: Hi John,
: Thanks for telling me the name of that technique, I've used the
: same for years for clamping for edge gluing, never heard that
: name. Though it's the same basic thing as a Spanish windlass,
: rope and sticks to tighten something.
: They're not really Spanish, everyone comes up with the idea at some
: point. :)

: Mike Savage
: South West Cork

Just quibbling, but:

'Spanish windlass' actually twists the cords to get tension.
The string and wedges definitely is a Spanish guitar building technique. German/French/American makers tended to use wedges working against the edge of the workpiece.
It's interesting that clamping techniques like this are probably more commonly used nowadays than in 'olden days', since with PVA glues you need clamping pressure for quite a while. Using traditional hide glue, most joints were often just 'rubbed' without clamping - hide glue grabs quite quickly. (Especially easy with fiddle soundboards and backs, as the workpiece is quite thick- glued before carving.)

I'm not Spanish, but am a sometimes-luthier. ;-)