Stewart-MacDonaldEverything for building and repairing stringed instruments!
Your order cart Your order | Account | Saved list
Sign in
Email
800-848-2273, 9AM-6PM EST, M-F
Home Free catalog Quick order International Customer service

Home : Tools : Jigs : Go-bar Clamping System

Fast, efficient clamping for braces, soundboards and backs

Go-bar Clamping System


Read 9 Reviews   |   Write a Review

Go-bar clamping is a popular technique for gluing guitar braces, soundboards and lots more. This is a fast way to hold all sorts of shapes that otherwise are really tricky to glue.

Strong flexible "go-bars" are placed under tension between the top of the go-bar deck and the wood being clamped. Setup is simpler and much faster than using standard clamps, and clamping pressure is more uniform.

We offer components, sets and instructions to easily build your own go-bar system, including radiused concave dishes for maintaining accurate guitar soundboard and back curvature.

See details below

Email a friend
Go-bar Clamping System
 
  Item# Description In stock Price Quantity
4731 Complete kit for Martin guitar
  • Hardware kit
  • 2 dishes
  • 25 go-bars
  • 2 sanding discs

Yes
$456.52

4732 Complete kit for modern guitar
  • Hardware kit
  • 2 dishes
  • 25 go-bars
  • 2 sanding discs

Yes
$456.52

4733 Hardware kit Yes
$106.90

4734 Go-bar, 24" Yes
$4.90
25 or more $3.72  

6086 Dish for back, 15-foot radius Yes
$94.66

6087 Dish for back, 20-foot radius Yes
$94.66

6088 Dish for soundboard, 28-foot radius Yes
$94.66

6089 Dish for soundboard, 40-foot radius Yes
$94.66

6085 Sanding disc, 24" Yes
$33.65


Selected currency  
 
 









 Processing...






Related items

Guitar Brace Chisel



Uncarved Guitar Braces



Shaped Dreadnought Brace Sets



Dreadnought Sitka Spruce Soundboard



Rosewood for Dreadnought Guitar



Guitar Brace Chisel
Uncarved Guitar Braces
Shaped Dreadnought Brace Sets
Dreadnought Sitka Spruce Soundboard
Rosewood for Dreadnought Guitar



Details
 Pictures
Instructions


"Gluing braces on tops and backs used to be a slow process. One session used to take me two hours, but with go-bars it's less than twenty minutes. I build a dozen or more acoustic guitars a year in my home shop. I couldn't build that many in my limited spare time without using go-bars."
— Todd Sams, StewMac production manager

Complete Kit
  • Two concave radiused dishes, for soundboard and back:
    The set for Martin includes 40-ft. radius soundboard and 15-ft. radius back dishes
    The modern set includes 28-ft. radius soundboard and 20-ft. radius back dishes
  • Deck hardware kit with assembly instructions (you provide the plywood)
  • 25 fiberglass go-bars
  • Two 50-grit self-adhesive sanding discs

Go-bar Deck Hardware Kit
Our set of metal posts and hardware for making a sturdy go-bar deck. We provide complete instructions; you provide the plywood top and base.

Go-bars
Made of rugged flexible fiberglass, 24" x 1/2" x 5/16" (609.60mm x 12.70mm x 7.94mm). Sold individually.

Concave Radiused Dishes hold guitar braces, soundboards and backs in the correct curvature for gluing in the go-bar deck, and can be used without the deck for sanding braces.



They're precisely CNC-machined from rigid fiberboard for years of use. Dimensions are 23" x 20" x 1" (584mm x 508mm x 25mm). Available radii include:
15-foot radius for Martin backs
20-foot radius for modern guitar backs
28-foot radius for modern guitar soundboards
40-foot radius for Martin soundboards

Sanding Disc for Radiused Dishes: Add a self-adhesive sanding disc to your dish for easy non-slip clamping, and for sanding guitar braces accurately. 24" diameter, 50-grit. Color may vary.

