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fryovanni

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  • Birthday 03/13/1969

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  1. I agree with what everyone is mentioning. A few thoughts that come to mind when I am bending quilted figure. I prefer a very solid form foundation, as smooth an supportive as possible. I build side forms with rectangular aluminum bar 1/8" or 3/16" is fine(about 1/2" tall, frequently placed) then cover with steel sheet. I use flexible sheet slats because I want to avoid extra tension from heavy slats while I pull the wood to the form. I use paper between the wood and slats and distilled water then seal the whole thing up with tape(masking tape works just fine for me). The idea, reduce the chances of staining(especially with maple), contain a small amount of water(too much water, creates puddles and doesn't really generate the steam your after, which seems to lead to uneven heating) and promote even steam contained until your finished heating the wood(you slice the tape when your locked down, give the blankets a quick warm up and your steam escapes quickly), keeping moisture evenly contained also reduces the chances of spot scortching. I prefer two blankets for better control, even heating, and I believe it is a good investment if your using expensive wood like quilted maple. Maintaining even pressure against the form is important, and you want to make sure you work to the outsides from the waist to avoid bunching or pinching the slats to create a bulge or distrotion(lock the middle and clamp the ends, then work the areas between would be a disaster* pretty obvious, but think about it when your bending to keep it extra smooth). Thickness of these types of figured woods, especially when your making sharper bends, and your ability to heat and make the wood flexible enough is tricky. These figured woods have very focused areas of weakness and strength because the grain runs so oddly. You need to be sure you are not too thick and will have trouble getting the heat up evenly. Supersoft, is a very sensible investment. Also take your time when removing the bent side from the clamps and form. You don't want the tension stored in your slats to crack the sides because you released the clamps too unevenly. Plan very well, do a practice run and make sure nothing will get in your way or make your life difficult while you should be focused totally on monitoring heating and a smooth bending process. A smooth bend is really important with quilted maple, because you will get some faceting that you will have to deal with when you are leveling and prepping the surfaces for finish. Extra distortion will only make the chances greater you will have to thin the sides a bunch(hopefully a bunch doesn't turn into too much) to get them leveled and smooth. Good Luck with your project
  2. Yes, you have to adjust for the blade angle, and every time you swap blades this needs to be reset. It is not a flaw in your setup because the shape of tires and the style of the blade will simply change the way it rides on the tires. This angle should be predictable and can be adjusted for with your fence angle. Keep in mind this is not the same as possible tracking error from uneven blade wear, dirty blade, beam distortion or any other number of issues. Keeping in mind this drift angle is important. One thing I have found to be problematic on many fences is simply the fence does not stay put. Some fences have a great locking mechanism on the infeed side, but lousy on the outfeed and or possible flex, you may also find some pretty flimsy plastic components or shims on infeed sides. This can lead to the fence being shifted as you cut then springs back, or possibly slips out of position. It is a problem made more noticable when you are cutting larger bits of wood. Longer boards tend to be more challenging to keep against the fence(which makes feeding straight challenging) and sometimes this means you naturally apply more pressure against the fence. Even shifting positions as you feed makes this tricky. Good technique in feeding material is tuff enough and making sure the fence is not going to move makes your job easier(so you don't have to worry about that factor). If you question the locking mechanism at all, I would add a solid clamping device to ensure it does not move. If the fence just does not seem solid after you additional clamps, grab a good reliable square block of wood and clamp it right to the table(not super fancy, but it does the job very well). A sliding table is another way to make feeding consistency more reliable(it is extra handy when you have to true up an oddly shaped block of wood).
  3. Pretty much. Watch out for bugs though. Remember though to consider the amount of time it takes to aclimate wood, not really fast thicker wood. Thin wood can aclimate much quicker of course.
  4. Depends on what you are doing Dugg. If you are repeating your cuts it is VERY important. Also if you are using extreamly tight tolerance. Point fence simply cannot perform with the level of accuracy I need. Sometimes an extra couple thousandths of an inch per slice, when taking 9 slices out of a billet will be the difference between 4 or 5 acoustic sets(and if those sets are expensive Rosewood or exotic that can be several hundred dollars worth of set lost). I have never found a great fence out of the box, not to say a Kreg or even some factory fences can't be tweaked to do a good reliable job. If you are doing some serious resawing, and you are not absolutely confident in your adjustable fence. Take it off or to the side, and clamp down a square block of wood. Be sure the block is aligned to the blade. This can be done by clipping a light and straight guide tool(I have a light weight 18" straight edge that I clip to the blade, Note; you have to avoid the teeth). Keep your blade clean! that is the source of many of the problems people think relate to dull blades, or odd random issues that are hard to figure out. This is a topic I posted a while back that shows a fence and slider table I use. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=31523 These are the blades I use. The Woodmaster(1.2 TPI) has the most resistance to clogging(big gullets). The Trimaster(2/3 TPI) is good for some woods and is reliable. The Woodslicer(4 TPI) offers extreamly low loss cuts, but is touchy and VERY prone to clogging. Ability to clear wood is a big part of stability(big gullets are a plus for this).
