Duplicating Machine
My name is Chris Capozzoli, I have been a wood worker up here in the High Country since 2000. My passion for woodworking and music has led me to building guitars and custom stringed instruments. I have been an entrepreneur since 2010, after working for a top notch wood shop for ten years. I build custom furnishings, entry ways, and anything out of wood for people up here in the Boone area. I want to transition into building guitars full time. Building guitars is therapy for me. When I’m in my shop creating there is nothing that can distract or disrupt my mood. I have a great appreciation for making stringed instruments because “music makes the world go ‘round”. It also uses way less material than any piece of furniture or front door would. I am part of the forest stewardship council (FSC) and practice sustainable building. I use mostly reclaimed wood and new wood I buy only comes from suppliers that are FSC certified that practice sustainable harvesting. It hurts me to see the destruction of one of our planets biggest resources (trees). I love how making instruments takes such a small amount of wood. I could build 20 guitars with the wood I use to build one entry door. That is too big of a carbon foot print coming off my soul. My goal is to keep my foot print to a responsible small amount and guitar making will do that for me.
In order to build full time I need to set up my shop with equipment and machines to make my work time more efficient. I have designed a machine (the duplicator) to help me out with this. These machines are available on the market but they cost around $3000 or more. The machine I’ve designed will cost approximately $1200 to build. This tool will help me duplicate carved tops and backs for my guitars, basses, and mandolins from an original template that I’ll carve out by hand. I can consolidate my rough carving time from about eight hours down to one hour per top or back. And also be one hundred percent more consistent from instrument to instrument.
Most all guitar manufacturing shops have some type of duplicating or reproducing machine to speed up work time and to help keep consistency through out their product. Bigger shops use computer controlled (CNC) machines to reproduce their body stock. I am more of a traditionalist to this art so I want to keep the computers out of the equation for now. The second best thing is a manual duplicator.
The duplicating machine will consist of a 3/4 horse power router mounted to a carriage that manually moves along an X Y & Z access using linear bearings and hard settle tracks. I’ll have a local machine shop manufacture the carriage assembly out of steel for me. The router will come from Lowes hardware. The rest of the parts will come from an online company that supplies linear bearings and tracks for CNC machines (VXB.com). The whole assembly will sit on top of a four foot by seven foot work bench.
This machine is the next step in the process for me to build custom stringed instruments full time and represent Boone and the high country as a local artisan and luthier. I love this place and I love woodworking. I’m proud to call Boone home and I’m passionate about building guitars here in these hills.
This project will cost approximately $1200 to build.
My budget:
In order to build full time I need to set up my shop with equipment and machines to make my work time more efficient. I have designed a machine (the duplicator) to help me out with this. These machines are available on the market but they cost around $3000 or more. The machine I’ve designed will cost approximately $1200 to build. This tool will help me duplicate carved tops and backs for my guitars, basses, and mandolins from an original template that I’ll carve out by hand. I can consolidate my rough carving time from about eight hours down to one hour per top or back. And also be one hundred percent more consistent from instrument to instrument.
Most all guitar manufacturing shops have some type of duplicating or reproducing machine to speed up work time and to help keep consistency through out their product. Bigger shops use computer controlled (CNC) machines to reproduce their body stock. I am more of a traditionalist to this art so I want to keep the computers out of the equation for now. The second best thing is a manual duplicator.
The duplicating machine will consist of a 3/4 horse power router mounted to a carriage that manually moves along an X Y & Z access using linear bearings and hard settle tracks. I’ll have a local machine shop manufacture the carriage assembly out of steel for me. The router will come from Lowes hardware. The rest of the parts will come from an online company that supplies linear bearings and tracks for CNC machines (VXB.com). The whole assembly will sit on top of a four foot by seven foot work bench.
This machine is the next step in the process for me to build custom stringed instruments full time and represent Boone and the high country as a local artisan and luthier. I love this place and I love woodworking. I’m proud to call Boone home and I’m passionate about building guitars here in these hills.
This project will cost approximately $1200 to build.
My budget:
- 3/4 horse power router $180
- steel carriage assembly $175
- 20mm bearing twin block slide unit open linear x2 $47.37
- 20mm 60” rail guideway system linear motion x2 $157.49
- 1 1/2” shaft suport x2 $39.95
- 1 1/2” adjustable ball bushing (carriage slide) x2 $95.95
- 1 1/2” x 48” steel shaft (carriage shaft) $81.77
- 4- 1/2” x 2” x 4” aluminum stock $?
- 3/4” x 4’ x 8’ plywood x2 $40
- total approximate material cost $1198.29 + aluminum stock
