fryovanni Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 When I have a new shape I want to build. The first step is making the mold and side bending forms. I find it best to cut them from the same stack of boards to get a well matched set. The nice thing is that after you make forms and molds you can re-use them(only need to make them one time). An afternoons investment is more then worth it(you will gain all that time back during your first build). P.S. Make sure to get plenty of support in the cutoway area, or around curves when making your bending forms. I prefer to use aluminum slats over tubing. It allows you to get more points of support in tight corners,and it is dead easy to make slats and tap them in place. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 I am going to make a sidebender eventually, but I figured I'd try the pipe one last time before I gave up on it. It worked much better this time and I got it right on the template. I'll take some pics tomorrow, I just got back from band practice and I'm too tired to do anything right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 P.S. Make sure to get plenty of support in the cutoway area, or around curves when making your bending forms. I prefer to use aluminum slats over tubing. It allows you to get more points of support in tight corners,and it is dead easy to make slats and tap them in place. Or do it my hardcore, OTT way: make a solid mold. At least, make the surface fully supported across the entire width, all the way 'round. Mattia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodWood Posted November 18, 2006 Report Share Posted November 18, 2006 Jonathan Kinkead talked about the shellac or sanding sealer for cutout prevention. It seals the grain. Ill let you know how it works in a couple weeks. ITs all I had so I was using it for endgrain seal. I imagine beeswax and mineral spirits would also work, (I think its what the pros use) Is this the mold people use light bulbs with (if you dont have a heat blanket? Heat blankets seem to need tempreture control also, which doubles the cost.) I will be using FLAT IRONS to bend my sides, Ill let you know how it goes. Im starting with Mahogany. I have some quarter sawn cedar from the hardware store for practice sides, and my first guitar maybe. Quarter sawn for the neck also. I just picked through the pile. About 3% of the wood has some decent vertical in it. Wet as hades... .....Now to get my bandsaw to cut it thin and strait when it dries!!!!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted November 19, 2006 Report Share Posted November 19, 2006 Heat blankets don't need temp control; better to have it, I guess, but I've bent a couple of sets of sides without it, works fine. Also, a blanket from John Hall, with a temp controller, is around a hundred bucks. And/or a router speed controller from Harbor Freight, when on sale, is something like 13 dollars. 25 dollars when it's not, and voila, temp control. The blanket is totally, totally worth it. If it prevents you from breaking, over its lifetime, 3 sets of sides (or fewer sets of, say, Koa, Figured Sapele, Brazilian Rosewood), it's more than paid for itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Okay I just got the sides glued to the top. Now It's really starting to look like a guitar. It looks so cool with the black/white contrast between the rosewood and spruce. I know I've gotton lazy about taking pics. I'll try to get some up tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Good deal! great to hear it is coming along. Don't worry about pics. Just worry about the guitar. I hate slowing down to take pics while I am working. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Okay I have some pics. The bending pipe, I rolled some metal siding up and used a heat gun to get it around 360 degrees. It bent fairly well. pic The kerfed lining gluing on. pic2 Those little paper/money clips work great. and here it is with the sides glued on. pic4 pic5 pic6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Looks like you are doing great. Very clean work. Your bending pipe looks very nice. Simple but well made and effective. Funny you posted up those little paper clamps. I have a box of those that I picked up for kerfing, and have yet to try them. Are you using a radiused dish to mark your sides for the back? Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 I know that I need to make some kind of radius dish thingy. But I don't have anything yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Did you use a mold to hold the sides? I noticed the upper bracing and brace on the left side of the sound hole got a bit wacky. Also I can't tell from the pic's but have you capped the X (it is a pretty good idea to do that if you have not done it yet). All the jigs, molds and dishes take time to make, but are really valuable. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 No the x brace wasn't capped, but it is now. I noticed the upper bracing and brace on the left side of the sound hole got a bit wacky. I'm not 100% sure what your talking about. Care to explain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 (edited) No the x brace wasn't capped, but it is now. I noticed the upper bracing and brace on the left side of the sound hole got a bit wacky. I'm not 100% sure what your talking about. Care to explain? Sure, I was just looking at the Pic. And I noticed the brace on the left side of the soundhole was closer to the soundhole than the right. I also noticed that where each of the main X bracing meets the sides at the upper bouts the distance to the transverse brace is different. I was just trying to figure out if the sides were true(if they were held in a mold while you attached the top they would be.), or if maybe the sides were a bit skewed and that was what I was seeing. Just kinda curious Peace,Rich Edited November 21, 2006 by fryovanni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Oh that. The sides are in the right spot, exact same distance from the center