Mr Natural Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 I have been meaning to build an acoustic for years now- but need to tool up. This thread will involve probably more jig/fixture/tool building as it will guitar build. I also need something to motivate me to finish up some projects that have been laying around-and even more so I need something to motivate me to clean up my garage/workshop/crap hole that has built up a ton of junk over the last few months of painting the inside of my house, fixing things and doing honey-do build requests from Mrs Natch. the nick drake reference is an ode to Nick Drake- whose music turned me on to alternate tunings like no other guitarist had- even Page who started me down that path. I went thru a Nick Drake phase in college. His 3 albums he released while he was alive couldn't be 3 more different recordings if he tried. his first one with orchestral arrangements, his last basically solo guitar with occasional additional instruments. anywho-he played a guild m-20- which is an all mahogany OM size-which guild actually cashed in and re-released sometime after Nick had a resurgence in popularity after a couple of documentaries were released thru various outlets- and I would imagine especially after the Volkswagen commercial that was released some years ago. I will be building two of these- one with sitka top and EI Rosewood sides and back, the other all mahogany. So- first things first-finish up Mrs Natch requests-she wanted me to build a bench out of an old Jenny Lind spindle bed frame. check that off the list my workshop/garage is not a place for productivity. I have six workbenches- all that means is I have six places to stack shit on. This is embarrassing to say the least- Time to clean up. i will re purpose the wood from these benches and turn them into mobile tool stands for my power tools. 2 of the six workbenches will stay in the end- 3 are gone immediately. i need to build: 1) a side bending jig, 2) a mold for the om body 3) go bar deck 4) mortise and tenon jig for attaching the neck if I bought all that from LMII- it would cost $474+$116+ $172 +$209 so $971 plus shipping. um, no-lets see how I do when all is said and done. I will try my best to track costs and processes during this build. First step- get a plan of an OM body. $14.45 (free shipping) at LMII- $16.33 plus $9.99 shipping at Stew mac- however- there was a holiday special and I got the plan including shipping for $12 and change from stew mac. I made several copies at Staples- add $6 (~$19 running cost total) For the side bending jig- I need to make a template of half the body- so- cut one of the copies in half with a straight edge ruler and razor. I had a choice of building materials for the jigs (all are 3/4" thick-4' x8') ) - baltic birch $54, mdf $26 or particle board $16.50. I will build the side bending form from particle board- and the mold for the body-but will use re-purposed plywood for the frame of the side bending jig. Running total with particle board purchase approx $36 add $8 for can of spray adhesive- $44 i left a tiny bit of exposed board on the straight edge and will true that edge on my belt sander. same with sides- will be cleaning up on belt sander more to come 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 25, 2019 Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 Excellent! I love the OM size. And I love Nick Drake songs. My sister and I play a half decent verion of River Man at open mic nights near where he comes from. We have to be careful to do it justice...he's well remembered by the locals and they are very protective! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted January 26, 2019 Report Share Posted January 26, 2019 something tells me this is going to be a good thread to sticky. one stop shop for how to's on jigs for acoustic. someday for me... for now I will live thru you mr natural. looking fwd to all I'll learn. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 26, 2019 Report Share Posted January 26, 2019 Sweet! I'm looking forward to this. And you can look forward to call outs and verbal abuse if you let it go the way of your other unfinished threads/projects. Cheers Bro! BTW, really cool bench. SR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted January 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 On 1/26/2019 at 10:26 AM, ScottR said: And you can look forward to call outs and verbal abuse if you let it go the way of your other unfinished threads/projects. let the ball busting begin-though (in my defense)the ritter roya and mahogany 6 string are completed I just havent posted as i wanted to get the pics posted in sequence- and there is that whole canon utilies sw/camera/windows 10 thing i still havent worked thru all the pictures that are screwy. Plus the finish on the roya isnt something you see everyday and I really want to find and post the progress pics in sequence on that one. may not look like much- but major clean up progress on my workspace-those workbenches were both screwed and GLUED together -that made disassembly all the more fun. I laid out the cut out for the body mold as well- and took a compass to rough draw a perimeter about 4" thick -now to cut this out 6 times- and the side bending template 8 or 9 times 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 Wow, If my garage looked like that I'd leave--sure that I'd walked into someone else's house by mistake. