Body Finishing - Handling body while finishing?

[Bass4scott]

Hey everyone. I am about ready to start a new project and don't know how to hold the body while finishing it. I have seen in some of the pictures that Kiesel/Carvin has mounted some sort of "handle" of wood or metal to the body at the neck pocket so that they aren't actually touching the body and have something to hang it while it dries. Has anyone else done this and what did you use?

[spudmunkey]

It can literally be any piece of strong-enough wood or flattened PVC pipe, and screwed directly to the guitar.

[Bass4scott]

Thanks Spudmonkey. That is kind of what I thought.

[Don]

I use a piece of scrap about 1-1/2-2" square and 18-24" long. I rounded off the "handle" end for comfort and drilled a hole in that end to attach a piece of wire or a coat hanger to hang the body while it dries. I mount it to the body with two screws through the neck mounting screw holes.
I have a similar piece for neck finishing.

[skully13a]

I just tied a piece of string thru the holes and that worked ok. I did mask the pocket off real well.
Well I guess I did tie off to two nails that I had stuck into the holes meh.

[kennym9898]

Latex glove help to keep the oil from your hands from getting on the guitar while working on it. Also keeps your hands cleaner. Most things we paint in the paint booth at my shop in at work, we suspend using a coat hanger. The coat hangers are hooked to a cable attached to the walls.

[grizzlyjohnson]

Hi guys, first post here but I wanted to chime in on this as I've tried the coat hanger thing. Anything that allows you to pick up the work piece without making the finish will work but on one of my first builds I hung it by a coat hanger and the hole the coat hanger was in got all tore up and enlarged from the weight of the body dangling off that one hole. Now I just cut a piece of wood to go in the neck pocket and tighten it with a couple appropriately sized deck screws.

[skully13a]

You definitely want to suspend, however you do it, from more than one hole. Spread the load and it won't enlarge the holes.