Use the Go-Bar Clamping System when sanding and gluing braces for our Acoustic Guitar Kit. The 20-foot deck is recommended for the guitar back. The 28-foot radius dish can be used for the soundboard.

/\ Top of product page
 Ratings and reviews
Go-bar Clamping System
Go-bar Clamping System
 
4.5 out of 5 stars
Based on 9 ratings Write a Review
Sort reviews by
Displaying 1 – 9
5 4-07-2013
Big time saver

This is a great and sturdy clamping system! A huge time saver!

Werner Bessinger  Pretoria, South Africa Read my reviews (2)
Customer supplied image for review
5 9-02-2012
Not Just For Building

This tool is obviously great for gluing bracing on tops and backs but don't overlook it's use in repair work. I can't count the times I've said "how the heck am I gonna clamp this?" only to look across the shop to the go-bar deck. The most recent "aha" moment came when I needed to clamp a bridge on a very shallow body acoustic electric that had a tiny soundhole in the upper bout. There was no way to get any clamp inside but the go-bars made short work of it.

Bill Meyer/Tecolote Guitar Works  Prescott, Arizona Read my reviews (5)
5 8-09-2012
Very study!

The StewMac go bar deck is sturdy and substantial, with the best go bars available. I prefer it to my vacuum system!

Roger Sadowsky  NY, NY Read my reviews (4)
2 6-08-2012
to be perfected

Radius disks are very well done but the radius choice available is poor, expecially if you are also a classical guitar builder. Adding 10' and 12' radius for backs and 18' and 24' radius for tops would really help. Also the sandpaper disk has a very rough grit: it works fast but it is way too rough. One needs something to finish the work. a #80 or even #100 grit would help doing a cleaner work

Ciro Marzio  Napoli - Italy Read my reviews (12)
5 4-12-2012
Great Bars

I was initially going to make go bars from dowel's, but decided to go with these and glad I'm did, they will most likely be around for a long time. They're well made and worth every bit of what they cost.

Maysey  San Bernardino, California Read my reviews (3)
Customer supplied image for review
5 8-16-2011
Awesome Result

Finally put all the parts together and positioned the deck on a lazy susan to allow better access to all the sides of the deck. All worked beautifully and have to say I'm very happy with the result.

GavinB  Perth, Australia Read my reviews (27)
Customer supplied image for review
5 7-17-2011
radius dish

I purchased a 20ft and a 28ft radius dish from Stewmac a great product that takes away a lot of the guess work, and an item that is impossible to buy in the u.k. I wish Stewmac had a u.k branch.

Rob the luthier  Scotland Read my reviews (7)
Customer supplied image for review
5 12-11-2010
24" Sanding Disc

After just completing Kent Everett's "The Fine Art of Guitar" construction class, in October of this year, I realized how important it was to have the 50 grit sanding discs attached to my radius dishes. The time in radiusing the kerfing/sides, braces, bridge plate, bridge, etc. has been cut tremendously and the accuracy of the required area of the radius has been greatly improved.

Geary--GR Guitars  Flagstaff, AZ USA Read my reviews (3)
5 9-21-2010
Go bars

Your rectangular go bars are far better than the round ones which rotate and twist. LR

Randolph Guitars  Welch,OK Read my reviews (2)
Displaying 1 – 9 /\ Top of Reviews


Shown on page 23 of our latest catalog.
Select your items, then click ADD to order

To add items to your order, select the check box next to the item you want. You can edit the quantity you wish to purchase here, or in Your Order.

Select your items, then click Save for later

To add items to your saved list, select the check boxes next to the items you want. You can edit the quantity you wish to save here, or in your Saved List.


Toll-free order line:   800-848-2273   9am-6pm Eastern Time, M-F



Your order | Your account | Trade Secrets E-mail Newsletter
Home | Free catalog | Catalog Quick Order | International | Customer service
Our guarantee | Shipping | Security & Privacy | Contact us
Site map | About Us | Employment
© Copyright 2013 Stewart-MacDonald
Your shopping is secure with VeriSign! Trusted Commerce