RickBlacker Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Hey all. Attempting to build a Gibson Explorer. One of the drawbacks of my build is that I don't have a planer. Tried to use my table saw for thickness. That worked but was not perfect. After gluing up, cutting out the body, I've got some wobble when it sit on my table saw. Curious if this has happen to anyone else, and if so, how did you correct it? Also, did you worry about both sides being perfectly flat? Yesterday I ran across some hold hand planes that I grabbed from my dad several years ago. They were in bad shape, I cleaned up the jack plane and was surprised that it's actually in great shape as well as the blade. It seems to me that this might be my only salvation. Wish I had noticed this before I cut out the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 It the 'wobble' sends the upper wing towards your body , that'll work out to your advantage. Flatten the back ( use a straight-edge to check things out ) and you're good to go. If its warped the other way - toward the audience - I'd say plane it flat and if you lose too much thickness, you can always add a top. pics help, but even info , like how much the cup is and which way or what part of the body its on, can help make better offerings for solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 It the 'wobble' sends the upper wing towards your body , that'll work out to your advantage. Flatten the back ( use a straight-edge to check things out ) and you're good to go. If its warped the other way - toward the audience - I'd say plane it flat and if you lose too much thickness, you can always add a top. pics help, but even info , like how much the cup is and which way or what part of the body its on, can help make better offerings for solutions. Thanks for the reply. I can take some pictures tonight and post them. I'm thinking about building a router plane jig. I really want this to be flat on both sides. However, I am curious about your comment about the upper wing and having it bow back towards your body. Why is that? Is it a playability issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Yes, it's a comfort thing.... I had an explorer that was a pain in the arm after about 1/2 hr onstage. Came to find out that it was the 'sharp' edge of the body's upper wing. When I built mine, I put some relief there, sorta rounded it a bit like a strat body so my right arm has a spot to rest, not a sharp ledge. I put a tummy cut in the back too. saved a bit of weight and made it a tad more comfy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Great ideas for the comfort factor! I may have to borrow your ideas and implement them into mine as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 carving the top will give you the same result. I like to plane the edges of my joints so that they meet nice and flat. Then when I want to put a top on, its as easy as glue, drop, clamp, wait. Then I can carve the angles and bevles out the way I want. I think the best way to get a smooth seamless join is to get a nice bench plane (#5 and up), tune it up nice and flat (check youtube for advice on this) sharpen the blade up, and *shhhhhhhhhhick!* plane it nice and smooth! A jointer works, too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted January 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 carving the top will give you the same result. I like to plane the edges of my joints so that they meet nice and flat. Then when I want to put a top on, its as easy as glue, drop, clamp, wait. Then I can carve the angles and bevles out the way I want. I think the best way to get a smooth seamless join is to get a nice bench plane (#5 and up), tune it up nice and flat (check youtube for advice on this) sharpen the blade up, and *shhhhhhhhhhick!* plane it nice and smooth! A jointer works, too I have a couple of hand planes that I got from my dad when he passed away. They are old circa 1960s. They were in bad shape, I cleaned one of them up. I tried to use the one I cleaned up, it still cut, but was not exactly sure what I was doing. I'm thinking about going a different route... Something along these lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 carving the top will give you the same result. thats what i meant.... and I did the 'bend the top over the arm carve' method too...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted January 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 Last night I implemented a makeshift sled like the one in that video. Worked great. Have a nice flat guitar on both sides now. Really need a decent planer so I don't have this issue again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted January 5, 2011 Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 You're in the middle of a build right now so it won't help much, but I would recommend doing some reading and research on setting up and sharpening hand planes. The initial setup takes some time, but once it is setup it doesn't take much extra work. I am a huge proponent of hand planes, since I learned how to set them up I have never made a body joint with any thing else. I use hand planes for everything I can, body joints, scarf faces, minor flattening after gluing, truing edges. Once you get one setup they are a joy to use. They are so much quieter and less messy. I still use my planer for quick rough thicknessing and flattening, but when it comes time for the fine detail work I go for the hand plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted January 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2011 hey ihocky2 Do you have a power jointer that you use at all? I'm going to work on those planes that were handed down to me. Probably take them into some place like Rockler or Woodcraft to find out if they are even worth my effort. I'm sure they are. I don't have a sharpening station so I'd like to find out if they can sharpen the blades for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihocky2 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 I have a small power jointer that I will ocassionally use. Mostly on other project when pieces are really badly out of square. After I cut something on the tablesaw though I just grab the handplane. If the edge is close to square it literally only take a few passes with the handplane to get it flat and square. All of my planes are OLD Stanley handplanes that needed a good deal of attention. Maybe one evening of working on them each and they are in great working order again. All I did for sharpening was to buy this sharpening jig http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2003114/576/Honing-Guide.aspx and then I found a place that sold tempered glass and got a 12" square piece. I took a precision straight edge to make sure it was perfectly flat and then I use sand paper to sharpen on using the Scary Sharp technique. Took some time to get the angle set right and to clean up the blade but now it takes less than five minutes to sharpen 4 blades before I start a project. I only run them across 1200-2000 grit to refine the edge. After some time I bought good blades for them, but the originals worked okay as well. For what you'll pay Woodcraft to do one sharpening I would spend the money and get one of thesehttp://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020080/19129/Pinnacle-Honing-Guide-Kit.aspx. Their pricey to start but I think woodcraft is like $15 per blade to sharpen, I might be wrong on that price though. Do some searching on Google for Tuning a Handplane and Scary Sharp. It's less intimidating than it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 ihocky2 Thanks for the heads up on the tools. Rockler has a scary sharp system http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5983&filter=Scary%20Sharp I may buy that in the next pay check or so. Depends on when I build another guitar. I don't do much wood working as it is, but have found that building guitars is fun. So far. Hard to really say, this is my first, so it's good so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Forrester Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Last night I implemented a makeshift sled like the one in that video. Worked great. Have a nice flat guitar on both sides now. Really need a decent planer so I don't have this issue again. After YEARS of cutting and surfacing wood by hand, and dreaming of owning a nice powered planer, I finally purchased ('financed') one in '06. It's a JET 15", and it's the BEST tool I've ever purchased, bar-none. You'll be amazed how much you'll use it.....even for making guitar-building tools, templates and jigs. The JET jointer was my next purchase. Again, I use it all the time, and wonder how I got along without it. Beg, borrow, or steal......get yourself a planer!!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBlacker Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Beg, borrow, or steal......get yourself a planer!!!! Mike Yeah I hear you. I have a bunch of maple left over, going to make another guitar out of that. I probably will get a planer before my next build. I know that there are some folks who really enjoy hand tools, I totally respect that. But, I have to admit, I like having power tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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