fryovanni

What is the size of that branch(diameter and length)? I am having a little trouble figuring out how you will be cutting it for a neck or body. The end checks are pretty normal, but you need to cut them away to get to clean wood. As Erik pointed out you have some pith there, and you need to work around that. I am assuming this is a pretty old branch that has dried for quite some time? Rich

I hear what your saying, and feel the same way when I see high priced woods equates to better something(actually, I think in many cases you can get a better quality cut of a less expensive wood, because it is not as rare or milled with value as such a critical point). I also feel similarly when there is a total disregard in the selection. Material selection has always been a large part of instrument building, and for very good reasons(much as with most fine wood working). If a person doesn't care about their projects enough to learn about the materials they work with, that is there thang (they can deal with whatever happens). "Tonal improvement" is very subjective, and often people lose site of the whole when they focus on small points. In the end I think it all comes down to our personal preferences, and I think it is good to do what suits you and the hell with the rest. Since most of us don't have to build these for paying customers, we really shouldn't be driven by what floats others boats, and we experiment or take risks(hopefully with a good understanding of those risks) at the expense of only our personal instruments. So we should do as we please Rich

That's what my gut was telling me, but I was needing someone else to say it. So what's the advantage of superglue vs. titebond? I'm not steping on your suggestion, I just need reasons. FWIW: It's plastic binding, not wood. Were it wood binding, the clear andwer (in mt mind) would be wood glue. Also, just to be 100% sure, you're saying to securely tape the binding into place leaving an exposed spot, and THEN put a couple of drops of SG onto the seam, letting it seep in? Why not put it on the binding, then strap it onto the wood? The method Mattia is describing allows you to get the binding in place ensuring it is a good fit before bringing messy glue into the equation. This can make your task much easier and forgiving(allow you to make small adjustments if you see a gap here or there, and actually see those flaws more redily without glue all over the joint). You can certainly apply glue to the binding then attach it. It just requires more skill and is less forgiving. You can use Titebond for wood to wood joints, binding cement for plastic binding if you really prefer that(of course they will not wick as CA can, so you will have to apply them to the binding then attach). Rich

Ummm... The comment does not make a whole lot of sense to me. Flat sawn= Mellow tone. Can't see why? Flat sawn= More Pliable. Not what I have found to be true with maple. Vintage Single acting is better for these reasons. Again I don't see the logic. Some prefer vintage for certain reasons, but you also lose double acting adjustability(which with a curly wood could be a plus, as figured wood may be less stable at times). Hard finish or no finish is best. Again the statement makes no real sense. Curly wood will tend to be a little less stiff compaired to straight clear wood do to grain angles and runnout, but that is not mentioned. Personally, I like two way truss rods. Hot rods work fine, although I switched to allieds double acting rods because I prefer them over hot rods(hot rods do work fine though). Rich P.S. Maybe I am missing something in the context of the above statements. Do you have a link to where it was posted?

Alembic mainly uses very common woods, and actually are pretty open to lesser known woods. They use some unique tops, but I wouldn't call them absurdly exotic, the few select instruments with typically more expensive tops are still relatively middle of the road expensive. Now if they were using Pink Ivory, Blackwood, Snakewood, Brazilian Rosewood, Pernambuco and such for body and neck wood on a regular basis. I would agree with what you are saying. A solid body requires about 4 to 5 bd. ft. of wood(neck and body). I have never viewed wood as the most significant cost in a solid body, that would be electronics and hardware. If you look at basic pricing for hardwoods(at different cost ranges) it doesn't seem like the biggest concern relative to the total build cost. $1.50 bd. ft.- $7.50= Low grade Plywood or the cheapest low grade wood you can get your hands on. $5.00 bd. ft.- $25.00= Alder, Cherry, Plain Maple, Ash, Khaya, Sapele, purple heart and so forth (many of the most common woods used) $10.00 bd. ft.-$50.00= Genuine Mahogany, fair figured Maples, Walnut, Limba, Bubinga, Myrtle, and many other "exotic" woods. $25.00 bd. ft.-$125.00= Cocobolo, East Indian RW, High figure Maples, Figured Walnuts, Figured Myrtle, Honduran RW, and so forth (really this buys you into a wide range of figured and extra exotic woods). You can pay $50-75 per. bd. ft. for some of the extreamly rare Rosewoods, Koa and ultra high grade figured woods. These are VERY rarely used for a complete solid body. You can pay $100-$500+ per. bd. ft. for the most expensive, rare woods around (Some of the woods I mentioned above), but availability and practicality of these woods makes them almost silly to consider as the primary wood for an entire solid body guitar. You can drop $125 on a set of pickups pretty easily(no fancy boutique stuff here), not to mention any other hardware or accesories. This is why I see wood as the cheap part of a build, and considering the importance in terms of stability and longevity of an instrument, I can't see trying to cut cheap out in this area(buy smart sure, but not compramise). Rich

