Norris Posted April 1, 2020 Report Share Posted April 1, 2020 If you want it howling then opening the mouth a little will mean it's a bit less fragile I think I'd be tempted to cut it before gluing the top Right now though, I'd be using a plane and sanding table to get the mating surfaces properly flat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 2, 2020 Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 As @Norris said, planing the surfaces flat is the first thing to do. Opening the mouth for strength is another good idea. If you think about howling, there's two parts: "Ho" with the mouth open and "wl" with the jaws more closed. @ScottR's idea of using glue and gauze or other sheer fabric is also very recommendable especially in delicate areas. The idea is similar to laminating fiberglass. When you've got the thickness right, laminate the fabric to the inside before cutting the hole. Then chamfer the inside edges to make the top look thinner and to hide any sticking thread ends. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 2, 2020 Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 It will surely make an awesome F-hole. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACRosengrant Posted April 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2020 36 minutes ago, ScottR said: It will surely make an awesome F-hole. SR Thanks y'all. I'll see about redesigning it when I get home. And I'll plane the back side flat this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACRosengrant Posted April 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 Redesigned wolf. Didn't take picture. Looks good though. Built router planing jig/sled whatever Will need to stack boards under body to get it high enough because it's too deep, but it will do. Gotta find some kind of routing mat though. Also was tired of working on floor, so built a workbench. Tomorrow shall be a day of actual progress. Hopefully. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACRosengrant Posted April 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 Sled worked well enough. Few kinks to work out of that situation. Got fret/neck and rough headstock template glued and cut. Then measured it and somehow either I or UPS printing screwed it up, so instead of a 24.5" scale, it's now about 25.25". Should still work fine right, experienced guys? The wolf got cut out. Used various drill bits to get most of wood out, then used files, small rasps, a few wood gouges, and a slightly chipped/bent/bad hacksaw blade to cut it. Man, my hands HURT but I can't wait to do it again. Also used some child labor, that way my son can actually learn something useful during this homeschooling period. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 12, 2020 Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 2 hours ago, ACRosengrant said: instead of a 24.5" scale, it's now about 25.25". Should still work fine right, experienced guys? Umm... The scale length is no issue per se as long as it's true. It really has to match that scale from the nut to the bridge. There's tables where you can find measures from fret to fret and from nut to each individual fret. Measure, measure... If you're talking about a slightly zoomed out photocopy I wouldn't trust it. A ruler with small enough increments and a protractor is a more reliable choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACRosengrant Posted April 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 35 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: Umm... The scale length is no issue per se as long as it's true. It really has to match that scale from the nut to the bridge. There's tables where you can find measures from fret to fret and from nut to each individual fret. Measure, measure... If you're talking about a slightly zoomed out photocopy I wouldn't trust it. A ruler with small enough increments and a protractor is a more reliable choice. Guess I need to find me an extremely accurate ruler. That would be easier in metric than standard right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 12, 2020 Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 The only potential issue I see with changing the scale is that it will change the string taper against the neck taper if the neck is shaped for 24.5". However I've built 25" scale guitars using 24.5" neck templates and it's not noticeable. I like the f-hole design - if you haven't thought of it already, I recommend carving the underside of it away to make it look thinner and more delicate. It will also make your hollow section look deeper than it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACRosengrant Posted April 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said: The only potential issue I see with changing the scale is that it will change the string taper against the neck taper if the neck is shaped for 24.5". However I've built 25" scale guitars using 24.5" neck templates and it's not noticeable. I like the f-hole design - if you haven't thought of it already, I recommend carving the underside of it away to make it look thinner and more delicate. It will also make your hollow section look deeper than it is. Haven't cut the neck yet. Will do that once I have the nut(pre-slotted) and the bridge, so I can measure that accurately. The neck piece above was just the template. Thanks on the f-hole, I've given a ton of thought to tapering the underside(per the direction of someone else on here), but I've gotta measure where my carve will be first. Kinda wonder if I can just carve the top of the f-hole area by itself just so I know where I can taper the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted April 12, 2020 Report Share Posted April 12, 2020 44 minutes ago, ACRosengrant said: Haven't cut the neck yet. Will do that once I have the nut(pre-slotted) and the bridge, so I can measure that accurately. The neck piece above was just the template. Thanks on the f-hole, I've given a ton of thought to tapering the underside(per the direction of someone else on here), but I've gotta measure where my carve will be first. Kinda wonder if I can just carve the top of the f-hole area by itself just so I know where I can taper the inside. fair enough, I assumed from the above pic that you'd already cut the neck out, but getting the nut and bridge in advance is the smart order to do things. I usually use pre cut nuts too from graphtech, in fact after 10 builds I've only cut my own bone nut once on the latest build. Definitely carve the top before doing anything to the underside of the f-hole. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted April 13, 2020 Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 11 hours ago, ACRosengrant said: Guess I need to find me an extremely accurate ruler. That would be easier in metric than standard right? There's metric rulers with 1/2 mm increments. Right between two marks it's easy to measure by 1/4 mm. Also, it's not too difficult to estimate a tad closer to either line in that 1/2 mm slot which will be close enough to 1/8 mm. Or 0.005" if you prefer. There's also specific fret rulers available but they're limited to a few scale lengths only. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted April 13, 2020 Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 14 hours ago, ADFinlayson said: Definitely carve the top before doing anything to the underside of the f-hole. Good advice. I love the wolf head f-hole ! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACRosengrant Posted April 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2020 5 hours ago, ScottR said: Good advice. I love the wolf head f-hole ! SR Thanks Scott. I'm very pleased with how well it worked out. I'll say it is the most ambitious part of this first guitar build at least I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACRosengrant Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 Not much done this weekend. Just wasn't feeling in a worky mood. Got the neck blank sawed(sawn?) In half so now I've got a second neck for a future project or possibly this one if I mess it up lol. Got in my dye powders and pickups. So did some mixing and staining to see what color to go with. I'm kinda loving that purple I created, but may do the darker purple around the outside like a burst. Or possibly do a fade from bottom to top, or end to front. Not sure. This coming weekend, I'll tackle creating a radius block. Maybe start plotting things out if some more parts come in, but really I'm kinda at a standstill until I get the nut and bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 On 4/20/2020 at 2:26 AM, ACRosengrant said: Just wasn't feeling in a worky mood I know how you feel. All the time in the world at the moment, and virtually no incentive to get on with it 1 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.