Walnut & Maple, D-35 Inspired Double Cut

[guitarnut]

Well, probably the last thing I need right now is another build going but I couldn't resist once the idea popped into my head...maybe I should have.

It's going to be shaped like my 2 prototype builds except without the "hook". I'll round it out to match the top contour. I'll have a mock up posted soon.

3-peice, chambered walnut back with maple laminates...center section angled like a D-35.

Bookmatched, flame maple cap, double bound in W/B/W binding...may go with flame maple instead.

Maple neck, rosewood board, 14 degree headstock.

25.5" scale, 22 frets, hardtail bridge.

Not sure on electronics yet.

The wood pile. Walnut and maple. Ignore the alder blank...it was an early thought that I changed my mind on.

I laid out the center section so the space between the maple strips at the end of the neck pocket is the same width as the pocket. This will let the maple strips run out on the end of the body with no walnut against the neck...only below it in the bottom of the pocket.

After rough cutting the center on the band saw, I cleaned it up on the jointer. I saved the scraps to use as offset gluing cauls. Dry fit looks good.

Clamped up and drying. I used a clamp across the end of the boards to keep the wedge from spurting out...quite different from the dry clamp test when slick glue is applied

I had to cut some waste off the ends to get the blank under 13" so it would go thru the planer. I didn't plan on the angle making the outside corners a bit farther apart. Trimming worked out fine though.

All planed and ready for profiling and routing.

[guitarnut]

More progress on the body. I got my routing template done...man I don't like routing and sanding MDF. I need to find a better material for templates. Some sort of affordable, workable plastic maybe. Anyway, this one's done.

I usually cut my lines closer but my 1/4" blade wasn't staying in the guide blocks. Need to make a trip to Woodcraft.

I made one pass with the template attached and then removed it to use the body as a guide. I like to get the template out of the works as early as possible to avoid any damage to them.

All trimmed out.

I looked thru 3 top sets I had in the closet. Not thrilled with any of them...probably why they were in the closet.

The one on the left has nice figure but there are a few small knots on the upper horns. The middle has nice figure on the edges but weak in the center of each half and the the one on the right is really nicely figured but has some mineral staining close to the seam. I'll likely resaw something for this build.

[Davieboy]

If you jointed the outer edge before you book matched the middle top then you can just use the outer sides as the middle.

Thats if you book matched the top yourself.

[guitarnut]

If you jointed the outer edge before you book matched the middle top then you can just use the outer sides as the middle.

Thats if you book matched the top yourself.

The areas that have weak figure are down the centers of each board...along the arrows. I probably didn't explain that well.

[Davieboy]

You can make a multi peice wood top out of them. Cut out the bad parts and replace it with accent strips of wood that are being used else where in the guitar.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Davieboy

[guitarnut]

You can make a multi peice wood top out of them. Cut out the bad parts and replace it with accent strips of wood that are being used else where in the guitar.

Thanks for the input. I have a few other options to explore first...

[guitarnut]

I made some progress on the top last night. I ended up resawing a new piece of maple. It was actually a 2 piece top that was glued up for carving but wasn't bookmatched. It's now resawn into 2 thin BM sets.

Here's one of them before planing to final thickness...

And after planing and glue up.

After rough cutting the outline of the top, I'm ready to glue it up. I decided not to chamber the body since the it's only weighs 4.2 lbs before the top.

I've learned to hang the cauls and body over the edge of the bench while starting the first C-clamp. It makes it so much easier to wrangle everything. Once it's set, I can flip it around and set the rear C-clamp and check the center line.

Clampzilla!!!

I'm pretty happy with that. I had planned to do plastic bindings in w/b/w but I may do flame maple after all. I could do a faux binding on top but the top doesn't match the lam strips of maple...the bindings are from the same stock as the lams. A little more work, but worth it.

Mark

[guitarnut]

Much work done on this one yesterday. I've made some design changes also.

The binding has changed to faux binding on the top...it's just too pretty to cover up. Plus, I was struggling with double bound that borders maple on top and walnut on the back. With the maple lams connecting the bidings, it just didn't feel right to me. So, to commit to the new design, I did a generous round over on back. I like the way the maple lams now roll from the sides to the back.

Next was the neck pocket. I was careful to line up on the BM center line.

Sadly, my angles on the back didn't center up like I had hoped. I cleaned up the wedge up on the jointer before gluing and I must have taken more off one edge than the other...oh, well. Onward and upward.

[guitarnut]

Next was the neck. I started with a blank that I glued up and routed back during my first prototype build. Huge time saver. After installing the truss rod, I decided to do a BM walnut veneer for the headstock. I used a simple pressure fit to glue the delicate joint.

I was making good time so I didn't take amny pics of slotting and tapering the fretboard. It was slotted in the StewMac miter box. I replaced my first gen fret saw with the Japanese saw that SM sells and this thing cuts like butter compared to the original model they sold.

After rough cutting on the band saw.

[guitarnut]

This is the 6th set neck I've built and I'm still trying to refine the process. I started out using a router sled and it was just too much setup and produced results that weren't repeatable from neck to neck.

The last 2 necks I made, I rough cut the angle on the band saw and fine tuned it with a plane and sanding block. This worked fine, but setting the angle was still a bit of trial and error.

On this one, I came up with the following. It took all of 5 minutes once I thought out the plan.'

After trimming and fitting the tenon to the pocket, I traced the area where the neck bordered the body.

This gave me the amount of material I needed to remove (A). I transferred this measurement to the bottom (. The point marked zero cut is just that...I don't want to remove any material either side of this point...it's my height reference for the neck so the bottom of the fretboard sits just above the guitar top.

To get the angle I set the neck, fretboard down, onto my band saw table. It's aluminum plate and the flattest surface in my shop. I used a digital angle gauge and zeroed it out on the back of the neck. It doesn't matter if it's truly zero to the horizon or not, it's just a reference. Then, with the heel clamped loosely as a hinge, I slid a pencil under the neck until the gauge read 2.5 degrees.

I used a known good straight edge to mark the 2.5 degree line on the heel.

Then, using digital calipers, I transferred the line to my zero cut point and a point further up the heel and drew my cut line.

[guitarnut]

With the cut line marked, I cut the heel on the band saw, leaving a bit of material so I could take it the line with a block plane. I also trimmed the top of the tenon 5/8".

Since I leveled the fretboard before I set the neck angle, I moved on to markers.

The likely choice for material would be walnut. I used a 1/4" plug cutter and cut some plugs. Glued them in, cut them flush and the put a 12" radius on the fretboard.

A failed neck pocket template clamped to the bench, helps hold the neck in place while blocking out the radius.

[guitarnut]

The heat has been a bear lately and the shop has uninhabitable so I have made any progress on finishing. I've been able to spend a few hours in the mornings working on getting all my builds ready for finish. Here's the state of things. This build and the others are ready for grain filling (as needed) and finish.

More soon.

Mark