Johnny Foreigner Posted January 18, 2011 Report Posted January 18, 2011 On my third build, which has been reduced to more hand tools than power tools since I moved to an apartment, I've decided I'm going to for for a cavity cover matching the back of the guitar. Here's vaguely how I think I'm going to achieve this: The guitar is super skinny - a 13/16" limba base with a 0.29" spalt maple top. Before I glue the top down, I'm going to saw out from the limba the entire area of the cavity cover - sawing along the black line here (this is the back of the guitar): I'll then take the plug I've sawn out, and slice off the top 1/16" or so to give me my actual cover. With the rest of the plug, I'll mark out the lip for the cavity that the cover will sit on, and drill/route it out: and I'll glue that ring back where it came from, before gluing the top on: so my questions are: 1) is this method sound, or is there an easier way? 2) what hand saw can I use that has a kerf thin enough to achieve what I'm trying to do, but will still cut through 13/16" of limba without two many hassles? I feel like a plain old hacksaw might be too thick, but maybe not... any thoughts? I realize a scroll saw is almost certainly the easiest tool for the job but I don't have one, and I'm not going to buy one, given my limitations of space, noise, funds, etc. Quote
ScottR Posted January 18, 2011 Report Posted January 18, 2011 On my third build, which has been reduced to more hand tools than power tools since I moved to an apartment, I've decided I'm going to for for a cavity cover matching the back of the guitar. Here's vaguely how I think I'm going to achieve this: The guitar is super skinny - a 13/16" limba base with a 0.29" spalt maple top. Before I glue the top down, I'm going to saw out from the limba the entire area of the cavity cover - sawing along the black line here (this is the back of the guitar): I'll then take the plug I've sawn out, and slice off the top 1/16" or so to give me my actual cover. With the rest of the plug, I'll mark out the lip for the cavity that the cover will sit on, and drill/route it out: and I'll glue that ring back where it came from, before gluing the top on: so my questions are: 1) is this method sound, or is there an easier way? 2) what hand saw can I use that has a kerf thin enough to achieve what I'm trying to do, but will still cut through 13/16" of limba without two many hassles? I feel like a plain old hacksaw might be too thick, but maybe not... any thoughts? I realize a scroll saw is almost certainly the easiest tool for the job but I don't have one, and I'm not going to buy one, given my limitations of space, noise, funds, etc. A coping saw is the only thing that comes to mind and you are going to have to display some serious patience to pull it off.... And I have not yet figured out to get it started without an obvious drill hole. SR Quote
Johnny Foreigner Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Posted January 18, 2011 And I have not yet figured out to get it started without an obvious drill hole. SR I was thinking a series of 4-5 small drill holes that I could join up with a sharp knife to create a starting slot. Why patience? It's not a quality I possess in great quantities.... Quote
ScottR Posted January 18, 2011 Report Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) And I have not yet figured out to get it started without an obvious drill hole. SR I was thinking a series of 4-5 small drill holes that I could join up with a sharp knife to create a starting slot. Why patience? It's not a quality I possess in great quantities.... A coping saw is not very stable or sturdy, nor will it cut very fast, so patience wil be needed to keep at it and to keep the cut vertical. The blades have a small "T" at each end to attach to the frame which would have to pass through your slot. It is pretty much a hand held scroll saw. SR Edited January 18, 2011 by ScottR Quote
ihocky2 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Posted January 19, 2011 Even with a thin kerf you are still going to have a gap around the ring that you glue back in. You are not going to get a seamless joint. Cutting by hand with a coping saw you are going to have a very tough time staying exactly on the line the entire way around, so you'll want to sand to smooth out the shape. As you sand you create larger gaps in the ring and the cover that might be seen. To do what you are asking is going to take a ton of patience, and should definitely be practiced on scrap until you see how it goes. Quote
guitar2005 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Posted January 19, 2011 Even with a thin kerf you are still going to have a gap around the ring that you glue back in. +1 The proper way to do this would be to slice off 1/16" off the body, plane/sand smooth both sides (body + slice). Then, you have a body and matching wood for cavity covers. That make sense? Quote
Johnny Foreigner Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Posted January 19, 2011 slice 1/16" off the entire body? that's sounds even more perilous than what I'm proposing... and I'd still need to cut out the cover shape. I think the best approach is to pick up a coping saw or fret saw and give it a try on scrap. Quote
darkshadow54321 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Posted January 20, 2011 (edited) slice 1/16" off the entire body? that's sounds even more perilous than what I'm proposing... and I'd still need to cut out the cover shape. I think the best approach is to pick up a coping saw or fret saw and give it a try on scrap. The most accurate (and perhaps easiest) way to get a matching cover would be to route down the guitar back by 1/16" but leave the cover area proud of the surface. Make it oversized so that you can best match the grain. Use a flush cutting saw to cut the cavity cover off the body and then trim it to size. Route the cavity, etc as normal. Not sure if I explained that very well but it's early in the morning... Edited January 20, 2011 by darkshadow54321 Quote
Johnny Foreigner Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Posted January 20, 2011 slice 1/16" off the entire body? that's sounds even more perilous than what I'm proposing... and I'd still need to cut out the cover shape. I think the best approach is to pick up a coping saw or fret saw and give it a try on scrap. The most accurate (and perhaps easiest) way to get a matching cover would be to route down the guitar back by 1/16" but leave the cover area proud of the surface. Make it oversized so that you can best match the grain. Use a flush cutting saw to cut the cavity cover off the body and then trim it to size. Route the cavity, etc as normal. Not sure if I explained that very well but it's early in the morning... no, that makes perfect sense, but I don't think I have 1/16" to lose from the back.... maybe I could... I'll have to think about that. Quote
ihocky2 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Posted January 20, 2011 What Dark shadow said is the most common way to do grain matching covers. It requires a little extra thickness when planning the build and a router sled to remove material across the back and leave enough for the cover. Unfortunately, not the best option for apartments. Quote
FireFly Posted January 21, 2011 Report Posted January 21, 2011 There's going to be missing wood if you saw out a plug... I'm not sure how you're going to glue this in without any obvious lines in the front and back. Quote
Johnny Foreigner Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Posted January 21, 2011 There's going to be missing wood if you saw out a plug... I'm not sure how you're going to glue this in without any obvious lines in the front and back. on the front won't matter because there'll be a maple cap on top. On the back it will be the line around the cavity cover you'd expect to see anyway. It's just an issue of how big the gap is. Quote
FireFly Posted January 22, 2011 Report Posted January 22, 2011 Well, in that case, I'd get a hardwood dowel, and a matching drill bit of the same size. Then drill somewhere in the cutting path with a similar sized drill bit to the hardwood dowel. Then use a coping saw with a fine tooth blade (slow and steady) to get the job done. You can use filler to fill in any gaps, and then fill the initial drill hole with the dowel. Quote
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