There are several dealers that were mentioned that are very good. You will find pricing can be fair(although that does not mean cheap, it is full retail for high grade luthier stock) with some dealers 3D Hardwoods(Chuck) and Gilmer(Marc) come to mind. At times I find some dealers have some good stock but prices are not what I would call fair(they are out of line with current market prices). Then you will find random stock good, bad and the dealer wouldn't know the difference, which I see in their pricing(junk and great stock at the same price). If you are truely looking for the best flamed maple, be sure you buy quartersawn, bright, strong figure throughout, and little or not discoloration. Be careful when you look at pictures, MANY dealers photoshop the pics to make figure that is not strong and even appear so. Photoshop is ok to correct color for a better representation of what it really looks like, but if it looks like the contrast has been raised, and brightness has been heavily modified. That is not what the wood looks like(figure is likely not nearly as strong as it appears). Bear in mind curly figured wood starts with a value around $5 bd. ft.(2A), Bright clear, with fair figure may double that $10 bd. ft. (3A), Very nice but broken or not as full $15 (4A). The next grade 5A should be closer to $25bd. ft. (that is five times the price of basic curly lumber). You will find extreamly exceptional wood may be even closer to ten times normal price $50-65 bd. ft.(I mean exceptional wood at those prices). When you see prices go much higher than that be skeptical as to the valuation, as they may be playing the your a luthier(sucker) card. I should also not that that is lumber prices, and price for resawing and surfacing should be added to the cost of a set(paying around $60 hr. for that service is reasonable, but it only takes a fraction of an hour to do these tasks). These days there are a LOT of dealers out there taking advantage of what luthier, gun stock, turners and so forth are willing to pay for the best of the best stock. The people they are taking advantage of are new to buying these woods and don't understand grading, or exactly what they are buying. When we pay EXTREAMLY high premiums for these select pieces of wood, grading must justify that price(or else what is the point). Keep that in mind. Dealers like Gallery, Gilmer, 3Dhardwoods and so forth know the standards and are going to give you what you are paying for(that may be high at times, but at least you are paying for a higher standard, and can rely on their integrity). Rich

You don't need to have those screw holes that tight, it may cause fit problems as well as binding. I would open them up a bit to avoid those problems. I can't figure out though if you are using inserts or just wood screws? I would recommend you use inserts FWIW. Definately pull the neck. You should for many reasons one of which is binding. Rich

I think you guys are backing up what just about everyone tells you when you want to buy an acoustic. Go play them till you find what you like. There are so many external factors that effect these guitars on top of the way that they are made, not to mention wood used will vary even though it is the same species. A factory is not going to put a dog design into production(there has to be a group of people that like what it is capable of producing). They just have to invest too much to get that model out there. They will try to replicate the dimensions that generally seem to work best for theaverage material used, and they will overbuild to ensure durability. With those considerations they will not get clones but they will get an acceptable average. Taylor even mentioned that they will produce many good guitars and a couple great, and the manufacturing is outstanding and exteamly consistent on those instruments. This is where acoustics can have an edge when custom built. The maker can adjust the build to accomodate little differences in the material used, and are likely more willing to push it a bit closer to its structural limits(there is less risk in limited quantitys and the buyer is much more likely to care for the more expensive instrument). The finishing options are really good with a custom also. You can have it french polished, oiled, laquered, or even ultra thin highly durable catalized polyester(that stuff when not applied thick is awsome and about as good as it gets). I think we are pretty lucky really. You can go try out a ton on less expensive guitars till you find one that really shines to you, and get a very good deal on a great instrument. Rich

Sorry bout that. Clicked here from the new post section and didn't look. Exactly what Mattia said. Rich

If I am following you correctly, you have 1/2" of clearance between the body and the straight edge at the bridge location when measured with no frets installed in the board. I am not sure what height your bridge saddles will set at(bottomed out). What type of bridge? What type of guitar(acoustic?)?

