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Justin's guitar


ScottR

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I think most would agree with you, and no doubt that is the easiest solution.....especially considering that quilt. It will definitely be carved. I don't think I could force myself to make a flat topped or backed guitar; I'm sure it would make me all twitchy. :D

And I do try to dream up some sort of fresh approach, even though I'm pretty sure there is nothing that has not been done before when it comes to guitars......

This is one that will not get attempted with just a mental picture of how it's going to look though. I'll be glueing up 2x4s and carving them up to test the various options before a knife or router bit ever touches this top.

SR

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How much do you think the quilt pattern will change when you carve it? It is so magnificent right now, I would be afraid to lose any of that extreme depth with the carve. I know you said it will be a mild one, but I was just wondering how deep the quilt pattern stays true.

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How much do you think the quilt pattern will change when you carve it? It is so magnificent right now, I would be afraid to lose any of that extreme depth with the carve. I know you said it will be a mild one, but I was just wondering how deep the quilt pattern stays true.

That quilt is solid all the way through the depth of that board. I'm dressing the gluing surface -- the back of the top right now and it is magnificent on that side too, just not bookmatched. I will lose some of the symmetry of the book match because of the carve, mostly around the edges as the surface gets more removed from the original planes. The bulk of it in the middle will remain the same.

SR

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Huh, that's a good way to look at it.

This weekend it is time to clean up the glueing faces of the body. As per usual, I mark the surface with pencil scribbles and sand them away.

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Then I remark the outline of the body so it can be cleaned up and used to trace out the top.

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This is why a thickness sander sounds so attractive to me. Running this through a planer (which I don't have anyway) is almost guaranteed to rip out bloody great chunks from this figured maple. This thing has been practicing stress relief ever since I glued it up, and I'm going to have to flatten it back out by hand.

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SR

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Nothing for it then, but to suck it up and get 'er done.

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I cannot tell you how much work that was, but it took about 4 hours to get the glue side flat and true. As I mentioned to HCRoadie, the quality of quilt goes all the way through. This is how it looks from the back......

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It wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to make the top from this face.

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But I don't, because I have this one too.

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SR

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The top face has not been completely flattened.......well, because I don't have to, I'm just going to carve it anyway.

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But it has been somewhat flattened so I can tell how thick it will end up being which I need to know to route the neck pocket. The outside three or four inches of the lower bout have had about an eighth of an inch removed and so far it has not really changed the bookmatch at all.

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I used the body for a pattern to make an mdf template that will be used to route some weight relief cavities.

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I had hoped to get the neck set today.....but hadn't seriously considered the effort required to get the top flat. Next week then......

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SR

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Dedication. I would have driven to the wood store and bought a Drum Sander. Oh wait I did years ago. No way I do that flattening by hand in Maple. That is way too much work.

Looks great though. The quilt and bookmatch is exquisite.

I ran into the same kind of thing this weekend. I had a lot of things I wanted to get done and just didn't get them done because of one thing or another taking way longer than it should have.

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Ive said it before and I'm saying it again. You're a patient man Scott. I'm thinking its time for you to build a router sled to help flatten timber like that out. Four hours is 3.5 hours too long to be spending on a task like that.

Other than that this is turning out stunning. The top is incredible.

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Dedication. I would have driven to the wood store and bought a Drum Sander. Oh wait I did years ago. No way I do that flattening by hand in Maple. That is way too much work.

Looks great though. The quilt and bookmatch is exquisite.

I ran into the same kind of thing this weekend. I had a lot of things I wanted to get done and just didn't get them done because of one thing or another taking way longer than it should have.

I ain't a'skeered of a little hard work. Heck some folks pay 50 bucks a month to get that kind of work out. I got it for free! :D

I am a bit sore today, though. :blink:

Actually Brett, I found myself in a similar situation last summer.....perhaps not quite as dramatic as this, and I was sure I had seen a drum sander at one of the hardware stores around. I figured I would just go plunk down 500 bucks and bring that sucker home and plug 'er in and make some sawdust. I went to all the stores in the area and only found planers and they were available to order only. So I got on line and checked out Woodcraft and Rockler and all they had was that open ended Jet like you retired recently and it seems like it was in the neighborhood of 1100 bills. Grizzly had something that I thought I'd like better for 5 or 6 hundred, but you had to order it and I had no idea how long that would take to arrive, but I did know I'd be done with the parts I wanted sanded by then. So when it came up again this weekend, I already knew I couldn't go to my local wood store and buy one........I did seriously consider getting on a plane with it and banging on your garage door tosee if I could run it through yours though. :P

Ive said it before and I'm saying it again. You're a patient man Scott. I'm thinking its time for you to build a router sled to help flatten timber like that out. Four hours is 3.5 hours too long to be spending on a task like that.

Other than that this is turning out stunning. The top is incredible.

Yeah. Even admitting I would use a drum sander if I had it, I do like the feeling of accomplishment I get from doing many of these operations by hand. I really get a lot of pleasure out of the process of building these things, so I don't begrudge some steps taking extra time, it only means I get a few more ours of enjoyment out of it.

Even if it is strenuous.

