idmicheal Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 So I started my second guitar last week. It's going to be pretty similar to the first, but with walnut neck, back, and sides this time. A friend found a huge billet of walnut in his basement (6'high x 10" wide x almost 2" thick), so after he took some wood out of it to make a harp, he gave me the rest, which is enough for two backs and one neck, plus one set of sides. I'm sure I could've gotten more wood out of it if I used scarf joints on my necks, but I really don't want to go there at this point in time Carving the top. Getting it hacked down. The shape is coming along. You can see where I planed it down to 1/4". And here it is after I've finished carving but before scraping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Drilling the inside to 3/8". At some point while I was carving I noticed a very distinct piney smell, which I didn't notice quite so much on my first top. At first I attributed it to this top being European spruce, where the previous one was Sitka, and they each have somewhat different smells. But as I carved some more I found this: Now I wouldn't expect to see a sap pocket in a properly dried top, but it was just about dead center thickness-wise, so maybe it is just some strange sort of exception. If anyone has any input please chime in! I did notice that this European spruce is much easier to carve across-grain than the Sitka. It is slightly closer grained, but I don't how much a difference that would make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 So I had a huge amount of trouble with the f-holes on this one. I wasn't quite happy with the f-holes on my last top; I did them with a coping saw and they weren't as clean and perpendicular to the face of the top as I would have liked, and that made binding them more difficult. So I wanted to try a sort of over-arm pin router setup this time around, with a template that I would clamp the top onto, which in turn would ride on a pin that corresponded to a router bit, so it would cut the shape perfectly, and perpendicular to boot. But I don't have an overarm pin router. So I tried to rig something up with my normal router, but I didn't have enough clearance underneath, and the bit wasn't quite long enough. So lo and behold I found that I have a spiral down cut bit for my Dremel tool, which I'd used to cut out my templates. So I proceeded to rig something up so that I'd have enough clearance to run my top underneath. So all was going well, I started my Dremel and got it cutting though the wood, and then my work surface slipped. I had a piece of MDF sitting on my workbench to give me a larger surface, and I hadn't clamped it tightly enough, so when I was sliding my template along the pin, it just pulled the work surface, cutting a line that wasn't in keeping with the shape of the f-hole. So after turning everything off and staring in shock for a while, I starting messing around and realized that it would be salvageable if I made the f-holes teardrop shaped, like some Gretches. So I drew up a shape that would work and cut a new template and went about trying the same Dremeling method. This time I made sure my work surface was secure, but the bit on my Dremel was too long ( ) and sort of caught in the grain and started tracking outside of the confines of the template. So I turned everything off again, and thought that it was done for this time. So after leaving it for a day to avoid getting too frustrated, I again redesigned the already redesigned f-holes (outlined in the picture above). So tonight I cut them out with a coping saw *sigh* which I should've done in the first place, and I'm actually very pleased. I quite like the teardrop shape to begin with, and I'm sure I wouldv'e done one at some point, but I really didn't like being forced into doing it unexpectedly. So I noticed after cutting out the holes, that one side of my top was a bit thicker than the other, so I carved it down. ^ thicker^ vthinnerv Light! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Starting the walnut back. I really want to get a bigger convex-soled plane to make this process go faster, and have fewer blisters. This block plane works okay, but only on the very edges. Mmm, I love the smell of walnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpm99 Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Nice work! That sap pocket is sort of funny though. Where did you get the wood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I got it from Stew-Mac, so I'd expect that they would know what they're doing when it come so wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Most coniferous woods can have sap pockets like that, and they don't go away with drying. Drying removes the moisture, not the resins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 Alright, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juntunen Guitars Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I really want to get a bigger convex-soled plane Get gouging chisels, a violin maker I know says they are the best way to carve arch tops, they are nice for carving the tapers in brace stock as well. I'm excited to see the walnut on this when it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I've got the back finished being carved and scraped. Here I've scraped it clean, but there is one gouge left from the plane that is a bit deeper. It is really hard to see without this kind of lighting, but I don't think I can get rid of it without altering the shape of the back, which I really can't do at this point. I guess I'll see what it looks like after sanding. When my friend found this billet of wood, we saw that there was this little hole in it, so we stuck a pencil in to see how deep it was, and it wasn't too bad, so we kinda just forgot about it. Come to find out after I start carving it that that hole ended up being in the back. It's only about 7/64" across, but I had to fill it with dust and glue, and it ended up being a small dark spot. It doesn't at all affect the structure of the back, but it's still kinda annoying I thickness planed my sides to 3/32" today, and I sawed some of the excess wood off to maybe try as bindings. I'm really feeling wood bindings on this one; something about plastic would look out of place against the walnut. I have some ebony for bindings too, but it really isn't much darker than the walnut, so I'm undecided on which I will do. Any opinions? I'll try to get some pictures of the