newbiejon Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Hi does anyone know if a half inch top is too thin for a carved finish. Obviously you can do what you want but has anyone tried it and failed or succeded? cheers Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rradams Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Hey Jon, The LP style that I am working on right now has a maple cap that is just shy of 1/2". I have decided to go with a fairly deeply carved top ala PRS. The 1/2" of wood has been fine. I did sand thru at one point where I came off the binding because I dip downward pretty deep but that was a miscalculation on my part. In short 1/2" should be fine. Carving a top can be almost as gratifying as carving a neck. Have fun! Rubin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbiejon Posted March 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 thanks for the reassurance second question, are you carving it or using a sander or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rradams Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 I have tried a variety of methods. The one that has worked best for me is a die grinding bit to rough carve the shape I want. This tool has a lot of flutes that spiral around the bit and has a bullet shape. I then go back with a dremil and sanding drum to smooth some and I finish with a sanding block made with a Magic Rub pencil eraser. With the rough and dremil work I worked in stages so that I don't remove too much wood. My method is not without mistakes as I have had to rebind the body when I cut into it when I got too close. This also resulted in having to carve deeper which led me to the sandthru that I referd to above. Mine is by no means the only way, but it has worked for me... :-) Rubin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazyderek Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 if you're doing an arm rest you might want to bend that section of the top... other then that you should be ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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