  5. Yep, Spoke said it well. Actually, the process of seasoning could be better if the wood is allowed to go through natural seasonal cycles. Not sure I put much into the theory behind seasoning wood, but it is a theory. The important thing is to aclimate the wood to the environment you will build in. Then control the humidity during the build. It is always safer to build a bit dryer than it will be in service. The greatest chance for damage will be if it becomes dryer than when it was assembled(much more stressful). If the moisture is higher than when assembled it will swell and you will likely get a little extra doming. If it becomes dryer you will lose doming, you may start really stressing soundboards and backs if it shrinks much more(sides do not like to yeild to a soundboard or back). Just the way I have always looked at it.
  6. Hey GW, I have been busy at my regular job so I have not had much time. The potential slowdown has made it a top priority of mine to keep the guys who work for me working(the thought of their families being disrupted is something I do not want to happen). So far so good, but I want to lock down at least enough backlog of work to carry us through 2010. I really want to get back to the tools soon. I miss it very much.
  7. I like ripping ebony binding strips and binding ebony boards. I like the clean look. I found a couple old pics. strips
  8. I think the premis of saving cash is secondary. Bracing for an acoustic only requires a fraction of a bd. ft. worth of wood, and even if you choose to pay for the best hand selected bits paying $10 bd. ft. The cost per. instrument is negligable. I see nothing wrong with looking for good bits of softwood in lumber form. However, you have to recognise the prices paid for "select" wood is based on that selection(don't get me wrong, some prices are WAY off base for soundboards. Don't pay crazy prices). With hand split billets of select Spruce, I will have a fair bit of waste and many lower grade cuts. If you buy lumber that is not selected(based on the tree and properties) you should expect much lower yeild of high quality bits(it is more of a crap shoot). You may luck out, or you may wind up with lesser wood. If you don't know what your looking for or have enough experience to know the difference between good or poor quality, you likely won't do well but may think you struck gold. So I think it is a great idea, but use common sense.
  9. You should also cut the wood close to the dimensions you will be using then mill the wood. You will lose a lot of material trying to surface a full length board with a bow than if you cut it to appropriate pieces for your parts. If you only have 1/8" bow in 40", it is not too bad. When you cut it down to say 21-24" for a bookmatched top billet, the amount of milling should be very slight. Use a jig to allow you to keep the reference surface for your milling if your infeed and outfeed tables are too small to reference the whole piece. I would opt for a jointer for your neck stock. I usually only care about one true surface(the back of the neck I ruff profile and shape, I use the surface the fretboard is attached to as my true reference surface).
  10. Seems like everyone is touching on the key concepts. Weight, durability, stability, stiffness. You should remember you also have the ability to adjust the thickness, size, shape, and how you taper to the surrounding soundboard. When you think of weight of a more dense hardwood, you could adjust the thickness a bit and bring the weight in very close. Specific gravity of say Hard Maple vs Most Rosewoods is about .6 to .8, and given the durability you should be able to thickness the rosewood a bit to adjust leaving you with a small weight difference. Stiffness is going to vary with thickness, shape and taper also. Just food for thought. Either way durability is not something I would not skimp on. You don't want to have to repair a bridge plate any sooner than you have to. Proper fit will cut down on the wear a lot more than a little difference in the durability of the wood you use.
  11. I love Doug Fir. Great wood if you find a good bit. Watch out for pieces with sap oozing, it can keep doing that for years and make finishing tough. Doug Fir also varies quite a bit in terms of stiffness. If you get a good stiff piece it is amazing, and quite resonant.
  12. If it is just a top for a solid body, you could resaw as thin as 1/8"(I suppose you could even go thinner, as people even use veneer in the 1/32" range). I resaw backs and tops for acoustic guitars at 3/16"-1/8" (finished/surfaced backs are usually in the .095-.075" range). Structurally you will be fine with 1/8"(drop tops have little structural requirement). As was mentioned though, think about any carves and asthetics.
  13. Yes, this is why you want to assemble in slightly dryer conditions. This way if moisture levels fall and the wood shrinks it hopefully does not go below the level at which it was assembled. If you assemble with higher moisture, and it dries significantly it is more stressful. This is also why many builders have taken to "baking" or overdrying soundboards prior to assembly, as this may help if the instrument is ever exposed to destructive low humidity levels. Swelling or higher moisture levels generally are not that dangerous after an instrument is in service. So it is better to keep humidity up. Case humidifiers are a good safety measure. Winter tends to be a very dry season, especially when you are in a heated space with very cold outdoor temps(relative humidity drops when temp is raised vs outdoor ambient temp). The desert will destroy an acoustic instrument that was assembled in a moderate climate. You need to keep the destinction between what is good during assembly, and what is good in service. How you assemble will set the level that is best for the in service conditions.
  14. So, the back and sides are fine not to be quartersawn? I know on my augustion AR-60 the sides are quartersawn and the back is close to quartersawn. That's the only acoustic I have to look at besides $50 ones. Quartersawn is prefered for stability, and the traditional choice. As Hector points out though, most of the back and side woods are getting harder to get (there is also cases where looks come into play over stability). Most would prefer to use at least quartersawn sides if possible even if wider backs are not possible, again it is about the stability of quarter over rift to flat. You can certainly use flat saw or rift(these are sometimes all we can get), just be mindful of the potential stability issue.
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