Go bars

[Newton Hunt]

A go bar is where gos go to drink.

You put it in place and go away.

They are often difficult so they make you go crazy.

Go bars are the sticks you see in pictures of old factories that go
from ceiling to work table and are sued as clamps.  The flexibility of
the wood (usually maple or hickory) is used to provide the pressure
needed to clamp a glue joint, like ribs and bridges onto soundboards
or veneering large surfaces where other types of clamping is not
possible.

The discussion is about go bars made of PVC pipes.  Unfortunately PVC
has a tendency to take s "set" when flexed for a period of time thus
reducing the pressure it can exert as a go bar.  What I do not know is
if it will loose it's flexibility over a period of time, that is if it
become weaker.  What we want here is the same qualities of a material
that makes good bows (for arrows).  Hickory and especially yew make
the best bows for long range flights.  Not having such wood the
Mongols used laminated wood and bone for small bows that were
incredibly effective at short range whereas the English longbow was
the most effective a longer ranges.

The force exerted by the PVC go bar should be measured by using a
bathroom scale, recorded and dated on each one and remeasured some
months later or after a few usages to keep a record of it
effectiveness over a period of time.  They should also be stored
horizontally to prevent them acquiring a curved "set".

COnsidering that each bar can exert 25 to 50 pounds it is good to know
how much each will exert and remember that the supports, both the
ceiling and the work surface must be strong enough to absorb several
hundreds of pounds of force.

Go bars can be of any size or length to suit the purpose.  I have seen
ship model builders use go bars as thin as a tooth pick but a little
longer to hickory bars about 1" in diameter and some 12' long for
piano soundboards.  Each according to it's purpose.

Now aren't you sorry you asked?

		Newton