verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 OK, here's the delima... I wanted a carved top semi-hollow and got spruce and lacewood for the guitar. HOWEVER without even thinking about it, I got a spruce top that's only 3/16" thick (cause that's all that I saw on Gilmer wood, so in my lapse of thought process I didn't second guess how big that actually was). Either way, I was watching the Bennedetto video series that I bought and he says don't carve thinner than 1/8". So here's my question, that leaves me with a total carve depth of a mere 1/16". Is it even worth it/will it be that noticable? OR? Since mine's not a full hollowbody, and since there's SOLID wood undernieth the bridge, can I carve thinner than that (but I don't wanna bump the guitar and it break right through to the hollow cavity). Advice? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 IMHO, such a thin carve will look like you accidentally used an uneven top. That's assuming it would even be noticable. It might even end up so the 1/16" would be so gradual that you wouldn't even notice it. I honestly don't know which it would be, but I definitely advise against it. I prefer my tops to have 3/4" of carve or maybe even 1/16" or 1/8" more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_A_T_T Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 That's like trying to turn a flat-top acoustic into an arch-top. I wouldn't waste my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of... but I DON'T want a flat top on this... Would I be able to carve it thinner than 1/8" safely since it's not a full hollow, only a semi? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Now this is just me, but I see anything less 3/8" as pointless. LP's have almost a half inch of carve and it's not that noticeable. Although, I like to make thick carves flow very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 OK, here's an idea. I fork out another $50 to get another 3/16" of spruce... but i strain this one BEFORE glueing it to the other spruce. So then, it's not 3/8", so I can carve 1/4" total, HOWEVER when the carve carves down PAST the unstrained top it all of a sudden turns ____ (insesrt color of strain of second spruce top undernieth). OR do some other sort of wood (darker than spruce) in the same manner. Thoughts? Chris PS: Cause yeah I'm a fan of big carves too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_A_T_T Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of... but I DON'T want a flat top on this... Would I be able to carve it thinner than 1/8" safely since it's not a full hollow, only a semi? Chris ← Then buy a thicker piece of wood. You'll end up going through to the lacewood if you try to carve deep into the 3/16" spruce. It will just be frustrating and not worth the time spent in the end. Just buy a thicker piece of wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Damnit... what a waste of a $50 spruce top... Maybe I'll just go with a flat top THIS time round... And then go for the carve next time. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_A_T_T Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 OK, here's an idea. I fork out another $50 to get another 3/16" of spruce... but i strain this one BEFORE glueing it to the other spruce. So then, it's not 3/8", so I can carve 1/4" total, HOWEVER when the carve carves down PAST the unstrained top it all of a sudden turns ____ (insesrt color of strain of second spruce top undernieth). OR do some other sort of wood (darker than spruce) in the same manner. Thoughts? Chris PS: Cause yeah I'm a fan of big carves too... ← A 1/4" carve will still be un-noticable, like the 'carve' on those lame bolt-on epiphone LP specials or juniors or whatever. Plus you'd have to carve it PERFECTLY for the stained/unstained transition to look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Yeah, I think I've reached the sad conclusion... flat top semi this time... carve next time So thinking forward, ya'll know where to get a nice thick top (spruce... maple...?) cause all the pre-bookmatched tops Gilmer has are 3/16" Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_A_T_T Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Yeah, I think I've reached the sad conclusion... flat top semi this time... carve next time So thinking forward, ya'll know where to get a nice thick top (spruce... maple...?) cause all the pre-bookmatched tops Gilmer has are 3/16" Chris ← You could try here: http://stores.ebay.com/Free-Bracing-With-A...geNameZl2QQtZkm I have an arch-top blank from him I'm turning into two violin tops. Nice stuff. Just look around at wood suppliers on the net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledzendrix1128 Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Id say save it... use it to do a drop top on something... and if you have a little extra cash... buy a nice thick top for this gutiar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Drop top? Not quite familiar with this... I'll do some research. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 Is this what is ment by "drop top"? Where the top does not cover the whole face of the guitar? How it kinda 'drops' into the back/body wood instead of making a real "edge" and being a full covering top? Like this: (Ordered one of these bad boys, AND a solid from them, should get them in Nov, I'm stoked! ) Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 I don't get it...you ordered the wrong piece of wood...I wouldn't change your design because of that. Put the wood aside, you'll find a different project for it. Get the wood that WILL work with your design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 'drop top' mostly just means a thinner cap on a flat top, sometimes bent over a forearm contour. That Kritz has a drop top, and carved edges so the backing wood shows through. Also, plenty of places have thicker tops, certainly maple, some spruce. For Spruce, look for archtop suppliers. I'm sure Gilmer has some stuff that's appropriately thick (5/8" or more), and several EU suppliers can also do the woods you want, including Dave Dyke, Craft Supplies, Touchstone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted September 17, 2005 Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 drop top is usually a 1/4" top,bent over the forearm curve...scott..where is your tutorial?who unpinned it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2005 No No, I've seen that tutorial. I just lost that it was called that. And yeah, I ordered a piece of wood that was wrong, HOWEVER I went ahead and drew up all my plans to accomodate this piece of wood (ie: I still designed my guitar around it) and now I'm looking back as I'm about to start building a little sadly. (Is what happened) Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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