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Post by RosieTGC on Nov 15, 2016 14:32:56 GMT
Looking great ashley - I really like the wood in the rosette. Not knowing how it looked before I do like the way it looks now too. Lovely clean workmanship too look forward to seeing this one progress. |
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R the F
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 1,135 
My main instrument is: bandsaw
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Post by R the F on Nov 15, 2016 16:16:23 GMT
Bracings installed and carved  I notice your braces are generally not notched into each other but fade to nothing just short. I hope this is an oversight and not an attempt to fly in the face of custom. We don't appreciate new-fangled ideas hereabouts. Perhaps you would like to reassure us. (Here's one of my soundboards, by the way, in case you're tempted to take me seriously):  Rob |
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Post by ashley on Nov 15, 2016 18:55:56 GMT
Who do you think I stole the idea from Rob?  Thanks Rosie  |
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R the F
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Posts: 1,135
My main instrument is: bandsaw
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Post by R the F on Nov 15, 2016 20:42:19 GMT
Who do you think I stole the idea from Rob? You've made me very happy, ashley. No one has ever borrowed anything from any of my builds before! |
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Post by ashley on Nov 16, 2016 5:24:12 GMT
I think your bracing philosophy is quite interesting, before I started the first build I thought a lot about bracing patterns and after the Pringle incident I took a flush cut saw to the bracings and decided to experiment. imgur.com/a/TZMiYSorry it's a link but the internet is not great where I'm currently working. I made the braces by laminating spruce and carbon fibre. Never finished the guitar as there were a couple of catastrophes but I will use it as a test mule. I have a feeling it's rather light on bracing... once I've got a few traditionally braced guitars under my belt I plan on trying a few different bracing patterns, double sides etc |
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Post by ashley on Dec 8, 2016 10:15:44 GMT
Finally got back home and managed to get a few hours in the workshop. Back braces have been carved to the final shape, the shellac has been scraped off the back as I wasn't keen on the look. Had a bit of bother gluing the back on, I need more clamps, lots more clamps. Anyway the tail block wasn't perfectly central so I had to take the back off, sand everything back again and glue it again. Next step is getting the top on, finishing the neck joint, routing the binding channels etc. Hopefully I'll start the finishing process next week.  |
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francis
C.O.G. 
Posts: 2,483
My main instrument is: Whatever I'm building...
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Post by francis on Dec 9, 2016 7:01:21 GMT
Lovely clean workmanship there - great thread |
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Post by ashley on Dec 10, 2016 23:19:28 GMT
Thanks Francis. The box is closed and the soundboard and back trimmed flush to the sides, I managed to chip a little bit on the back but I think it will be routed off anyway for the purfling. Bought a cheap and cheerful heat blanket off eBay and tried it out to bend the bindings and purfling so. I managed to wreck a set as the heat rockets way past the set point, turned my back for a minute and could tell it was not going well by the smell š Anyway second set was good but didn't hold the shape very well after taking it out of the bender. Anyone have any tips? Anyway I've been getting caught up and been forgetting to take pics but here are a couple (if it works from my phone) imgur.com/a/5Okco |
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Post by ashley on Dec 11, 2016 14:39:10 GMT
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francis
C.O.G.
Posts: 2,483
My main instrument is: Whatever I'm building...
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Post by francis on Dec 11, 2016 19:48:30 GMT
Thanks Francis. The box is closed and the soundboard and back trimmed flush to the sides, I managed to chip a little bit on the back but I think it will be routed off anyway for the purfling. Bought a cheap and cheerful heat blanket off eBay and tried it out to bend the bindings and purfling so. I managed to wreck a set as the heat rockets way past the set point, turned my back for a minute and could tell it was not going well by the smell š Anyway second set was good but didn't hold the shape very well after taking it out of the bender. Anyone have any tips? Anyway I've been getting caught up and been forgetting to take pics but here are a couple (if it works from my phone) imgur.com/a/5OkcoI tend to heat after a light water sparay mainly on the areas that take the most bending, then leave in the bender to cool - very light water mist over the sides then reheat and leave to cool again. Usually very little movement after a second spell of heating. Ditto with bindings. Which blanket did you get? I use 3x 150W light bulbs... |
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Post by ashley on Dec 12, 2016 10:46:16 GMT
I bought a 1200W heating blanket for about Ā£45, I was using light bulbs but I was finding it was taking ages to get upto temp and it took quite a while to bend the wood. I have to say the heat blanket is really good and now i know to set the temp lower and increase gradually it holds the temp really steady. Anyway I scraped the sides flat(ish) and routed the binding and purfling channels. I was so nervous of something going wrong i was actually shaking haha. I built a little bracket out of aluminium for the router and used 3d printer track and roller to make a little binding jig ( similar to the mega expensive ones, this cost about Ā£20). To mount the guitar I just used some plywood brackets to hold it at the correct height. I practised on the abandoned guitar and it seemed to work really well.    |
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Post by ashley on Dec 12, 2016 11:06:29 GMT
Oh and cheers for the tip about heating the sides twice šš»
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Post by ashley on Dec 13, 2016 8:11:07 GMT
I cut the binding channels on the back of the guitar and made a stupid mistake by cutting into the back strip so I cant't mitre the purfling to the side purfling. The second mistake which i'm really annoyed about is the slight gap between the sides at the neck and heel has meant I've taken a chunk out of the back strip where is should join with binding. Anyway I didn't do a great job of bending the binding and purfling and despite putting it through another heat cycle and letting it cool to room temp before removing from the bender there was still quite a bit of spring back so it was a a bit of a wrestling match to get it in. I will definetely spend more time getting the binding spot on next time and plan it better. Here is a pic of the progress.  |
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Dec 13, 2016 8:51:44 GMT
That is looking great ashley. It must be frustrating when things don't go according to plan, but half the fun in reading these build threads is in seeing how people overcome the problems along the way. I'm sure you'll still end up with a fine result on this one. Keith |
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Post by ashley on Dec 13, 2016 10:10:35 GMT
Cheers Keith. I knew this guitar was going to be riddled with mistakes, some of the people on here make it look easy! I haven't been posting up all my mistakes so far I'm hoping no one will notice when it's finished  |
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Jo whoever he is.
