wardd

Now someone correct me if I’m wrong on this: The story I’ve always seen on the origin of the guitars shape is that it is an instrument that was originally used by a man to serenade a woman. i.e. You sit below their window and sing to them. Thus, the guitar is shaped like a woman. Be Cool, d ward

I've been looking at the "Tang Top" in the GOTM and trying to figure out how you came up with the name. Finally, I took the time to read some of the posts on it so I now see the TankTop / TangTop thing. But, if it is to resemble a girls Tank Top shouldn't it be configured like this? Sorry, I had some free-time and had the idea to play with the pickup configuration. Seriously, I really like the sectioned top wood, makes for a unique look. Be Cool, d ward

nothinghead, Well like all of us, you now know how not to do something which is one of the more important lessons to learn. If possible, always experiment first would be my strongest suggestion. On the glue, I use the polyurethanes for laminating necks, bookmatching tops or working with cocobolo or other woods that don't glue well. For large areas or headstock laminates I'd use Titebond. Either way I always use wax paper or tin foil as a barrier for any glue that might squeeze through a crack, pin hole etc. The poly glues are strong, but the foaming can be a problem. Good Luck, d ward

John, Here's an interesting link I found. Seems like a respectable maker with lots of luthier info. Some interesting electon microscope pics of varnish. http://www.gussetviolins.com/varnish.htm Good Luck, d ward

John, I really think you need to find actual spirit varnish made for violin work, that is if you want any chance of the instrument sounding good. I believe either Poly or Tru-oil would kill the tone. Stew-Mac sells some - $27 for 16 oz. Good Luck, d ward

John, Just to qualify this, in the 70's I worked in a violin shop and was interested in building so I did a lot of research on the subject. The finish on a violin is one of the critical elements. You need to use an oil based varnish made for violins. The other important element is to try to start with very thin coats and then build it up. i.e. To "float" the varnish on so it doesn't soak into the wood. Not sure on where to get it though. Good Luck, d ward

sveb, I've used the water-based lacquer from Stew-Mac. According to their schedule it's a few hours between coats and a week before polish. It's worked OK for me. I'd be interested in hearing other opinions. Good Luck, d ward

Azlan, On my last project I did this: I made a "movable" bridge by placing the main bridge piece on some wood strips with the saddles centered and a center line drawn on the strips. Then I strung the guitar up to tune and moved the bridge around checking the intonation until I had a postion that allowed for enough saddle movement to allow for the needed settings. This then gave me a center line for the bridge. It worked for me, might work for you, or at least generate some other advice posts giving you other options. Good Luck, d ward

Titan, Glad to be of help. As I tell my students: I am not God, however, there are times when I appear to be Godlike. Be Cool, d ward

Really cool. I like the modified SG body shape. As it happens, I made my first guitar out of a maple table my mom got at a auction sale. That was in 1979 or so and I was around 27 then so you have a few years head start on me. I'm a teacher so I'm wondering what a GCSE project is. I spend my days with people your age so you should feel really proud of this project. It's way.... better than anything I see our shop kids do. Keep up the good work, d ward

Folk, When I look at the GOTM, I see the “showcase” aspect as being the quintessential element. The “contest” part never seems to have a great deal of validity as it inevitably tries to compare totally different types of entries from equally different types of builders. The one thing that I see that makes it worthwhile is that it is generally seen as a “just for the fun of it” kind of proposition and that no one should really care who “wins” each month. In light of the growing number of members on the board and the subsequent growth in entries, it might be better to find a way to enhance the showcase aspect and modify the contest part to compare similar builders / guitars. My idea would be to add a “Featured Guitars” page with one or more guitars from each of the following categories shown. Professional From Scratch From parts Modified Rebuilt / Restored Novelty The guitars displayed would then be rotated on a random and regular basis so everyone who submitted an entry gets a chance to have their work shown. Then as a contest, there could be a “Guitars of the Year” picked from each of the categories, say picking the top two guitars in each category as “winners”. This would then result in the same amount of winners as with the GOTM and would be a much more valid comparison of the entries. For what it’s worth, d ward

You could try mixing some sawdust from the walnut with clear epoxy or glue to fill the gaps. i.e. Make your own wood filler. But, this reminds me of one of my favorite posters. Good Luck, d ward

Druss, Yes, I made the knobs. Am currently making a new set and documenting the process for a tutorial. Hopefully, I'll finish and post it some day. I did explain a little of the process in this thread. http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22355 Thanks for your input, d ward P.S. I guess you would need what?,... Iron Wood for the strings.

I bought a DeWalt planer when I first got to the point to afford tools for guitar making. I soon realized that working with curly maple and other figured woods that a planer just won't work, unless you have a really sophisticated one tear out is a major problem. I have since added a Delta 18" drum sander to my shop. The planer now sits in the corner gathering dust, which the sander provides plenty of. If you can afford it, go with the drum sander. You can work with any kind of wood, make really small adjustments in thickness, work stock down to less than 1/16 th. in. thickness, way more flexible than a planer. Plus, with 36 grit paper, you can remove material almost as quickly as with a planer. Good Luck, d ward

