Vise on a Stick

by Harry Fleishman

Originally published in American Lutherie #143, 2021



I tend to work in terribly uncomfortable and physically damaging postures, thanks to the inevitable mismatch between where the work is, where it would be comfortable to work on it, how my body is shaped, and my inherent laziness. In spite of that, about thirty years ago I decided to design a jig that might help in a few types of work. These include neck shaping (where clamps tend to be in the way, and the work keeps needing to be moved), and bridge, saddle, and nut work (where I like to get it up closer to eye level).

As those of you who have read my articles in the past know, I started out when there were virtually no off-the-shelf jigs and tools for lutherie. To some modern luthiers that may seem like a deprivation; I believe there was a benefit to having to figure out how to make them. It made one more inventive, and for me, that carried over to my design work.