Gypsy Pliage jig

[DJ Parker]

Hello Everyone.

This is just a shot of my final Gypsy guitar pliage jig. There are a few different and good ways to accomplish this task both before joining the top and after however, after fighting with wedges and clamps and split seams and what was a thrown together rig, I constructed a 2-layer deck out of an office desk top and cut a hinged section of the top layer with 'thru' holes and threaded inserts to create the adjustable angle. There is a 3/4"sq metal tube with threaded knobs at each end to line up the bend location which is heated with a heat gun. This metal is in direct contact with the top. The 'red' knobs max out at at 15 degrees and there is usually a little spring back. I join my tops before bending so I simply 'jump' over the seam with the gun so the glue joint is not directly heated thus no split (so far). I added a wood strip with a corked bottom and knobs to help hold things in place. I put some feet on the thing to raise it a bit.

This provides a very stable and even platform for bending.

As this is roughly a 2-foot square of double-layer desk-top, it is a bit heavy but quite sound and flat and stores on end easily.

Thank for looking.
DJ

[Barry Daniels]

Cool. Looks a bit like a sheet metal brake.