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donald k wilson

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Everything posted by donald k wilson

  1. donald k wilson
    Another picture of truing the neck to the peghead making sure there is no twist over the nut. The plate is a grounding plate used in setting up the z depth to 0. It is a really handy feature for working on different sizes and shapes of material.
  2. donald k wilson
    I can't disagree, I'm just a sucker for a stray... I've got a pile of beautiful figured maple just looking for a home! Here is a picture of truing the neck surface square to the sides. This was important because I set up the fretboard on the neck so I need everything accurate. The cutter is an old version of safe-t-plane that is NOT safe, I run it on the cnc machine and keep the fingers on the Keyboard!
  3. donald k wilson
    Here is the neck in the clamps. the "cantilever" is added on later so you can cut the dovetail for the body joint.
  4. donald k wilson
    On to the neck, the laminations were laid out in the cad program to fit the board and toolpathed. these are the blanks being cut, cherry, 3 pc lamination 13/16 thick, finished dimension 2 7/16 cleaned up to 2 1/4. The cnc software has a tab function that leaves small "perforations" in the bottom cut so the pieces don't fly around as the piece releases, really handy. A quick pass with a router and flush trim bit cleans them up and on to clamping.
  5. donald k wilson
    Here is the soundboard all cleaned up with a couple more of the tools I used. The spokeshave is Japanese, wood handle, rounded sole, really handy for working up and down the arch. It can also be modified to fit different curves if need be.
  6. donald k wilson
    a.j. absolutely... I personally prefer plain presentation and tend to believe Jehle (and Benedetto) that ultimately it is the craftsmanship not the materials that make the guitar. That said, most people want to see (buy) something a little more polished. Here are a couple more pics of the top and bottom plates as they were being finished. This is the cherry back with the recurve area being cleaned up. The plane is an old Stanley rabbet plane.
  7. donald k wilson
    I've made lots of mistakes along the way but most of them were caught in time and recovered. a couple of them will be proudly displayed...(I meant to do that!) Working slowly with a plan and some faith the thing will actually get done. The plane came from a friend, covered with rust, locked up and abused. Had been his grandfathers, used in a carriage shop. He gave it to me, to a good home. I love it. Thanks for the kind words.
  8. donald k wilson
    And glue... One side at a time, the braces are still in the form to insure a square box. I'm still trying to decide whether to finish the inside or not. Much more debate on this subject as well. Photobucket is working fine today ?!?! thanks for your patience, dkw
  9. donald k wilson
    Body sides in the form in the press ready to glue.
  10. donald k wilson
    Getting ready to glue up. The clamping caul, two pieces of 3/4" ply the inside pc is cut to a 1" wide profile. This provides clearance for the arch so clamping pressure is distributed around the edges. !/2" vinyl weather seal takes up any irregularities and helps make even contact all around.
  11. donald k wilson
    Side faces are trued up, time to glue the top and bottom. Not quite, braces on the soundboard, I've been avoiding this. This is a complex carved fit across a changing curve and shouldn't be forced. The braces are then carved to shape using tap tones to "consolidate" the soundboard. Much discussion and theory on this, I don't know. I took some tips from other builders and just went for it. Parallel braces here, x braces on the next one to see(hear) the difference. If you are going to cut a p/u into the top be careful where the bracing aligns so you don't have to cut thru and re brace... (The compass plane is the coolest tool in my shop.)
  12. donald k wilson
    This isn't really about my archtop but does anyone else have lots of trouble with photobucket? Better than half the time (right now!) the site just disappears when I'm trying to move images. What else do you guys use for Gif format. photobucket was the only one I came up with ??? I've got lots more pics and I can't stand this! thanks, dkw
  13. donald k wilson
    Don't forget about the neck/bridge relationship, there may be an angle lurking in there... dkw
  14. donald k wilson
    I made mine out of a heat gun, a piece of 2" muffler pipe and a cap on the other end. I describe it in the archtop thread in work in progress. It works pretty well. good luck. dkw
  15. donald k wilson
    Very Cheap... Here's a pic of the finished lining and bracing still in the mold, set up on the cnc table for levelling the top and bottom faces. I set up a cheap norton sanding disc, (happens to be 1/4" mandrel), manually set the z ht. and sand the face flat by running the same body outline toolpath. I turn the spindle speed down to 800 rpm and move at .5 ipm, very nice finished surface with no tear out of the fragile edges of the kerfed linings.
