aidlook Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 So, it's been a while...Having not built a guitar for some time, I was quite surprised to come back here and see how long it actually was since I last put a guitar together. Searching for my last build thread it turns out I haven't been active for 7 years:I did change the plans for that build to a body milled from billet aluminium, I even managed to finish one half of the body on a CNC before graduating from university. Having lost easy access to a workshop, and spending a number of years living on three different continents, I had to put most guitar-building activities aside for a while. However, I always liked the body shape and I think it's about time I do something useful with it. So I've settled into an apartment, and have managed to turn one of the rooms into a small work space. Trying to keep dust and noise to a minimum, I've sworn off power tools and have presented myself with the challenge of building a guitar using (mostly) hand tools. Anyway, here it is, my first progress pics in 7 years, and also my first attempt to plane a piece of wood using only hand planes.First passesManageable 'dust' levelsResult after smoothing.One big piece of quarter sawn mahogany -hoping to get two bodies out of this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kental Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Awesome, welcome back! Dont feel bad I will be using alot of hand tools as well on my build as I gave most of my woodworking tools to my dad when he retired. I still have a benchtop bandsaw and drill press, but the rest will be using hand tools for me. I love the design of the body. Good luck and cant wait to see it finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted October 18, 2015 Report Share Posted October 18, 2015 Trying to keep dust and noise to a minimum, I've sworn off power tools and have presented myself with the challenge of building a guitar using (mostly) hand tools. I was thinking for long time to do the same as a personal challenge, also to keep the flat clean of dust... looking forward to seeing this done. BTW, that piece of mahogany has a glorious size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted October 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Thanks, I was surprised to see the width of the thing when it arrived. It should be said however, that this is a fairly small body size.The plan for one of these bodies is to cover it with a spruce top (for aesthetic purposes mainly), I'm thinking something like this:Body: Spruce top, mahogany backNeck: Maple, headstock design TBD.Bridge: Wilkinson tremPickups: Some form of soapbar/humbucker combination Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 You thinking of disguising it as an acoustic?SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted October 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 You thinking of disguising it as an acoustic?SRWell, it's obviously the inspiration, so something like that was the idea at least Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I expect it will turn out to be a very classy look.SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Great seeing you active after so long! That piece of lumber is something else. Spruce top eh? Nice. Is it going to be sawn on the flat or quartered split like a soundboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted October 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Great seeing you active after so long! That piece of lumber is something else. Spruce top eh? Nice. Is it going to be sawn on the flat or quartered split like a soundboard? Thanks, will be quartered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 So, time for an update. After a frustrating attempt to use a coping saw to rough an outline, I ordered a frame saw on-line. It arrived today, and the process was much more satisfying: Finished rough outline: Pretty perpendicular for a first try: Shinto rasp to get closer to outline: Getting there: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Quote Pretty perpendicular for a first try: Indeed. That looks to be a good little saw. I love these builds where the bulk of the work is done with hand tools. It shows a major commitment and proves that the high cost of big power tools does not have to stop us from building nice guitars. And it usually points to someone that really enjoys working with wood. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 Amazingly perpendicular. Having a blade supported at both ends is a night and day difference....the body I test-cut using a modern jigsaw as part of a recent article was far from perpendicular for several reasons. That's a really sweet square too....I've thought that a small set of precision-ground engineer's squares would be a good investment for a long time now. Spending more and more time measuring and checking is never a bad thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted November 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 ScottR: It's a good saw indeed, but not very little: I should've had more confidence when removing the material for the cutaway: The tight curve was easy to control, so if I'd been a bit braver I would've left myself less material to remove: Oh well, on to the shaping tools... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Nope, that is not even a little bit little. It just goes to show how valuable it is for one to have an idea of the whole picture before forming opinions. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 Love the frame/bow saw! They always remind me pit frame saws.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 People were a lot smaller in 18th century France. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 So, progress is slow, but the outline has now been finished: I also made some practice runs at making neck pockets using a chisel and router plane: Time to get started on the neck, which will be maple. It turns out that hand planing maple required a fair amount of physical exertion, it also made a mess: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 It certainly does take a lot of physical work to plane Maple....! I noticed that you blocked off the leg of the bench to stop it skating across the floor. I stuck a strip of leather to a length of wood to re-strop my chisels and plane irons occasionally. It made a world of difference to the quality of cutting edge and makes planing easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 (edited) On 4/3/2016 at 4:06 PM, Prostheta said: It certainly does take a lot of physical work to plane Maple....! I noticed that you blocked off the leg of the bench to stop it skating across the floor. I stuck a strip of leather to a length of wood to re-strop my chisels and plane irons occasionally. It made a world of difference to the quality of cutting edge and makes planing easier. Hardwood floors, and a cheap work bench that is much too light, didn't make for a very stable workpiece. However, it works fine now -except for the occasional catch, where the back legs lift off the floor. Anyway, time to scarf joint the headstock: Squared up the neck blank. Marking the the neck angle. Cutting the neck angle After sawing. Screwed together for planing Almost finished planing Planed Dry run before gluing, screws to keep things in place. Glueing! Edited April 7, 2016 by aidlook 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 Mmmmm. Very nice clean work. Always good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 I love the precision. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted April 8, 2016 Report Share Posted April 8, 2016 I think that Aidlook and psikoT are equally wonderful in their zen-like cleanliness of work. Most importantly, their work areas look calm and quiet....unlike us barbarians with our routers! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 I agree pros, I look at his and psikoT's pics and I get a very calm vision from them. Where as I'm over hear with a loud ass router and metal music blaring so I can here it over the router lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 9, 2016 Report Share Posted April 9, 2016 I was interested in your trials with the router plane for the neck pocket, @aidlook I keep wondering about those. Certainly that's a very nice and neat job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted April 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2016 (edited) On 4/8/2016 at 7:32 PM, Prostheta said: I think that Aidlook and psikoT are equally wonderful in their zen-like cleanliness of work. Most importantly, their work areas look calm and quiet....unlike us barbarians with our routers! Nothing is more zen than a full-length shaving with the smoothing plane... I also find that snow-capped mountains and fjords help set the mood. 21 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: I was interested in your trials with the router plane for the neck pocket, @aidlook I keep wondering about those. Certainly that's a very nice and neat job The router plane is very satisfying to work with, and gives really nicely finished surfaces at the bottom of cavities/recesses etc. I still haven't figured out which method works the best for the neck pockets. The last attempt was to remove most of the material using a hand drill and chisel (inside corner radii produced by the drill), and finishing the bottom with the router plane. This gave fairly good results, but I think I need some more practice before putting the chisels to the body. In terms of the tool, mine's a Lie-Nielsen, which is beautifully crafted. However, I think that the Veritas large router plane could be the better alternative due to the wider selection of blades available (I'm intending to do the truss rod channel with the router plane, but the fairly wide Lie-Nielsen blade limits the truss rod selection to U-channel type unless I grind the blade width down). Moving on to thicknessing the head stock: Edited April 10, 2016 by aidlook 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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