txisan Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 i want to put a 1/4" quilted maple top to my soloist body. the question; How can i fold it to accomodate the cut for the arm?? Quote
renablistic Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 heat. Use a clothes iron. The steam helps it too. I've heard some people do it that way, anyways.. Quote
Devon Headen Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 Yeah...preferably turn the steam function on if you have one...if not....buy one that does . Quote
krazyderek Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 we don't have a tutorial for this yet? SCOTT!!!!! 1 Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 ok ok, Next Drop top I do I'll do a Tutorial. I use a Vacuum Press to do it now but I can explain how to do it the steam and clamps way for you. You'll need lots of clamps. 1. Cut the Body shape slightly larger than final size. Don't route the pickups or neck pocket. 2. Make sure your forearm contour is gradual. If it's too abrupt the top will crack when you bend it. 3. Draw a pencil line on your top to roughly show where the bend will be. 4. Slightly dampen the top in the area of the bend. Be carefull not to saturate the glue joint of your bookmatch or you'll risk separating when you add steam. 5. Spread Titebond (not titebond 2) liberally on the body. Get some flat boards to distribute the clamping force for the flat part of the body clamp the top to the glued body. 6. Steam the forearm bend until it becomes slightly flexible. Again be careful not to get too close to the bookmatch glue joint. 7. Start clamping from the flat top and keep adding clamps slowly down the contour until you get to the end. 8. Go back and check all your clamps to be certain they're tight. Glue lines are ugly. 9. Go away for a day or two. If you take the clamps off too soon the bend will pop up 10. Remove the clamps and sand the body to final size. I say this because Figured wood tends to tear out and chip when routing. This post has been promoted to an article 2 Quote
Brian Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 Pinned for future reference, cool stuff Scott.......... Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 Thanks Brian. I'm sure I missed a thing or two, I 'll edit the original post when I figure out how to explain it better Quote
rsera Posted November 27, 2003 Report Posted November 27, 2003 Hi Scott could you use bags of sand if you dont have clamps or would that not work with this thick a material? Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted November 28, 2003 Report Posted November 28, 2003 NO! That works with Veneer but not with a thick top. If you manage to get it to bend you wont get it tight and will have a huge glue line or worse Quote
ryeisnotcool2 Posted December 5, 2003 Report Posted December 5, 2003 do you use the vacuum bag for that thick of a top though scott? ive used them before in a cabinet shop for venneering whole sheets of ply! they work great, we also would veneer raised panel doors! Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted December 5, 2003 Report Posted December 5, 2003 Yeah I use the Vacuum Bag now but on the 7 String I used clamps and steam Quote
fidgec94 Posted December 12, 2003 Report Posted December 12, 2003 That cap is so cool, i think im gonna cry Quote
JohnJohn Posted December 22, 2003 Report Posted December 22, 2003 Yeah,steam and vaccum all the way. Quote
pour bleeding me Posted December 22, 2003 Report Posted December 22, 2003 that guitar looks awesome!! it makes me want to strip down one of my guitars...hmmm.... Quote
Devon Headen Posted December 27, 2003 Report Posted December 27, 2003 I'm sure someone has noticed this before now, but it hasn't been posted, you can't just add the drop top, you're gonna have to make up for it by (probably) recessing your bridge. Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted December 28, 2003 Report Posted December 28, 2003 I allow for it when I plane the body to thickness. that way I dont have to do any strange recesses, and you don't have a really thick body this way Quote
Guest Litchfield Custom Gutars Posted January 11, 2004 Report Posted January 11, 2004 you can also use the bathtub with very HOT water to get the wood pliable. Then clamp in place for 24 hours. Sould maintain shape for glueing. Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted January 15, 2004 Report Posted January 15, 2004 you can also use the bathtub with very HOT water to get the wood pliable. Then clamp in place for 24 hours. Sould maintain shape for glueing. if you use this method, make absolutely sure that you dont get the glue joint wet or it will come apart. I only recommend doing it this way when using a one piece top Quote
frank falbo Posted February 13, 2004 Report Posted February 13, 2004 I made a Brian Moore style 7 that's green/quilt top like Scott's, mahogany back, 2 hums, I perked up when I saw that pic they're so similar. (Nice work by the way) On that one the top has that "arc" radius. There's no forearm bend, but a constant radius across the whole top. So what I did there was to start with a very oversized top, cut only for the fretboard. (deep set neck, already attatched) I pre-arced it. Then I put a piece of MDF under the guitar. I drilled over 100 holes all around the body, and then used screws as my clamps. It was wonderful. I could put the screws in at an angle to adjust the direction of the pressure, and because they were screws (duh) I could adjust the exact amount of torque. I did also use weight across the top. Because of the cutout for the fretboard, it worked wonderfully in the cutaways. I was thinking how this would work on a drop top, and I think it would be okay, but since most of the guitar is flat, you might as well clamp it, to get even pressure across the whole top. Quote
GuitarMaestro Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 Today I bended a 5mm quilted maple top over the forearmcontour of a JEM. With a heating iron with steem function it did work but it was not great. That brought me to the idea to use our steam cleaner for the job. That tool is PERFECT for the job. If you have a steam cleaner then DEFINATELY use that. Quote
Biblical Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 if i were to do that hw long would you reackon it would take to get flexible Quote
Scott Rosenberger Posted March 7, 2004 Report Posted March 7, 2004 if i were to do that hw long would you reackon it would take to get flexible Depends on the wood. Zebrawood takes a really long time. a couple hours or more. Maple doesn't take as long Quote
mullmuzzler Posted March 27, 2004 Report Posted March 27, 2004 I made a Brian Moore style 7 that's green/quilt top like Scott's, mahogany back, 2 hums Any pics or link, please? mullmuzzler | OSSMT Quote
Blues-core Posted April 11, 2004 Report Posted April 11, 2004 *Edited due to me being a dumb ass and not reading the 1st page of the thread* Am I OK glueing the top down and leaving the wood of the arm rest without glue untill it sets and then glueing the top to the arm rest section of the body seperatly ? Thanks Mike Quote
nsherman2006 Posted April 11, 2004 Report Posted April 11, 2004 I'm considering building a guita, and am wondering how easy it would be to get a one-piece maple top for a drop top. I like one-piece's, and really want to do a drop top. Any tips? Also, should I stain the top before or after i put it on the body? Thanks. Neal Quote
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