I've cobbled together a small version of the router sled a couple of times with mixed results. I'm scared to put a router to this though. I'm concerned about the pickup routes but at least they'll have the edges covered after assembly. My top gets neck pocket that will be cut as close as possible and ever so gently cleaned up with a pattern bit, and I'll sand the edges of the body to match the limba by hand.

I cannot imagine the new words I'll make up if I get any blow out in this top. :unsure:

SR

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Yeah. Even admitting I would use a drum sander if I had it, I do like the feeling of accomplishment I get from doing many of these operations by hand. I really get a lot of pleasure out of the process of building these things, so I don't begrudge some steps taking extra time, it only means I get a few more ours of enjoyment out of it.

Even if it is strenuous.

I've cobbled together a small version of the router sled a couple of times with mixed results. I'm scared to put a router to this though. I'm concerned about the pickup routes but at least they'll have the edges covered after assembly. My top gets neck pocket that will be cut as close as possible and ever so gently cleaned up with a pattern bit, and I'll sand the edges of the body to match the limba by hand.

I cannot imagine the new words I'll make up if I get any blow out in this top. :unsure:

SR

I'm confused. You flattened this out before you routed for pickups and the neck pocket right? If that was the case I dont think you'd have to worry about tearing anything up.

I do understand about the joy or simply working on an operation like carving ect. But 4 hrs worth of sanding isnt my idea of gratification. :huh: Just this weekend I started in on doing back carves by hand for 3 guitars I have going (I need to start a thread) and said screw it and broke out my grinder with some 60 grit.

Having the patience you do would serve me well.

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I cannot imagine the new words I'll make up if I get any blow out in this top. :unsure:

SR

Hey Scotty. 2 words NEW CUTTER. If im ever feelin iffy about a potential tear out feat I just get a new router bit.

I have to give credit to you for hand planing that maple. I hand plane all of mine, but not with a bow like that.

I had to deal with it once & decided to use the autoclave to heat/steam it. then squeeze it in a press to flatten it out. Of course I did think to take into account the heat & steams affect on the glue joint didnt I :blink:

Ended up with 2 very hot pieces of timber :D

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I cannot imagine the new words I'll make up if I get any blow out in this top. :unsure:

SR

Hey Scotty. 2 words NEW CUTTER. If im ever feelin iffy about a potential tear out feat I just get a new router bit.

Not a bad idea. Once a cutter hits paper I consider them dull. So if it has ever touched MDF I don't use it on a guitar.

Also I try to keep the maple, limba, mahogany bits separate from the silica heavy exotics (jatoba, purple heart, paduak) to make sure the sharp bits are used on the woods that need sharp bits.

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I cannot imagine the new words I'll make up if I get any blow out in this top. :unsure:

SR

Hey Scotty. 2 words NEW CUTTER. If im ever feelin iffy about a potential tear out feat I just get a new router bit.

I have to give credit to you for hand planing that maple. I hand plane all of mine, but not with a bow like that.

I had to deal with it once & decided to use the autoclave to heat/steam it. then squeeze it in a press to flatten it out. Of course I did think to take into account the heat & steams affect on the glue joint didnt I :blink:

Ended up with 2 very hot pieces of timber :D

Actually I did consider steam and pressure to squeeze some flat back into it.....but did not want to turn it back into two pieces of wood. :D And squeezing it back flat seems like it will just put the stress that it has been relieving right back into it. I always think it is better to let it finish moving and then shape it back to where I want it. That way it's not still trying to move.

That billet arrived dry and nicely machined square. I wonder how much it moved prior to the machining it got.

The advice you two both give will be followed......'tis good advice.

SR

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I dunno man. I have seen timber put into vacuum ovens to be dried out. Stuff stacked in there 2 foot high. Just stacking board on top of board, closing it up & cooking it for 2 days. comes out dry & flat-ish. Just needs a little surfacing. But this stuff was realy wet going in, One batch of poplar had boards that were dripping.

I dont use it if its not air dried for at least 2-3 years, & even then its cut & let rest for about 6 monthe prior to shaping.

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Well.....that part of it is done at this point. so we'll just move along. I squared up some MDF pieces and built a neck pocket template. My tenon has about a two degree angle in it so the pocket can be level.

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I added a couple of layers of blue tape to the edges to tighten the template up and then touch up the edges of the neck tenon till it just fits.

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And the obligatory "look how tight it fits" shot.

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SR

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Then I use the pocket as a guide to route out the neck cutout in the top. Ignore the raggediness of the cutaway side.....that is just for support during glue up. It will go away when I carve the neck join.

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I seem to have neglected to take picks of the glue up....we've all seen clamp farms anyway.......but here it is all glued up and properly set.

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Les Paul shaped bodies are heavy. I'm going to do some weight reduction.

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SR

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These are not seriously deep, since I'm going to carve the back too. The treble side is the same depth as the neck pocket. The center is 1/8th" deeper than that and the control side is 1/8th" deeper still.

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Next I flip the template and make the same chambers in the top--just short of the depth that I'll leave at the edge to carve to.

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SR

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I honestly have no idea. I can easily feel the difference so I'd guess in the ballpark of two pounds. I expect to knock two or three more off with the top back and neck join carves......

.......and then put a pound and a half back on with clear and hardware.

SR

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