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 16 hours ago, ScottR said: Wow, If my garage looked like that I'd leave--sure that I'd walked into someone else's house by mistake. SR its still not as neat and clean as I want it but its getting there. last night I started building dedicated tool stands to free up more space on my remaining workbenches. all of the wood is from my torn down benches. These will have wheels (with brakes). using a kreg pocket hole jig- makes it super simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted February 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 like everything I get involved in- it takes time. I have finally gotten the garage/workshop into decent shape. I built three dedicated tool stands- for the drill press, sander and router table. The router table stand will double as a mini-workbench should the need arise. The jointer and 2nd sander are in front of where my wife parks her car- since those are used so infrequently. I still have a bit of hoeing out to do-and I need to put wheels on these tool stands so I can move them in and out of the way- but this is a start in the right direction. Amazing how much crap one can gather in the matter of a few months. and as usual the wifey had a project for me- I have actually been working on this for the last 7 weeks or so. I built out a fireplace/tv "thingy" in the master bedroom. I will post pics once the drywall/trim is finished. I am actually amazed it came out as good as it did. though I havent figured out yet how to trim out the top (crown) as I have noticed the gap I left between it and the ceiling actually increased when we had a spot of cold weather and heaters going 24x7. I may have to attach to the top of the fireplace and not to the ceiling and just live with the fact it will "breath" during the winter when its dry and hot air is blowing. I also started cutting out the bender sides (9 cut outs) and mold sides (6) I cut everything a bit proud- I will attached them to the master template with screws and finish up on the router table with a flush trim bit. One 4 x 8 sheet of the partical board was enough for both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 You need some more stuff. You've got too much walking around space. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 3 hours ago, ScottR said: You need some more stuff. You've got too much walking around space. SR I agree with Scott! I would have a fit of agoraphobia in there! I need confines...places to trip...vertical stacking of machine tools...walls closing in with the dust... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted February 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 its amazing how much you can get done when you dont have to pull everything out- rather just go to the tool plug it in move the vac over and boo yah. So- a little over 2 hours and I got these done- I ended up having to hit a couple of these like the one below with the belt sander prior to routing as I was a bit way outside of the line when I rough cut them the other day. I drilled and countersunk holes in the master template- then used that to drill holes in the other 8 pieces, then screwed each one to the master- and hit it up on the router table. two of them I had to hit up on the belt sander prior to routing due to poor cutting I will glue this all together tomorrow I will start on the mold tomorrow. and here is a poorly taken pic of the mrs natch side project. Never tell your wife you can build something - as she will put you to the test. We had this big empty cubby space in our bedroom- said I wish we had......and I stupidly said- "I can build that" and that was about 7 weeks ago. I plan on installing book/nic nac shelves on both side- mrs natch doesnt know that yet. I think I need to put some sort of tile down in front of it as well. you can see the gap that has developed up by the ceiling- this was actually almost flush with the ceiling 6 weeks ago anywho- Still trimming it out-almost done with the decorative trim- still need to put the crown molding on it, and cutting/figuring all those angles is going to be a blast I am sure. I put the tv in there even before it was even drywalled as it was on that wall previously. Now Mrs Natch and I can view the tv and enjoy the glow from an off season fireplace I got for next to nothing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Both projects very impressive! I'm not going to show MrsAndyjr1515 the photo of the fire surround.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 I agree, very nicely done. I learned my lesson about that a long time ago. The problem is, the process of learning that lesson lets the cat out of the bag, and the Missus never forgets. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted February 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 so- i have never used particle board before-ever. the attractive price point vs mdf and all grades of plywood- was fair warning that something might be an issue using it-nothing major- a couple observations- it sands smooth- but a routed edge- well- dont run your finger tips to check for smooth - splinters are a possibility on a routed edge cut well outside your line and then SAND up to it. notice in picture below- I am well outside the line- but chunks of the particle board came out along the edge- again- nothing major- I just didnt like it happening. despite the ghettoness of some of my jigs- I do like a straight fine edge line when making a template- those chips in the very top arent going to matter in the long run- but if this was 1/4 material I might say otherwise. body mold template cut, 1st copy made the template on top was sanded- the bottom routed- you can see the difference in appearance of the two- and why I probably picked up splinters from the routed edge. I checked that bit on a piece of maple- and it cut fine- so- I dont think it was a case of a router bit passed its prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted February 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 and another observation- spray adhesive- I used 3M Super 77 (red can) for this- it held up well- but- like others I have tried- overspray stays tacky- forever. Anybody know of good spray adhesive that doesnt do that? I have tried locktite, various 3m products- and they all seem to do it- maybe its just something to live with. I just hate picking up a piece of that and having that tackiness there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 I'm pretty sure all spray adhesives stay tacky forever. They never cure....or they don't for a long time, months even. I used to buy the stuff in 55 gallon drums and spray it with paint spraying equipment. That stuff stayed sticky for years. SR We used to buy baby powder or corn starch and sprinkle that on the over spray. The fine powder coats the adhesive rendering it non tacky. You could actually sweep up a bunch of the excess that way. sr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted March 