  16. donald k wilson
    Here's a closer view of the last shot. The 2 1/4" form leaves enough room on the side so you can get the little lining clamps on all around the edge. The bigger clamps hold the stiffeners and go around the whole form. LOT'S of clamps required or the process can take a couple of days waiting for glue to dry.
  17. donald k wilson
    I didn't like the limited access with the form laying flat. The stiffeners go in between 4" lengths of lining, this keeps them square to the side and allows you to work right along one set of linings and one stiffener at a time. I made feet for the mold, stood it up, and now have easy access to top and bottom.
  18. donald k wilson
    Next steps, trimming sides to accurate (in mold) length, they butt together and the bottom joint will show. The neckblock and tailblock are then glued in place. Thje little clamps on the lower right bout are the first pieces of lining and stiffeners.
  19. donald k wilson
    There are lots of simple things you can do. Do you want the wood to look old? distressing, u.v. exposure (sunburn) before finishing, spotting, layering transparent stains and tinted finishes all work. If you want the finish itself to look old there are crackling and glazing techniques. Try a search at fine woodworking magazine, antique restorers do this stuff all day long. Good luck! dkw
  20. donald k wilson
    I cut the bending form out of three pieces of 3/4" ply on the cnc machine, 2 1/4" thick. This has several uses down the road. I use it as a guide in forming the sides, they are bent gradually on the heat pipe from one end to the other and checked for fit in the form as I work. once I am satisfied with the contour the sides are clamped in the form overnight and when cool are quite rigid.
  21. donald k wilson
    I figured capping the end would retain heat in the pipe. It did but blew heat back onto the gun, plastic housing, not good. I had an old hubcap center lying around about 2 1/2" dia, I hung that on the end of the pipe and problem solved. the heat travels thru the pipe, and returns back out over the pipe deflected by the cap center. Both sides of the pipe get heat, and the hot air blows over the wood as well. This is a piece of 1/8" curly maple wrapped into a 2" coil. I sprayed it with water occasionally to keep it from burning but thats it. basically bent dry. On to the sides!!!
  22. donald k wilson
    I also don't have a bender... I decided to try an experiment. I took my heat strip gun put it in a piece of 2" muffler pipe and turned it on. when it got hot I bent the piece of cherry plywood in the front like butter. I tried a piece of hardwood and not so successful. didn't get hot enough and broke. However...
  23. donald k wilson
    After the front and back are done... I need sides! I don't have a thickness sander, toyed with the idea of setting something up on the belt sander but made a sled for the thickness planer instead. I'm not sure this would work for figured wood but my sides are cherry and they planed fine, 1/8" touch sanded to 3/32". The sandbaper and butt block keep the wood from slipping around. (Anticipating using figured wood I have since made a jig for the belt sander.)
  24. donald k wilson
    Here's the other picture of the "ridge" around the edge. Archtops hace a slight recurve around the perimiter to allow the top and back to be more responsive. I used the surface deform function to create the second concave curve around the edge, a uniform 1/16" crossed my fingers and turned the machine on... Next time I would do this before cutting the f holes. If you look closely you can see a little irregularity on the right hole. After the hole was cut the wood released a little bit. A little extra sanding and scraping!
  25. donald k wilson
    I am toying with some different finish ideas right now. The guitar has stayed pretty plain so far, I wanted to concentrate on the construction aspects and get one finished before I started the ornamental pieces. Probably some kind of amber finish maybe a mild burst. I'm thinking of an older "workhorse" look, something that's seen a few too many roadhouses... The 3d program I used for the arch in the top is turbocad v 10.5 pro. It has a surface deform function that allows plotting points with defined offsets and springing the surface to them. I haven't tried anything else, don't know if other programs have similar functions but it's really handy.
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