Joining wood without leaving a visible seam (glue joint) is the pride of the instrument maker. My students learn how to use their tools to achieve the best joins possible, and we use various techniques and tools to accomplish this.

Joining a back

Chris joined his Indian rosewood back with a jig that is built similar to the traditional Spanish joining jig. It has various advantages over clamps, that make it possible to clamp quickly and with ideal distribution of clamping force, while keeping the glue joint accessible for assessment, cleanup and hydration/heating.