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 been cold as hell here in georgia- this past week several hard freezes of 26 degrees or so- the trees are getting nipped after blooming earlier. too cold to work in the garage- but finally warmed up so I started glue up only to run out of glue. jeezus. i have to tell myself- slow and steady wins the race right? now to go buy some glue this weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted March 9, 2019 Report Share Posted March 9, 2019 Loving the progress. I’ve been hoping for the garage to finally warm up to 26 so I can start working again. We got as low as 3 degrees two nights ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShatnersBassoon Posted March 11, 2019 Report Share Posted March 11, 2019 Huge Nick Drake fan here, I've learnt quite a few of his songs....anyway looking forward to seeing the result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 I had attempted to find some plans online for a side bender to save me some time. I found a company called Georgia Luthier Supply online. Some different luthiers on youtube have even given these folks a shout out. So- went to their site- they even have a packaged hardware dealio for the jig- how convenient. I click on the link for the hardware- and it takes me to some Uke construction book or some shit- so- I think- broken link. I email them,.. twice. No reply. hmm. So- perhaps i dont send money electronically to these folks. YMMV- their site (sister blog site) has some fantastic information. I hate to bash- but- maybe they are not in business anymore- or-maybe they are not good with email- who knows- but- like I said- you cant answer my email- you aint gettin my stash beotcheee. So- time to ghetto this mo fo up. I first drew up some detailed, fine architectural plans to scale. The handle/screw is really what this thing centers around. Most jigs I have seen use this veneer press screw https://www.grizzly.com/products/Shop-Fox-Veneer-Press-Clamp/D2893 I can make that for a fraction of the price. Enter home depot shopping trip: 2 nuts at 50 cents each, one threaded rod coupler $1.98 and 12" threaded rod- $2.38 so lets call that $6 with tax- running total now $50. I will fashion a handle out of scraps of hardwood. notch out a seat for one of the nuts- this one going in the handle. I will use epoxy to bond the nut to the wood- and the threaded rod end to the nut. Got a chance to use my cheap ass edge tools. I have a blister in the palm of my hand.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 Manny De Luna has found his way back home, overlooking the shop and bench#1 shout out to @ScottR for his mad carving skills. manny noticed a slight edge to one of the layers on the form. How this happened is beyond me- and Manny too. all the pieces were routed to the same template. The bottom is completely flat- the slides are aligned- and yet this tiny edge pops up - I am thinking maybe the glue squeeze out perhaps swelled the fiberboard here. No worries- a quick sanding with my Great planes bar sander and some 250 and all was well again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 manny - looking good! that's a nice bar sander and reasonably priced... too bad they are no longer avail! afa bending jig... what would you use for a heater? interested to see how this works - rock on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 3 hours ago, mistermikev said: manny - looking good! that's a nice bar sander and reasonably priced... too bad they are no longer avail! afa bending jig... what would you use for a heater? interested to see how this works - rock on. the bar sanders are still avail thru hobby stores. They are an excellent deal for the price compared to luthier shops- and I give them a shout out every time I use them. they have been in my garage for over 10 years now and have not strayed from true- still flat. i have the 11 and 21 inch bars. I will be using a silicon heat blanket. I am still shopping around for that and seeing if I can get a voltage controller (think router speed control unit) on the cheap as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermikev Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 42 minutes ago, Mr Natural said: the bar sanders are still avail thru hobby stores. They are an excellent deal for the price compared to luthier shops- and I give them a shout out every time I use them. they have been in my garage for over 10 years now and have not strayed from true- still flat. i have the 11 and 21 inch bars. I will be using a silicon heat blanket. I am still shopping around for that and seeing if I can get a voltage controller (think router speed control unit) on the cheap as well. will be checking some hobby stores! silicon heat blanket... gonna have to look that one up. was thinking temp controlled soldering iron might be the culprit. looking fwd to seeing this idea come to life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted March 31, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2019 so-my life gets in the way more often than I care for- but I finally managed to sneak some time in. first up- build the handle to the waist clamp screw-scraps of mahogany, pine dowel (or whatever wood), a left over bolt, nut and washers from a swing set I dismantled from our old house (15 years ago). handle done i bought this center finding ruler thingy years ago at a joanns fabrics whilst shopping with Mrs Natch. it was in the sewing/quilting whatever the hell its called area of that store. well worth the $5 it cost. drilled, chiseled out and then made sure the threaded rod coupler that sits in the upper part of the jig would allow the threaded rod to travel (mostly) perpendicular to the face of the plywood in which it sits. getting that "perpendicular" was pain in the arse. starting to finally look like a jig. and yes- the jig is a bit tall at the moment- by design. Once I have the waist caul complete I will know exactly how much to trim from the sides of the jig. If my "architectural" to scale design are off-and I cut too short- I would have to recut the sides- so-better to trim a few inches off each side vs wasting that much plywood 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.