Also; As Mattia Mentioned the Meliaceae family is "the Mahogany" family. Other woods with similar properties or looks may also be traded as some type of "Mahogany", but these are the ones that actually fall in the same family. A quick copy paste from a site(I don't memorize this stuff ) Some economically important species belong to this family: Neem Azadirachta indica (India) Crabwood Tree Carapa procera (South America and Africa) Cedrela Cedrela odorata (Central and South America; timber also known as Spanish-cedar) Sapele Entandrophragma cylindricum (tropical Africa) Utile or Sipo, Entandrophragma utile (tropical Africa) Bossé Guarea cedrata (Africa) Bossé Guarea thompsonii (Africa) Ivory Coast Mahogany Khaya ivorensis (tropical Africa) Senegal Mahogany Khaya senegalensis (tropical Africa) Chinaberry or Bead Tree, Melia azedarach (Queensland, India and southern China) Mahogany Swietenia species (tropical Americas) Australian Redcedar Toona australis (Australia), often included in Toona ciliata (seq.) Toon, surian (int. trade) Toona ciliata (India, southeast Asia and eastern Australia) Genus; Chinese Rice Flower (Aglaia odorata)Aglaia Anthocarapa Aphanamixis Astrotrichilia Azadirachta Cabralea Calodecarya Capuronianthus Carapa Cedrela Seven Species- fissilis, hirsuta, huberi, lilloi, montana, salvadorensis, tonduzii (Spanish Cedar) Chisocheton Chukrasia Cipadessa Dysoxylum Ekebergia Entandrophragma Entandrophragma cylindricum(Sapele),Entandrophragma utile(Sipo) Guarea - cedrata, thompsonii (Bosse) Heckeldora Humbertioturraea Khaya -anthotheca, grandifoliola, ivorensis, madagascariensis, senegalensis (Khaya or African Mahogany) Lansium Lepidotrichilia Lovoa- trichilioides(African Walnut or Tigerwood), swynnertonii Malleastrum Melia Munronia Naregamia Neobeguea Owenia Pseudobersama Pseudocarapa Pseudocedrela Pterorhachis Reinwardtiodendron Ruagea Sandoricum Schmardaea Soymida Sphaerosacme Swietenia- mahagoni(Cuban Mahogany), macrophylla(Honduran or Genuine Mahogany), humilis(Honduran Mahogany) Synoum Toona -calantas (Philippine Mahogany, Note;In naming or designating the seven non-mahogany Philippine woods Tanguile, Red Lauan, White Lauan, Tiaong, Almon, Mayapis, and Bagtikan, the term ‘‘mahogany’’ may be used but only when prefixed by the word ‘‘Philippine’’ (e.g., ‘‘Philippine mahogany table’’), due to the long standing usage of that term. Examples of improper use of the term ‘‘mahogany’’ include reference to Red Lauan as ‘‘Lauan mahogany’’ or to White Lauan as ‘‘Blond Lauan mahogany’’. Such woods, however, may be described as ‘‘Red Lauan’’ or ‘‘Lauan’’ or ‘‘White Lauan’’, respectively. The term ‘‘Philippine mahogany’’ will be accepted as a name or designation of the seven woods named above. Such term shall not be applied to any other wood, whether or not grown on the Philippine Islands. ), sureni(indonisian Mahogany), sinensis(Chinese Mahogany), febrifuga (Vietnam Mahogany), ciliata(Indian Mahogany). Trichilia Turraea Turraeanthus Vavaea Walsura Xylocarpus All I can say is it gets VERY confusing when "trade names" come into play. Many species that are labled "mahogany" have little to due with how closely related they are to Swietenia mahagoni, which is obviously the original source of popularity for woods with these charictoristics. Rich

What type of neck joint are you using? If it is a bolt on just make a shim and derive the proper angle. If it is a neck through, probably best to deal with the bridge. If it is a set neck, the better solution would depend on the way the joint is made up, but disasembling a glued neck joint and shimming may be a easier solution than screwing around with the bridge. Time to slow it down and choose the best solution. Rich

Echo the question, why a full 1" for the blank? If you wanted to use a lam of some sort for a specific reason okey dokey, but you don't need a blank to be a full 1" unless it has something to do with a crazy thick volute or stacked heel. Rich

