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Post by Alan J on Mar 24, 2024 16:38:54 GMT
Necking It!
This is going to be the first 12th fret to body guitar I've ever built, I am quite excited by the fact that the extra inch places the bridge in the centre of the soundboard, which is obviously the best place for it. I have to say that I am a sucker for a laminated neck, my first entry level Martin guitar had one and although I knew nothing about building them I knew it made them special. The thirteen pieces of wood, four African Mahogany, three European Ash and six Wenge when glued up give a rigidity to the neck block that almost eliminates warping or twisting. I will still fit a truss rod because, why not, but I reckon I could get away without it. Careful of Wenge by the way, the splinter are as sharp as needles... ask me how I know! The Laminates The Laminates in a Block The tricky part of making a laminated neck comes when lining up the different sections ready for the gluing. The headstock is sawn off at an angle of 10º, then flipped over and re-glued, this means that the widths of laminates on the right hand side of the guitar have to match the left hand side perfectly. Otherwise, you're out of the game! Scarf Joint Love those shavings, thinking of saving them up and adding to the rosewood ones for a special pot pourri ! Just to make life a little more complicated I thought I would add another couple of layers of lamination to the heel of the neck, a white/brown/white that mirrors the long stripe. I use a 6mm hole and dowel to keep the pieces in line while gluing. Neck Heel So the neck is all blocked up and the various bits have dried on the guitar body, its time to get back to that and put a dirty great hole in it! Neck BlockI will admit, I hope the final version is a bit less bulky! 
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Post by Alan J on Mar 30, 2024 19:06:11 GMT
 SoundboardI have had six sets of Engelmann Spruce in my stores for a while so I thought I should make use of one set on this build. It's a triple A, AAA, so I am expecting good things. I always prep my boards to the same length, width and thickness, that way I can measure their mass, their deflection under a fixed load and most importantly the tone. As luthiers know, it is important for the components to all sound musical in some way, for a soundboard musical means playing a note with a little sustain. This board's measurements are all within the tolerances of other builds.  JointedThese boards sounded best when sanded back to 2.76mm, I will leave it there for a bit and feather it after fitting. The RosetteThese are the centrepiece of most guitars, the range and the beauty of the ones that appear in this forum are absolutely top drawer. Most have one thing in common, they are all flat, built into the board and sanded back before braces are fitted. I decided to make mine a relief, I created a shape I like out of circles and will end up putting it onto the guitar at the same time I fit the bridge. This will inevitably created much more complication and work for myself. In addition I have changed the shape of the soundhole too, it is smaller by 8cm squares, which is why I have had to put a soyndport in the side of the guitar. I'm not so taken with the design yet, its starting to remind me of Jimmy Edward's moustache!!!!  The BracingInspired by Francis on his Flame Jarrah build I too have opted for Gore/Gillet's falcate design. Instinctively it makes a lot of sense, I like the balance, the laminations, the pre-determination to drill holes for the bridge pins, I can't quite get my head around the carbon fibre. Francis has been a great help with this and I'm convinced, but not quite enough to cover my soundboard in Epoxy Resin.  The SoundboardSo it is complete! Time to test the board by tapping and listening to its musicality . I am hoping for a range of tones and some good sustain, something musical. the range of tones is there, excellent but the half life of the note is measured could only be measured in milliseconds or thuds. There is no way on our great green earth that this board is going to be attached to this guitar! I don't know why it is so bad, but it really is completely underwhelming. Another search through my stores and I find some Western Red Cedar, the tap tones are to die for, it is easily as good as the Indian Rosewood. Time to start again. |
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Post by Alan J on Mar 31, 2024 17:50:31 GMT
Back OnForgot to post photos of the back and sides. Still needs a good sanding though Two points to note: Firstly the side struts, there are 18 of the little fellas, about 8 more than normal, it works out when you gouge out a 1” channel for an maple inlay you can’t have everything your own way!!! For a maths teacher my numbers are awful. It was important to me that the outside stripes on the back were the same width as the others with the bindings on. The rosewood strip comes up 0.2mm shorter than it should to the edge. I’m sure no one will notice when it’s finessed. Hee Hee 😂😆🤣   
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Mar 31, 2024 18:28:25 GMT
Looks beautiful, Alan - nearly a box now!  Keith |
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Mar 31, 2024 19:28:04 GMT
Certainly looks ‘striking’ 😀
I can’t imagine the frustration when the soundboard doesn’t meet expectations - but look forward to seeing what the cedar looks/sounds like.
I’m prepared to let the looks grow on me…
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Post by Alan J on Mar 31, 2024 21:35:51 GMT
Certainly looks ‘striking’ 😀 I can’t imagine the frustration when the soundboard doesn’t meet expectations - but look forward to seeing what the cedar looks/sounds like. I’m prepared to let the looks grow on me… I like the idea that the back of a guitar is private, only the player gets to see it and hold it close. The audience get to see nothing of it. Each to their own of course, but to know that you hold dear to your self something so beautiful is always a bit of a thrill I think. |
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Post by Alan J on Apr 1, 2024 9:49:14 GMT
 This graph shows the frequencies generated by the tap tones on the back of the guitar. Two out of the four are so close to pure notes C, the technical term for this is “bad” !!!! The last thing a player needs is to strike aC chord and find that it plays twice as loud as others! Work needed Oooops. Will attach image later when on a desktop |
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Post by Onechordtrick on Apr 1, 2024 10:25:36 GMT
Fascinating. What did you use to sample the frequencies?
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Post by Alan J on Apr 1, 2024 11:21:15 GMT
Fascinating. What did you use to sample the frequencies? I use an app called FFT by studio 6 on my iPhone. |
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Post by Onechordtrick on Apr 1, 2024 14:24:25 GMT
Fascinating. What did you use to sample the frequencies? I use an app called FFT by studio 6 on my iPhone. Thanks |
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Post by Alan J on Apr 12, 2024 23:46:25 GMT
Having a brief hiatus on this build due to a tour of South East Asia, will post again in June.
Suffice to say for now, the cedar soundboard is made up, the box is completed and it sounds like a beautiful musical drum. Hopefully post some shots soon.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Apr 13, 2024 9:04:40 GMT
Enjoy your hols!
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Apr 13, 2024 14:15:22 GMT
No hiatus is allowed except for major surgery! If you've severed an artery or had an arm amputated: fair enough, we'll cut you some slack, but a HOLIDAY??? Unacceptable  |
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Jo whoever he is.
