# Instruments and Equipment > Builders and Repair >  DIY Copy carver

## Dan Voight

After a week and about 9000 trips to the hardware store, I came up with this. Overall it was fairly in expensive to build. I took some ideas from various sources including a youtube series on how to build a CNC from scratch. That's where I got the idea for the linear bearings anyways. Overall, the duplicator is incredibly tight and smooth. I'm really looking forward to implementing it in my building process. Now I just need to figure out how to secure the template and the workpiece to the surface. I also plan on using the same linear bearing concept to make an overhead router that rises and falls (up around the pesky scroll) with the workpiece. Let me know if you have any good ideas about holding the plates down.

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## sunburst

Since you've gone to all that trouble already, think about vacuum clamping for the plates and templates. That can be a DIY project too, it's quick and secure once it's built, plenty of other uses in the shop, no extra hardware to carve into by mistake, etc..

When you start making some serious chips, you may have to find a way to keep them away from your linear bearings.

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## Kip Carter

Dan,
Thanks a bunch!  There is a lot of good concepts you've put into this bad boy.  I'm guessing you plan on doing tops and backs with this. If so, two things that I'd be considering is in lieu of the suggestion John made (which I really like) is a clamping jig. The other thing I'd be kicking around is how to do the setup so that my reference piece and my work piece are positioned consistently after I turn over the pieces to do the other side.

Very neat concept.
Kip...

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## j. condino

Dan:

This fellow has one of the better systems I've seen for holding down your templates and keeping everything pretty accurate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1t2v0eBS3E

j.
www.condino.com

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## Dan Voight

I need to figure out how this guy secured his plates:

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## Kip Carter

HHG?  I went to the web site and looked around. I didn't see how they were holding the pieces in place.  but I like the jig he's come up with. I keep coming back to the same issue you do Dan....how's he holding that stuff in place?
Kip...

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## Jim Baker

Probably 2 sided tape.

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## sunburst

...or it could be hot melt. Then you can heat 'em up to get 'em loose.

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## Dan Voight

Double stick tape would work for sure. Stew mac's stuff is pretty sticky... almost too sticky.

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## Kip Carter

The Stew mac stuff ease up with a little heat?
Kip...

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## Dan Voight

or acetone

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## MikeEdgerton

How about hide glue?

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## Mike Black

My guess would be hide glue too.  Plus a paper liner between.  You can see it on the pattern and also on the piece at the end when he's doing the final passes.

Similar to Siminoff's removable back mandolin.

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## Michael Lewis

Look carefully at the pics in the video, you can see the heavy 'paper' between the base and the piece being carved.  I think it is glued in place and released later by splitting the paper.  Like Mario Proulx did with mandolin backs using a 'gasket' of brown paper shopping bags as a means to get the back off and back on for trial and error method of figuring out the bracing and graduations.  The paper is much easier to 'open' than gluing the plate directly to the base.  The double stick tape works but one has to be careful removing it as it grabs pretty well, and you could damage your plate in the removal process.  Carpet tape.  Figure out how much you need to hold the plate and don't use much more because it is a job to remove the plate after carving.  One more point is the carpet tape can creep if overstressed but dried glue won't.

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## P Josey

Here's a tutorial I came across a few years ago, from the Gemini site, for a jig to hold the template and the tonewood for copying. 

http://www.wood-carver.com/viola1.html

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## Skip Kelley

Dan, I made a carver from the copy-carver website. It is not as nice as yours!  :Smile:  It works though. I secure mine by screwing them to the table. I leave plenty of wood to drill indexing holes with which to screw through. I'm sure you will come up with a great idea. Nice work!

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## Stephen Perry

I know a maker of violins who used double stick without any issues for plates.  There are many different grabbiness tapes, I suppose he has his calibrated.  I'd use register holes and posts so I could flip and do the interior.  I'd probably do the interior first, actually.

I like the linear bearing carver - nice!

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## MikeEdgerton

He did the interior first in the video. There's a hole in the jig he's using to hold the blank and the pattern.

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## fredfrank

I notice he has a hand brake of some sort to keep the machine from moving in all directions at once. I wondered for a minute how he was able to make such straight-line passes withe each stroke.

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## Kip Carter

> He did the interior first in the video. There's a hole in the jig he's using to hold the blank and the pattern.


Mike I think your confusing the two illustrations.  The one you are refering to is the one provided by woodcarver at http://www.wood-carver.com/viola1.html.  The video from youtube up higher in the thread, shows no clamps and so we were trying to figure out exactly how the pieces were held.

I agree with the earlier comment that it must be glue/brown paper/glue.  Of course you can't tell it is HHG but could be.
Kip...

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## MikeEdgerton

You need to watch the video linked in message 4 and 5. I'm not confused at all.

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## Kip Carter

Mike??? Where do you see a clamp in the video in 4 & 5 (same video).  Yes clamps are used in the link above but I'm blind or your seeing things if you think it is in the video. (either or nether may be the case).

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## Bill Snyder

Kip, where did Mike say anything about seeing a clamp. He said they routed the inside first, which they did.

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## Kip Carter

He didn't say clamp but I missed what he was pointing out (carving the inside first) and mistook it for the technique that was being used to hold the pieces.... SEE I AM BLIND! LOL

Sorry to confuse the issue.  Fighting a bad sinus headache right now and I'm not functioning up to par.

Kip...

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## Chris Baird

Vacuum clamping is the way to go. More complicated to get going, but, so much easier after you are setup.

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## Kip Carter

Chris,
 How does vacuum clamping work? I would assume that if you're cutting f holes it would release the vacuum by breaking the surface or are you using select points to draw down the item onto the work surface?
Kip...

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## Chris Baird

Vacuum clamping works by establishing a seal around your part, vacuuming the air pressure out from below the part and the air pressure above pushes down on the part and holds it. The most basic setup includes a vacuum pump and a general grid style vacuum table (which can be made with a table saw). The grid table allows you to run your gasketing for various shapes.

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## Jim Hilburn

Double sticky works great. I gave up on all the screw-down methods and just go with the tape.
The vacuum idea is great if you have nothing but time an $ to throw at the problem. Not a shot, Chris, just how I would view it for my purposes.
I have 4 templates. in and out back and top. They all screw down. I have crosshairs on the table to align the plate to the carver. How you go about holding the plates and whether to begin with the inside or outside depends on what kind of rough plate you have. If it's a squared off billet then you can do the inside first so that when you flip it you can tape the rim to the flat table and do the outside. If you have wedges then you need to do the outside first and build a rim support jig so you can flip it to do the inside. Here's a picture of mine.
 An exception to the rule is when a supplier like Old Standard sends a wedge set thats so thick in the middle that once you run it through the drum sander (if you have one) you get enough of a flat surface to tape to the table so you can do the innards first.

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## hobbspal

this looks compelling.....http://www.copycarver.com/

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