Trade names are really confusing. "White Mahogany" will be used to describe many species as a common name. Brosium Uleanum(congona) Cybistax donnellsmithii(Primavera) Khaya anthotheca Several Eucalyptus sp. All of these seem to be refered to as "white Mahogany", and I am sure there are more. Prima Vera would be the species most commonly traded for instruments(Note; Khaya sp. is certainly used , but would be refered to as "African Mahogany" usually. Prima Vera would mainly come from central America/Mexico. It is a very nice wood for solid bodies. Wood traded as Khaya actually is a group of several species, and that is important because amoungst the commercially traded grouping there can be a significant difference in the properties of this wood. Not all "Khaya" is the same. "Cuban Mahogany"(Swietenia mahagoni), is rare. It actually was the original commercially popular Mahogani and was driven to the point of near extinction. There are few old growth bits that may be out there, but they are extreamly rare. There are possibly a few examples of blow down recovery, but nothing much. There are also plantation grown examples, but that wood generally starts at about $25 bd. ft. The demand on the bits of this wood that does make it to market is high. Can't say one way or the other how those bits made it to market on ebay, but don't count on regularly finding any significant quantity at relatively low prices(less than $20 bd. ft.). Honduran/Brazilian Mahogany is now on CITES 2 and supply is dropping(a greater percentage is now plantation grown stock). Sapele is not cheap compaired to Khaya or even Primavera. They are all in about the same price range based on quality and grade. All still have strong commercial availability. Really they are all potentially fine instrument wood. Buy the good cuts Demand on these species will continue to rise as they become the mainstay of many trades. A smart person would buy a fair quantity of nice cuts at a good price on this stuff now(fill your needs for a good while), and step back from the crazy wood markets. We saw a relatively less known wood like Black Limba gain popularity, price went up. Then supply was cut off for the most part for about 18 months. This lead to prices that rose to two to three times what the price had been, and then as the supply opened back up and prices came back to about where they were(maybe a 5-10% boost, but that would be expected). It gives you a picture of how fast the commercial supply and stocks can be depleted, and how demand will kick these prices all over the place. Find what you like working with and stock up a bit with good cuts, you can get around all that BS. Rich

I set the frets(hammer or press), then a little squeeze on the ends of the frets seems to help set them nice and snug(the fret ends need to look good before you wick the CA, you don't want to try to force a fret end that is lifted while your wicking, so when I say a little squeeze it is just that and not trying to force a fret that is lifted or bent into place). Definately have all your frets seated and looking spot on the money, before you use CA. Hope that answers the question. Rich

The Acacia looks nifty What finish did you wind up going with? Rich

Welcome Andrea! Rich

I will drop my 2 cents in the bucket. Finish, I like to seal everything with a wash coat of shellac, this is more to prevent grime and oils from making there way into the raw wood surface. As far as humidity and finish vs leveling. Your finish will NOT stop the transfer of moisture completely it only slows it. So it is really 6 to 1 half doz. to the other. You can take the precaution of stabalizing your shop(mind you, that means locking it in close to where you have been building, don't try dropping your humidity now if you have been building under unregulated "normal" conditions. If you do allow the wood time to adjust and stabalize to the new level of moisture). As for the CA, yes I would CA the fret ends at a minimum. Remember to use thin CA and let it wick under the fret, don't try running a bead of CA along the fret. You will see CA will wick in very easily, that should minimise any mess you may have been facing in the past. You should also condition your fretboard before you use the CA, and mask along side the frets with a bit of tape. That should cut your risk of getting much CA on your board. As for straight edges. I picked up my machinist squares and straight edges locally. Can't say much about the Stewmac stuff. Rich

Looks like it is just died black and oil finished(nothing fancy).

Your shooting for a tuff effect with your dye, especially with a wood that has a relatively homogenous grain. Something like Ash would make your life a lot easier. I think you were heading in a good direction. Tinting will allow for a bit more of the look to come through, but your mahogany is pretty dark and is not going to have areas that "pop" real well nor does it have dark grain lines like Cocobolo or similar woods. Best try tests on a bit of scrap till you get a look that approaches what you are after. It is good to have a hand applied finish in your skill set. Truoil or shellac are both nice, certainly either will be great and I would just go with what you prefer. I like shellac because it is easy, and am pretty comfortable with it, although Truoil is outstanding for natural finishes. One skill you want to get down is the prep and grain fill. Pumice fill is ok(actually that Sapele in the picture is pumice filled, the Zircote in the link is Zpoxy filled), but Z-poxy(finishing epoxy, not to be confused with the type used as glue) is much easier and faster. If you fill with Zpoxy, level sand(around 400-600 grit), then do a quick 2nd coat of very watered down Zpoxy and a quick level with(600-800 grit), do not sand to raw wood. You will have a fine surface to apply one of the thin finishes(Truoil or Shellac). This is the key to getting that smooth finish(start with a surface that is leveled and smoothed to about 600-800 grit). The thing about filler coats is they build fast, are a bit harder than the thin hand rubbed finishes, and this makes them much easier to level and smooth. If your guitar almost has a dull shine before you apply the thin finishes you will never need to sand with anything ruffer than about 1500 grit(and very little sanding at that grit). The thin finishes are just that and you really can't sand them agressively because they build so darn slow(not designed for heavy sanding.). Rich