Alex, Welcome to the board. I’m a teacher from Iowa so I spend all day with people your age. By the way, Iowa is USA, in the middle. It’s great to see you taking on the guitar project, it will give you lots of opportunities to learn about wood, tools, measurement etc.. One thing to consider in determining how long it will take you to finish the project is to think in terms of how many hours of work it will take. Then decide on how many days it takes to do that much work. If you can work 5-10 hours per day, a month or two is probably way more than enough time. Plus, don’t forget that some things in a guitar project take up more time than others. Especially when you go to paint or finish the project, make sure you don’t get in too much of a hurry, let your finish dry/cure properly before sanding and polishing. It’s easy to get in a hurry at the end of a project when you see the end in sight. This board is a great place to find help when you need to make a decision about how you are going to build a given part of the project. Make sure you spend some time reading in the tutorial sections of the main ProjectGuitar site. You will find lots of great info there. (Left you the link.) http://www.projectguitar.com/menu/tutorial.htm And most important, remember that on a board like this, everyone has an opinion of what a guitar should be, each of those opinions is equally valid, but the only opinion in the universe that really matters is yours, its going to be your guitar, make it the way you want. Good Luck, d ward

You could try www.cookwoods.com. I've gotten some nice cocobolo pieces from them. They were real nice to deal with when they sent me the wrong piece of katalox once from an ebay add. They sent me the new piece right away, arranged for the UPS guy to pick up the first one paid all the shipping. Good Luck, d ward

cj, I would say to leave it in the house as the temperature and humidity will be more stable. You should still weight it down on a flat surface. If you have some small scraps of the same thickness you might put them above and below the piece so it still can have air circulating around it, but be held down also. This is a good practice for any wood waiting to be used. I would have everything ready to go when you go to bookmatch / glue the pieces. And then a way to keep the finished top weighted down afterwards until you're ready to glue it to the body. As MiKro said, the bookmatched piecs may want to twist once they are cut. (Cross your fingers.) Good Luck, d ward

Here are the neck woods I'll be using. The neck block is Birdseye maple, vertical grain with a Cocobolo center section and Wenge and Hard Maple laminates. The fretboard is figured Katalox. Be Cool, d ward

Sekler, Are you talking about a body that you are going to paint? If so, I would say go ahead and add the width to the existing body material. Otherwise it would seem you would need to split the first piece and add the 3-4 in. to the middle to keep it symmetric. Or, if you had some other wood, you could add some laminates in the center and make it look like a neck through design. If strength is your main issue, a properly formed glue joint is generally stronger that the wood itself. Note: I am just thinking outloud here, never really had or solved your problem before. Good Luck, d ward

Titan, Just thinking outload here but: Get an old butter knife or putty knife, one with a flat thin blade, grind an edge on one side, not sharp, but pointed. Fishing fillet knifes also have very thin blades. Heat the blade with steam, hot water, over a stove burner, something. Wedge the blade under the fretboard and slowly start working your way down. i.e. Try to make a little progress, then reheat and go again. Or you might try some kind of solvent, drip some under the fret board, try wedging the knife under, repeat. Or a combination of the two. I used a similar procedure to remove violin fretboards, which of course had soluable hyde glue. Anyway, a grain of salt idea, at the least it may help you decide on one way you don't want to try. Good Luck, d ward

Here is the wood I'm planning at the moment for the body. I'll use a top, center and back. The center will be in three pieces with a hard maple block in the middle of two big leaf pieces. The back has a hard maple center with flamed sides. Be Cool, d ward

cj, As it happens, I'm glueing up some maple pieces for a body and had to true them up with the technique I described to you. I took some pics, they may make the procedure clearer. Good Luck, d ward

I have had some luck doing this: If you have a drum sander, get a larger board of somekind (pine 2 x 12 works well) and sand it down flat. Put the birdseye piece on it with blocks all the way around to keep it from moving. I just nail the blocks into the 2 x 12, keeping them below the level of the drum of course. Put wedges under opposing corners i.e. the high corners, so you are taking the same amount off each side. Sand down the one side flat. Take the birdseye piece off the board and sand the other side flat. Split it with the band saw then keep the pieces on a flat surface with weights until you're ready to glue them. Or, glue them up then keep the bookmatch weighted until ready to use. I bought some of the big zip-lock bags and put my glued up tops in them to help avoid rapid changes in moisture do to humitity. And then still keep them under a pile of other lumber. Good Luck, d ward

The first guitar I built was in the late '70s and I used a "How to" book that had a picture of an Alembic in it. I believe they were on the cutting edge of adding pre-amps etc. inside the guitar and using neck through designs, at least in those days. Be Cool, d ward

ooten, The last set of knobs I made I took a piece 1/4 x 20 threaded rod and filed down the threads a little. Then made up blocks with the several thin laminates and a layer for the main body of the knob. i.e. A sandwich of layers type deal. I then cut a chunk out and drill a hole with a 1/4 bit I have ground down a little. I rough out these blanks on the disk sander then put them on the threaded rod, lock them with nuts above and below. I put them on base to base which makes it easier to get the same taper on a pair. Into the drill press and shape them with files and or sandpaper blocks. i.e. Ending up with a barrel shape with the same taper on each end. Then I glue on a cap piece and blend it into the rest of the knob by hand or put the knob on a dowel and carefully trim it with the disk sander. I then have a jig to hold a knob base side up and counter sink the bottom with a dremel bit in the drill press. i.e. To make room for the knob to sit over the nut from the pot. With the knob in the same jig I then open up the bottom of the hole with a standard 1/4 in. bit leaving enough of the smaller diameter hole to fit over the knurled part of the pot shaft. Then I moisten the inside of the hole and jam it onto an old pot. Usually makes a real tight fit. For my next set I got some plastic tubing at the hobby shop, I want to try putting in the center to give the knurled part of the shaft something to dig into. Eventually I want to make them with a metal tube I can thread and use with locking set screws. Anyway, for what it's worth, that's my procedure. Good Luck, d ward