KnightroExpress Posted October 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 Unrelated to the current thread- today is my wife and I's anniversary and she got me a really cool piece of Burmese rosewood and the template guide I've been looking for. What a good day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 25, 2015 Report Share Posted October 25, 2015 Congratulations on both counts! Is that part of an offset guide bush set or a fixed size bushing? It's our 10th anniversary on Halloween. We married late as it should be our twentieth or something really but hey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted October 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2015 Thanks and early happy anniversary to you! This was our 7th.The bushing is 9/32"ID, 3/8"OD with a separate locking nut so I can add new ones as I need them. I'm going to use this one with a 1/4" bit in a truss rod routing template. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 25, 2015 Report Share Posted October 25, 2015 Fantastic. Bushings are criminally-underused in luthiery. Even using them to creep up on a final size for body routing works wonders, especially when you're working towards a natural finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted October 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 From what I've experienced so far, I'm inclined to agree with you- I hardly ever see bushings being used. I'm excited to give it a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Not to take this thread off track any more than we have, but I've got a mind to write up the use of bushings at a later date. As I said; criminally underused. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted October 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Please do! I love reading and learning anything I can, and your articles are always great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 26, 2015 Report Share Posted October 26, 2015 Thanks for the vote of confidence! Once we get Patreon rolling on its own we can do a lot more of them....aside from bushings and other router stuff, is there anything you'd like to see more written about? That's the idea really, that the people who make PG what it is (the community) have direct democratic input on where we go, what we publish.Outside of that, I'm wondering what you have in store for that Rosewood and your new toy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted November 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 A lot of progress today! These two guitars are multiscale, so I needed to tackle the compound scarf joint. To that end, I designed a jig that allows me to cut a 12 degree scarf at any nut angle. It consists of 2 pieces of 1/2" acrylic, each has a 12 degree slope with a matching reference line etched below. You simply align the reference lines with your projected nut shelf, stick the jig on, and rout! Here's one of the pieces.A clearer shot of the reference lines and offset capability.Layout and prepRouting!The remaining bits are easily trimmed with a sharp chisel.Not bad!The wenge neck gets the same treatmentAll together, I'm using stainless steel pins to maintain alignment for the glue-up. I'm hoping to get these guys glued over the weekend, and trimmed into a more neck-like shape early next week. Thanks for reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 I love it! Its also tickling me that it took only what, seven-eight years before anybody used the method I suggested way-back-when? Either that or we've got a case of convergent evolution :-)Whichever, those will be great-sounding necks. Wengé is a wonderful addition into basses and transformed the fundamental sound of Mahogany in a seven-string I made. It'll be great in a compound scale instrument without a doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted November 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Thank you! The article I asked you about a while ago was definitely a big inspiration for my little jig, I appreciate the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 That's really cool. It is truly is. I'm happy that these things I write inspire or help people. That's what it's all about. Now go make wood smaller yet louder!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 9, 2015 Report Share Posted November 9, 2015 Cool jigs. Was your router base wide enough to ride the rails whilst up against the edges of the cut? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 9, 2015 Report Share Posted November 9, 2015 It looked a bit precarious to me also. A guide bush and a larger base help.The guide bush help protect your jig! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted November 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2015 Thanks Scott! The base was wide enough, but just barely. I agree with you both, a larger base and bushing would have improved the situation. This router is a loaner of sorts, so I just measured to make sure it would work and gave it a go. When I have my own personal router, I'll go and build a nice base to fit jigs like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtisa Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 That's very similar to how I started doing scarf joints on my multiscales. The only difference is that I fixed the two ramps to a MDF base, which meant that I locked myself into doing one nut and headstock angle (seemed like a good idea at the time). Your version is probably better in that you can reposition the two ramps to allow for different nut angles if and when you need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2k Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Pins on the scarf! So simple, obvious, and I totally didn't think of it. I had a hell of a time clamping my scarf a few weeks ago. Pins would have made a world of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thick acrylic like that could be blind tapped from underneath and fitted to a base with slots underneath to allow adjustment. As along as the angle at the nut is copied across to the offset of each rail, the distance between them doesn't matter so much. I think that the edge of the rail which the router/base rides on might introduce a very marginal error. I always figured that adding a chamfer to the bearing surface leaving a mm or two shy of a sharp edge would minimise this. Workholding on a temporary basis is a bugbear too. Perhaps this could be developed into a more permanent and flexible jig for single scale and compound scarfs. One for me to keep in mind I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted November 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thanks all! I'd definitely like to develop this jig further. The concept is solid and works pretty well, but it would be nice to have more sturdiness. The original draft of this jig included a base with the nut angle etched across, as you said. I ended up taking the minimal approach to save money on an unproven idea. Now that I know it works as intended, I'll go back to the drawing board and work on a solid adjustable base design... I'm having a vision of T-track embedded in something nice and heavy. By the way, I'm currently in class, but will be cutting the neck out in a few hours. Pics soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 I presume that you know that you can do the "over and under" bit where you rout both the bit you're scarfing on AND the neck at the same time? The geometry works. Â 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that, can you clarify? Unfortunately, I experienced my first serious router mishap today. No injuries, but the bit totally split my headstock in half. Needless to say, I'm pretty cranky about the whole situation.  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 This, where you gang cut both the neck and scarfed-on section. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Ah, I see! I'll try that next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 10 hours ago, KnightroExpress said: I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that, can you clarify? Unfortunately, I experienced my first serious router mishap today. No injuries, but the bit totally split my headstock in half. Needless to say, I'm pretty cranky about the whole situation.  Errrrrr. What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Yeah... I've had this bit for a while, so I think a dull edge may have grabbed and ripped the grain rather than actually cutting cleanly. I might be thinking incorrectly, though. Prior to routing I cut and sanded down to under 1/8" away from my template, which has worked well in the past. I found a syringe and injected glue into the crack, then clamped the hell out of it. Unfortunate, but a valuable lesson. I'm going to build a new neck and use this one as practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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