Lay flat fire hose

[nkforster]

Anyone have any offcuts of lay flat fire hose? 75mm wide+, 50cm long +? I'd like to make a clamp using one but don't really want to buy 30m of the stuff to do so.

[kiwigeo]

Check out local fire service....I'd say they often chuck hoses that have a few holes in them.

Anyone have any offcuts of lay flat fire hose? 75mm wide+, 50cm long +? I'd like to make a clamp using one but don't really want to buy 30m of the stuff to do so.

[nkforster]

Never thought of that!

[Mark McLean]

I am trying to work out how a fire hose becomes a clamp. Haven’t worked out the answer yet.

[kiwigeo]

Sounds like he's doing a binding job on a really huge guitar?

I am trying to work out how a fire hose becomes a clamp. Haven’t worked out the answer yet.

[nkforster]

Google "fire hose ski press."

[Mark McLean]

Ahhhh!
I take it that we are talking about laminated guitar sides? Or are you branching out into manufacture of water skis (alpine skiing not being too popular on the Gold Coast)?

[nkforster]

No, I laminate my sides in a press. That's sorted. This is for glueing fretboards and head veneers.

[Mark McLean]

OK. I hope you find one that suits. I do fingerboards with bicycle inner tubes.

[nkforster]

No luck at the fire station, but found this firm online:

http://www.southernhose.com.au/

They sell lay flat hose by the metre, which is ideal. A couple of metres' is about $60 inc postage.

In case you're wondering, the hose is to make a bladder press - ski makers use them to laminate skis. I plan to use one to clamp fretboards to necks and head veneers.

Here is what it looks like when you're making skis'.

[kiwigeo]

What's the advantage of this set up over a caul over the fretboard clamped to the neck with a bunch of cam clamps? Clean up of squeeze out would be easier but when I glue up my fretboards the neck sides aren't yet trimmed flush with the fretboard so squeeze out isnt an issue.

[nkforster]

The advantage is even pressure, and quicker. So less variation when I take the clamps off.

I clamp the fretboard on using 6mm locating pins, and the neck and fretboard match in size (cut off the same template) so clean up won't be an issue.

For glueing on head veneers it will a lot less like wrestling an octopus. Because I glue on the front and back veneers the same time, it takes a lot of clamps. Sometimes I get a slight gap at the fold of the rear veneer and have to remove it. This should avoid that. It should be quicker and more reliable.