options up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 7, 2012 Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 I'd go for either cream plastic or maple. Either will give a good contrast from the sides/top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 Oooh, maple would be nice. I hadn't thought of that for some reason. I could do a 2-ply with ebony for some contrast on the f-holes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) *edit, double post* Edited March 7, 2012 by idmicheal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 I decided to go with plain ebony on the f-holes, but I think I'll do an ebony-maple 2ply for the back and sides, so that there is some nice contrast. Here are the sides setting after being steam-bent. And I decided to go with a single humbucker in this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Here are the bindings scraped and sanded clean. Fitting the braces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Here are the finished braces. I had a more trouble bending the sides on this one than the last one. I think that walnut is more difficult to put into tight bends by virtue of the really open pores. I had a lot of trouble with it splitting where the cutaways curve into the neck heel area. Luckily I had long enough pieces for the sides that I could cut off the split part and start again. I' really pleased with the neck block fit on this one. The previous guitar I'd tried to shape the block to match the curvature of the sides, so that I would have reinforcement, but after feeling that one I decided that putting a straight block in would be plenty sturdy enough. It is really difficult to get the sides bent to precisely match the form, so I made the neck block just a tad oversized and pounded it in with a mallet so that it formed the sides. Tailblock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bukoffsky Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 This is going to be a sweet guitar. I just love the look of walnut. Lacquer or oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Lacquer. I've been waiting for the weather to get warm so I can practice spraying it though! I've never sprayed a finish before This is going to be a sweet guitar. I just love the look of walnut. Thanks! The walnut back is really beautiful in person, and I'm sure it will really pop once it's finished. I'm really pleased with how this one is turning out, but I'm making it for my dad who's left-handed, so I'm kinda sad that I'll never be able to play it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 You guys with your arched top hollow bodies and that acoustic are really impressing me with the amount of work that goes into those. This is quite good so far, do carry on. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thanks Scott! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 So I took the sides out of the form to glue the linings, and it was a bit of a squeeze getting them back in. The place where the bend was the most severe started to split out a bit, but I put some glue in the split and it glued back up nicely, and I'm sure it will hold fine. Gluing the back on. Last look inside before it's closed up! I did two coats of shellac inside, just so it has some protection against rapid moisture change. I did the same on the top. This shows the color of the walnut better, but still not like in person. And the top gluing up with cauls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 And here is it! I'm really liking this guitar. The body is super-light, and incredibly loud and resonant I'm getting more and more bummed that it is going to be left-handed The neck, however, is not going so well. I made up a routing fixture for my neck, to use with a dovetail bit and bearing, and I started the cut, and when I was almost done, the bearing started to vibrate and slide up the shaft and I didn't catch it before it had gone up above the template and cut too deep. So I was just going to live with this; maybe try to fill it or something. But then this happened: I had a fence clamped to my routing table to route the truss rod channel, but it was an awkward situation and I wasn't able to get as many clamps on it as I would've liked. When the router turned on and I started making the cut, the vibration started to slide my fence. *facepalm* I haven't decided if I want to scrap the neck or stick with it. If I was making it for myself I would just live with the mistakes and the knowledge gained, but since I'm doing it as a surprise for my Dad (he knows I'm making it, so he's down in my shop with me all the time and he know that this happened, he just doesn't know it's for him) and I would really like it to be perfect. I would feel kinda cheap if I keep it, like I'm sloughing off a scrap neck because I know that he won't say anything about it. I know that it's salvageable and still structurally sound, but it irks me. Anybody willing to weigh in would be appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 I would simply fill it and re-route, to be honest. I make all my necks with CF reinforcement (not sure if you're going that direction), so we're looking at a tiny little amount of 'gap' that would otherwise remain present after routing the slot in the correct position. Fill with a piece of wood (might be easiest to do after routing the truss rod slot in the proper position, and then re-route. Depends how you're jigged up) and go with it. No structural or strength or aesthetic disadvantage for the finished instrument, and while I understand the 'it needs to be perfect' mentality all too well, scrapping a neck over something like this is ridiculous. Particularly since you will never, ever, ever see it in the finished instrument (which is not the case for some other kinds of repairs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Yep, you can fix both of those without any problem as they will be internalized. For the neck just route out straight, square of the round end with a chisel and fill with square moulding from the hardware shop. For the tenon, smooth off the wound, and glue on flexible shavings, build up the bulk then shape it. Noone will ever know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idmicheal Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. Yeah, I think I'll go ahead with the neck. I can always make him another perfect one later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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