbor press, and have to make a die. It's safer than the router method, but a lot more work to get set up![QUOTE]

How would you make a die?

Stan

[kevinT]

the price of tooling is always astronomical. maybe one economical and creative way to do it is to create a cookie cutter type aparatus out of sheet metal and rig it to the the arbor press.

you can get an arbor press for cheap. They are also good for inserting slugs into bobbins.

here are a few.
http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104...&Go.x=9&Go.y=5

[Stan H]

Yeah, I've got a couple of arbor presses. Just cant figure out a good way to make dies. Guess that's the hard part...

Stan

[David Schwab]

the price of tooling is always astronomical. maybe one economical and creative way to do it is to create a cookie cutter type aparatus out of sheet metal and rig it to the the arbor press.

That was my idea too.... make an outline of your flat work from thin sheet metal and use it as you would a cookie cutter on the arbor press.

This is essentially how they die-cut printed material too. Just a bent piece of sheet metal.

[DoctorX]

how to make punches and dies...

First....get a Whitney 91 punch, it is a 10 ton (TEN ton) hand operated punch press, bench mounted. Cuts through 3/32" forbon like a hot knife through butter. They weigh about 90 pounds and don't cost too much when you can find them. I bought 2 for $100.00 each.

Cut forbon into strips the short width of the finished piece (about .98" or whatever it is).

Create trimming and parting dies to punch the shape out of the strip. The width of the strip takes care of two sides of the finished piece. You have to punch only the other two sides.

In all cases, the sides of the forbon pieces (strat and tele top and bottom) are symmetrical.

You create the dies out of sections of tool steel bolted together. The punch portions you create out of tool steel mounted in a carrier.

You create the punch with a degree of "shear" so the full 10 tons is concentrated on a portion of the punch as it travels down through the material...NOT on the whole blank at the same time. Think large paper cutter.

You can punch 1/4 in holes in thick forbon with a good hole puncher. Use the same principles to design a multiple hole puncher using a Whitney 91 punch for power.

What you have to figure out is how to exactly shape and grind the punch and die to provide the proper clearance to produce the blank to the size you want it.

Obtain and figure out how to use a surface grinder. Without it your efforts may well be futile. With it, you can make just about anything you will need, punch, die and mold-wise.

I have given you a boat load of ideas. The rest you will have to figure out. No more hints. This is the basis of why the punches and dies cost so much to have made for each part you need to make. They are built to last and be maintained by a tool and die maker.

I have mentioned sources of information on these forums before.

DoctorX