Hi Gang!
This is part 1 of building a laminated goose flute, the glue-up.
First I wish to that those special people that have helped me along the way, Ed Glenn, Billy Hayes, Joe Kolter, Wade Carpenter, and all of you here on the forum who share your expertise and friendship. Without all your help I would still be making bowls...
So here goes:
The blank pieces, all numbered as they are cut off off the block, so I can match up the grain. Zebrawood and Claro Walnut Burl. General dimensions are 3 1/2 inches for the barrel, and 6 inches for the exhaust.
I drill the two big blanks on the lathe, 5/8 inch all the way through.
My vice set up for drilling the thin blocks, with sacrificial wood to drill into and avoid tearout..
My homemade internal bore sander. Just a 1/4 inch bolt with a slot cut in the end, chucked up in a #2 morse taper drill chuck. It is critical to go back and open up the bores on all the pieces so they fit very loosely during the glue-up as you will see.
5/8 inch steel rods used for the glue-up. I put them in my collet chuck and then sanded them down to around .610 so the slide easily through the bore. I made up a half a dozen of them from 4 to 7 inches long for multiple glue-ups. They are waxed so that the glue will not stick to them.
Lining up and matching the grain is critical, and here is how I go about it. Draw a line with pencil on the blank face across the grain and mark the outsides of the blank. This way you can line up everything during the glue-up and on the lathe later on.
Now TEST FIT the blanks on the metal rods. They should fit against each other flush without binding on the metal rods. If they do not, go back to the internal bore sander and open them up more until they have some wiggle room when on the rods. Check the grain of the pieces so you are sure you have them lined up correctly and write on the sides if you need to keep it straight during the rush of the glue-up.
Then the glue-up.
Apply a thin coat of glue to all surfaces, quickly. Slide on the first two pieces, line up the grain lines and twist them together back and forth slightly until the glue starts to tack up and "stick" in place. Then slide on the third piece and do the same. Get them lined up and hold them firmly until they tack in place, a couple of minutes sometimes.... You don't want them moving when you apply pressure with the clamps. Then clamp two opposite sides and tighten the clamps, then the other two clamps. I clamp them pretty tight, squeezing out most of the glue, because thin glue lines are the strongest...
After the glue has set for a couple of hours you can go back and drive the metal rods out of the blocks. I have a 3/4 inch hole in my workbench and I place the rod over the hole, take another rod and drive it out of the blank with a rubber hammer. Don't let the rods stay in the blanks until the glue is completly set or you will have a very hard time getting them out of the blanks, trust me I've been there....
Once the glue has cured for 24 hours or so, go back and sand with the internal bore sander and clean up all the glue on the inside of the bore.
In Part 2, I will turn the call all as one piece, using sacrificial wood on each end and a custom Webfoot Crush Lock flute mandrel.
It's all in the technique folks, it's not rocket science, just pay attention to detail and it works out....
All The Best!
Doug