line at all points. It's the braces that I got scrwed up. I used a caul for those two soundhole braces and I couldn't see it when I applied pressure from the clamps, but the braces moved. Also the same thing happend to the upper transverse brace and it is skewed a bit. I hope that isin't a huge problem, but there isin't much I can do about it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted November 21, 2006 Report Share Posted November 21, 2006 Oh that. The sides are in the right spot, exact same distance from the center line at all points. It's the braces that I got scrwed up. I used a caul for those two soundhole braces and I couldn't see it when I applied pressure from the clamps, but the braces moved. Also the same thing happend to the upper transverse brace and it is skewed a bit. I hope that isin't a huge problem, but there isin't much I can do about it now. Oh I seriously doubt it would be a problem. Those braces can be slippery buggers. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe-Of-Fortyseconds Posted November 24, 2006 Report Share Posted November 24, 2006 Did you put your linings in after glueing on the top? I can just see that the small sections where the braces meet the sides/linngs are seperate from the rest of the linings> or did you move the linings down after nothching the braces into the sides? or hacve you finished the braces to meet with the sides instead of notching them in? Just strange curiousity I guess. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodWood Posted November 24, 2006 Report Share Posted November 24, 2006 Did you put your linings in after glueing on the top? I can just see that the small sections where the braces meet the sides/linngs are seperate from the rest of the linings> or did you move the linings down after nothching the braces into the sides? or hacve you finished the braces to meet with the sides instead of notching them in? Just strange curiousity I guess. Joe I think Kinkeads book shows him just cutting out the kerfling in 3's where the X braces go into the side, and then he glues them on top. I will cut into the side Kerf myself. I saw one guy who is has a guitar parts biz actually goes all the way through the sides- the X spruce sticks out the side, you can see it!! And he has a Lutheri business and sells lots of molds etc... http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe-Of-Fortyseconds Posted November 25, 2006 Report Share Posted November 25, 2006 I notch the braces into the sides as well, so before binding you can see the bracing around the sides. This is just the way I have learned, nothing wrong with either way, just different methods Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodWood Posted November 26, 2006 Report Share Posted November 26, 2006 That site listed above also has a simple home made "radius dish" idea, and again hes a pro, and uses it. Kinkead tells how to get the measurments for the radius curve. You do the longitudinal, then measure the 4 braces where they go along the curve to get the different heights, then measure those out- Im jsut about to do that. Radious dishes are about $100 with sandpaper and shipping. On my second guitar I get the dish I think. hundered here, hundered there, dang by #3 it better be a kickass friggin guitar!! (#1 really, but Im a realist...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2006 I've gotten lots of work done. The sides are arched/kerfings glued/radious saned to accept the back. The spruce top is trimmed to fit the sides, the back is fully braced and awaiting gluing. Pics soon. The box is so light it is amazing. I really can't wait to play it now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2006 (edited) Houston, we have a box! I got the back glued on last night, now it's finally looking like a guitar. Now I've just got to get working on the neck. Edited November 30, 2006 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2006 Okay here are some pics pic2 pic3 pic4 pic5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted November 30, 2006 Report Share Posted November 30, 2006 Looking good Godin - very pretty bit of EIR. Any particular reason for the sides not meeting over the headblock? I know the gap is for the mortise of the neck joint, but I've not seen a mortice and/or gap between the sides which runs the full height of the side before. I'd want to put *soemthing* in the end of the mortise to reinforce the small unsupported area of back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted November 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2006 Looking good Godin - very pretty bit of EIR. Any particular reason for the sides not meeting over the headblock? I know the gap is for the mortise of the neck joint, but I've not seen a mortice and/or gap between the sides which runs the full height of the side before. I'd want to put *soemthing* in the end of the mortise to reinforce the small unsupported area of back. hmmm I don't know. I thought about that. But since this is my first acoustic I'm just doing it the way the book describes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted December 1, 2006 Report Share Posted December 1, 2006 Looking good Godin - very pretty bit of EIR. Any particular reason for the sides not meeting over the headblock? I know the gap is for the mortise of the neck joint, but I've not seen a mortice and/or gap between the sides which runs the full height of the side before. I'd want to put *soemthing* in the end of the mortise to reinforce the small unsupported area of back. hmmm I don't know. I thought about that. But since this is my first acoustic I'm just doing it the way the book describes. The book tells you to route out the full height of the neck block?? Usually you would stop short of the back. Are you doing a glued tenion or screwed I mean bolted tenion? The project is looking great though. It is going to be an amazing first acoustic for sure. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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