henrim Posted February 7 Author Report Share Posted February 7 There’s been more playing than building. And when you play, you realize how the guitar you pare playing could be made better. So, before dismantling any existing guitars I thought I should continue with this one instead. After some more fiddling I got the neck in proper alignment and drilled holes for the neck mounting bolts. Next I need to drill holes for the string ferrules and make access holes for the electric stuff. Then I can start shaping the body. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 8 Author Report Share Posted February 8 Just as I was so proud of myself yesterday, about being able to list next steps in advance, I carved the neck today. Rough carve it is and I need to think about the heel area a bit before carving it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 Your rough carve already looks very playable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 8 Author Report Share Posted February 8 59 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: Your rough carve already looks very playable! Yeah, the shape is pretty much there, I just need to skim a mm or so. This would be a good time to put strings on, but I haven’t made the bridge yet. On the other hand I think I can finish this neck without strings because the neck profile is same as in my padouk top guitar. Which is a profile I like the best. Skinny but round, if that makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 10 Author Report Share Posted February 10 I decided that instead of using ferrules I’ll make a brass bar to retain the strings. Mainly because with 10,5 mm string spacing the 10 mm ferrule row look too crowded. I guess I could find smaller ferrules or make them myself but I think I like the bar better on this one. I drilled through holes and chiseled a slot for the bar that doesn’t exist yet. At least I now know what size it’s going to be In the other picture there is my drill press table. It has a sacrificial insert. I just lock the table and drill through the insert, put a m4 bolt in it and use that as a locating pin for two side drilling. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 (edited) As I was going to plane the top smooth I finally decided to tackle an issue with my smoothing plane. At some point I have managed to sharpen the blade out of square. I haven’t bothered to fix it because I can adjust the angle in the plane. But it has gradually gotten worse and today it was finally time to grind the blade square again. Although I didn’t grind it because it is so cold in the basement. Instead I did it in the upstairs workshop and squared the blade with 180 grit water stone by hand and then the rest with the Tormek. Took some time but now it’s pretty close to perfect again. And yes, I got the top smoothed too. Edited February 12 by henrim 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 Control cavities. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 On 2/12/2024 at 4:14 PM, henrim said: As I was going to plane the top smooth I finally decided to tackle an issue with my smoothing plane. At some point I have managed to sharpen the blade out of square. I haven’t bothered to fix it because I can adjust the angle in the plane. But it has gradually gotten worse and today it was finally time to grind the blade square again. Although I didn’t grind it because it is so cold in the basement. Instead I did it in the upstairs workshop and squared the blade with 180 grit water stone by hand and then the rest with the Tormek. Took some time but now it’s pretty close to perfect again. And yes, I got the top smoothed too. Nice plane and nice work! Do you ever put a camber on your smoothing plane blades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 14 Author Report Share Posted February 14 7 minutes ago, RVA said: Nice plane and nice work! Do you ever put a camber on your smoothing plane blades? Yes, I did this time a tiny camber. Maybe couple of tenths or so (mm). Previously that blade was straight (albeit not square) and I had just the corners very slightly radiused. There are many ways to sharpen and people use different angles and methods. I tend to grind my blades to 25° with straight edge and then I sharpen a ~5° micro bevel. With the micro bevel I give the edges a bit more pressure to get a very slight camber. With Tormek sharpening is so fast that I have done some blades without micro bevel but it’s easier to maintain the edge by honing if there is a micro bevel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 17 Author Report Share Posted February 17 Trying make sure that intestines fit inside the body before I carve it. Made mount rings for pots and switch. And turned cavity covers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 19 Author Report Share Posted February 19 There’s this old Finnish saying: Konstit on monet, sanoi mummo, kun kissalla pöytää pyyhki. Which is essentially the same as “There’s more than one way to skin a cat”. Both involve cats, although in the Finnish version there is probably less animal cruelty. Or maybe more, I don’t know. There is this old lady who wipes the table with the cat. Anyway I did a hole for the output jack using a tube notcher, because I thought it would be easier to set up the angle than it would be in the drill press. I’m not sure if it was though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 20 Report Share Posted February 20 11 hours ago, henrim said: using a tube notcher I didn't even know such a tool existed! After some googling I now know what it's originally for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 20 Report Share Posted February 20 There's some really nice work going on here, @henrim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 20 Author Report Share Posted February 20 1 hour ago, Bizman62 said: I didn't even know such a tool existed! After some googling I now know what it's originally for. Yeah, I realize now that the picture doesn’t make much sense if you are not familiar with the tool. Agreed, not the most common one on a luthier’s bench. It worked in the end but a hole saw is not the best tool for long holes as I had to chisel the remaining plug out a few times before I got to the bottom. Now I have all the Swiss cheese work done, and it’s finally time to take some shavings to get the body to final shape. But off to skiing first ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iommichild Posted February 25 Report Share Posted February 25 Man, I love all the cool different tools/ways to do things I find in this forum. So clever! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted February 27 Author Report Share Posted February 27 Nowhere near sanding but I was in the hardware store today and picked up some Abranet stuff. I first thought about getting discs for random orbital sander but, then I saw this. So far the only non-electric tool I have with a vacuum hose. How uncool is that! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted March 1 Author Report Share Posted March 1 Friday night shaving. I love these little planes. Can’t remember where I got them from but I guess they are Chinese or Japanese. Markings look like a bit like Japanese Katakana to me. But I don’t know, may as well be something else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted March 1 Author Report Share Posted March 1 Progrezz. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted March 3 Author Report Share Posted March 3 There are no mishaps, only opportunities. I tipped over a can of osmo and realized it was time to clean the table, scrape it and give it a new coat of osmo. That 30mm MDF top has served me well almost 20 years. Only occasional scraping and oiling is needed. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted March 15 Author Report Share Posted March 15 My bass has “a tiny intonation problem” so I first thought about fixing it, but realized it may not be worth it. So I started looking at available commercial alternatives but, the cheap short scale Ibanez basses I like are out of stock in Finland. And because there are strikes going on, parcels are not moving from Central Europe either. So I designed myself a bass… but came to senses. I guess I can live a little longer without one and finish this guitar first instead. We’ll see, maybe I build that bass someday but I guess I just buy one, once they are available. Made a headstock plate and glued it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted March 16 Author Report Share Posted March 16 On 3/3/2024 at 11:29 AM, henrim said: There are no mishaps, only opportunities. Scratch that. I don’t know what happened. I just somehow managed to drill one tuner hole in wrong place on the front side of the headstock (backside is fine). It’s not a biggie because the front side is going to be painted and it won’t be visible. But, it is one of those mistakes I like to blame myself for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 We've all done it, @henrim Still looking great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADFinlayson Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 On my last acoustic, I had to plus and redrill before I got tuner holes right on the third time, I was absolutely livid with myself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrim Posted April 3 Author Report Share Posted April 3 I’ve been postponing this one for some time now. Because every time I coat a guitar body I tell myself I need a better way to support the body while spraying it. So far I’ve been hanging them from a ceiling hook, but it’s difficult to have a good access around the body in the limited space I have. So, I finally decided to build a fixture that allows me to rotate the body in every direction. I have done some drawings, but I think I’m going to improvise a bit. I found this used Volvo wheel hub I have saved for the last ten years waiting for a situation like this. Bearing still works well enough for rotating a guitar body. Now I just need to dig my storage a bit more for other pieces and do some welding and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted April 4 Report Share Posted April 4 Well, that should hold it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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