I was supprised by how much the CF tube buttress braces changed the way the top seems to respond. Very nice work as always Rich

So your bandsaw is a direct drive with a VFD? Mine is just a pulley and belt system. Rich

That's what I did originally. I didn't make the wood dark enough, so I went over it with multiple coats of dyed shellac. Late Saturday night I tried mixing up some more dye concentrate with water, but this time I put in about three times as much concentrate as was recommended. That got me closer to what I wanted. I'm basically experimenting at this point. I may or may not even use the shellac in the end, as I'm not liking it as much as just piling on TruOil, but if nothing else, I've got a much better feeling for shellac now. So that's a good thing. -Dave Have you had a look at Milburns french polishing tutorial? Look it up in a search if you have not. The concept behind FP is to use a blend of shellac, alcohol and a bit of oil(lube, to help you not rip the shellac right back up as you polish). As you move the munica that is loaded with this mixture across the surface you will see a trail behind you. This trail is wet shellac that flashes quickly befor you pass over that spot again. This allows you to burn new shellac into the shellac that is on the surface already without actually ripping it right off. You would be supprised how smooth and thin you can apply the finish, and how little surfacing will be required as you get the hang of it. You don't want heavy layers of shellac because it will not cure well. If you are looking for a smooth surface you should grain fill with something like Epoxy first(it is about the easiest). Spraying a light color coat of tinted shellac is sometimes the best bet for a nice even color. If you rub it on it is better not to get too heavy with the tint as it is harder to even it out(again using many thin layers). This is a couple pics I had in my Photobucket gallery that were taken after applying building coats(prior to final sand and polish). link#2 Rich

HHG is great, but you read too much into the downsides of PVA(at least from my point of view). First forget that rubbery business, a properly made joint has VERY little titebond in the joint and makes a very strong bond. If titebond is fresh and cures well it is reasonably hard, not what I would call rubbery. The issue of creep over time certainly could have merit, but it would depend on the joint(the properly constructed joint between two halves of a solid body, not going to be on the chart as a potential issue). If there was a location where the issue of creep could register(and only "potentially") may be bracing on thin wood that is very active(soundboards or plates for example) although both glues have been used with success so it would be a theoretical issue. As far as water being introduced, HHG will intoduce as much water if not more to your build, you would really need to go with something more like Epoxy if you want to avoid introducing water. I understand the concept of low tension building, and to me it is an issue of proper selection of wood and orientation of grain for the most part. Wood expands and contracts with moisture, and you are not stopping that from happening. The humidity control in your shop and moisture content of the wood is something you can try to select as the best "average" for where you anticipate the instrument will be used, but moisture levels will change. Trying to limit the introduction of moisture from adhesives or any other source is a reasonable goal, although there are limits to what is a sensable precation and what is going overboard(all depends on the application). As far as HHG taking time to learn how to use. It is pretty damn easy to use really, although it can be a pain in the rear as much as a blessing. Titebond offers a simple, effective, simple to use on demand option that is very appealing. HHG does require speed and temperature considerations, but gives you fast cure rate and easy clean up as well as it is easy to dismantle and reasemble as it can be reactivated(pretty much an idiot proof glue, you screw up and you get plenty of easy do overs). That is just my opinion, I guess I don't see the differences quite as night and day as you. There is also a popular school of acoustic building that believes building with tension, such as overdrying a soundboard prior to bracing and assembly, provides functional benifits as well as improves tolerance to changing humidity. It is kinda like the back is passive vs active schools of thought. Both have merits, but I think there is a sensable middle ground where the merits of these concepts blend to produce a nice durable and functional instrument. Absolute explanations tend to blind us to the subtle differences in these complex instruments, made from less than homogenous materials. Rich

Colors look really nice Hard to tell much about the finish in that pic. If you are having troubles with some part of finishing maybe you could elaborate on the issue or take some closer pics so we can see what is happening. Rich