Friday, January 15, 2016

How to make a jig, for making bottleneck slides











I like playing slide blues guitar. As a result I wanted to make my own homemade bottlenecks. I made this jig out of 6mm birch plywood, a few rubber casters, metal corners and a glass cutter.

First of all I made a few cuts on my table saw. I made the cross cuts using my sled.

I dry fitted the pieces and marked the basic shape of the side corners. I cut the corners on my bandsaw.

To straighten the corners a little I used my block plane.

I then glued and nailed the back piece of my jig.

I found the center of my base and screwed 6 rubber casters in place.

I then added a metal corner. I clamp the glass cutter to the corner, in order to score the bottle’s neck
evenly.

Now I am ready to cut. I position the bottle cutter and the bottle itself, at the point I want my glass to break. I then secure the back of my bottle using the jig’s back and a clamp.

I carefully turn the bottle to score it’s neck.

I then use a candle to heat the glass around the neck.  After that I cool the neck with water. After repeating that process a few times the bottleneck comes off pretty easy with a gentle hit.

To prevent myself from cutting I wet sand the bottleneck with 120 grit sandpaper.


At this point I should be ready for some blues!

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