M_A_T_T
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Posts posted by M_A_T_T
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...Bump...
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I don't really think a clothes iron would work that well because of the shape. You can't just heat it and stick it in the form because you would just dry out the wood. The action of the water turning into steam is what allows wood to bend, so you'd need to be drying out the wood over the round shape of a bending iron to do that.
You can make a bending iron with one of the large 80watt soldering irons with an aluminum tube fitted over it. Or an aluminum tube and propane torch, but this takes more practice to get set right to not burn the wood.
There is a method called 'cold bending' used in violin making where the wood is wetted and put in a form, but violin sides are only 1mm thick and are maple.
There is also a 'steam box', where the wood is saturated with hot steam to make it plyable. Here is a link to one:
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=...176&cat=1,45866
I would think the steam box method may warp the thin wood in musical instrument sides, though.
I have a comercially bought bending iron, it's great. Before I used a soldering iron/pipe to bend my uke sides.
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A 13" is a good size for string-thru/bridge holes. Bigger would be even better.
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Where are you in Canada?
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You can dillute shellac with any type of denatured alcohol, I think. I've seen methylehydrate(sp?) at the local hardware store, which should work. I was using Behlan's Bekhol(sp?).
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What will the finish be? Mine was oiled.
What will the fingerboard be?
Are you giving it a headstock overlay? You should give it an overlay of the same wood as the back or fingerboard.
How wide is the neck at the nut? I made mine 1 1/4", that's 1/8" wider than usual, which made it SOOOOOOOOOO much easier to play.
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Is the lower brace right where the bridge will sit? It should be for strenght and vibrational transfer.
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That looks great! I built the exact same style a few years ago, this is the only pic I have of it:
I would suggest one thing though, the same thing that was mentioned to me after I built mine: make your back bracing smaller. They don't need to be that big. Also, is there a pic of the front bracing? I'd like to see your patterning for that, I went with a 'X' brace type design flat-top guitars use.
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Ukes aren't very hard to make, quite fun actually. I've built four. With the help of those tut's you should be able to do it.
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How easy is it to get the coats smooth, flowed out, and free of brush marks?
Is it going to be 'blonde' or will the more traditional violin colour build up as you apply more coats?
The product I'm using dries slowly and will level itself out. I also go back 1hour after applying it to and rub it down to remove any excess, as per the directions, so I'm able to smoothen any irregularities.
It will the more traditional brown/orange when I'm done, though I'm not 100% sure how to achieve the color.
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Only took me 10days to move it, mostly by myself. Just finished assembling and modding a new workbench this evening. Looking foreward to finishing up my current project in a new 'home'.
Looks like a finished room inside a big warehouse, then I noticed a mannequin torso thru one of the windows?
Did you move, or just move your shop to another location?
It's a finished room upstairs at my work, which is a warehouse. I just moved the shop. I have no idea what you mean by the mannequin...
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I don't want my jointer anymore. Delta benchtop, maybe two years old, not used very often at all. Comes with instruction manual, push blocks and push stick. $250CDN o.b.o.
This is a link to a lathe I'd also like to unload, it's packed away in a box and I don't feel like hauling it out to take a picture:
Lathe - #55-4507-2
It's an alright tool. The original motor blewout on me, so it has a warranty replacement. New motor appears to be going down the same path as the original motor. Has an extra set of face plates. Instruction manual included. $100CDN o.b.o.
I'm not looking to ship these, this is mainly an add for a local pickup.
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Nice looking shop! Kinda looks like your Drill Press, Bandsaw and Drum Sander are kinda close to walls. Do you have them set up so the can be rolled away for better working clearance or do you have enough space to run the in place? I have to have mine set away from walls because I didn't set them up with casters yet.
BTW: I have been thinking about a large belt. Do you get a lot of use out of it? Maybe you could tell me what features to watch for when I pick one up.
Peace, Rich
The clearance has never bothered me on the DP & BS (I kept the same setup as my last shop). The thicknesser I never use, it's just stowed away right now.
I get tons of use out of it. It's pretty much replaced my 4x36. Features I would look for are the platen size, which will be related to belt size. Mine is probably the largest that can run off 110VAC, at 99" with a platen of mayeb 33" (I don't recall). Also look for an end table for the idle drum. I've seen some that don't include that.
Mine also has a lame oscilating feature. The motor is built on a pivoting point with an offset low gear ratio motor built onto the end of the motor and attatched to the frame. It basically 'wiggles' the motor side to side, which causes the belt the run up & down, though the belt moves more nearer the drive drum, and causes the idle drum to move in & out. I disabled it the day I got the sander. I'd say look out for that, as I didn't find it to be a feature worth paying any extra money for as you can't use the idle drum for sanding anything.
Anything else you want to know about it?
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Lots of people don't wear respirators when they spray. I've worked for two finishing shops. At one, the sprayer wore just a dust mask, and you could tell he was suffering effects of the toxins (sluring speach, slowness). At the other shop the guy didn't wear anything. He was WAY out of it all the time, coupling that with alcoholism, he eventually went mental and is now in a mental hospital.
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with that little dust collector you have enough to keep that area dust free?
what about dust when you are routing?
-Derek
The DC worked fine in my old shop.
I clean up the dust after routing, or hook up a shopvac to the router.
Howbout some more details about that big-ass edge sander thing?It's a Strike 6x99" edgesander. The belt can tilt horizontally. It also has an oscilating feature, but it was crap so I disengaged it.
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That's cool Perry, good luck with it.
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Only took me 10days to move it, mostly by myself. Just finished assembling and modding a new workbench this evening. Looking foreward to finishing up my current project in a new 'home'.
http://files.photojerk.com/mmaatt/misc/new_shop1.jpg
http://files.photojerk.com/mmaatt/misc/new_shop2.jpg
http://files.photojerk.com/mmaatt/misc/new_shop3.jpg
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That ain't cocobolo, it's not red/orange enough. It can also be toxic and hard to glue, so I doubt a manufacturer would have used that.
My vote would be Bolivian Rosewood (Pau Ferro). I know this wood all too well. I spent 3 weeks in agony from working with it. Hives like I have never had before and never hope to have again. It's hard to say if it really is Bolivian Rosewood since it does look similar to Indian Rosewood. If I had to bet, my bet would be Bolivian.Last time I worked with it, it was an absolute DREAM! I love pau Ferro.
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you might want to reconsider using that fijian mahogany (also known as meranti, also known as not good for guitars)
Fender, Yamaha and others use it for the backs & sides of their budget acoustics.
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Pau Ferro is a good answer. Looking at the guitar, it's a laminated top and back with a bolt-on neck. I'm guessing an older import? Pau Ferro would be cheaper than Rosewood, seems more likely an older import would use the cheaper woods.
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LOTS of heat. If it were me I'd get out my clothes iron I use specifically for this. Run the iron over the faces of the wood at the joint, leaving it in one spot for several minutes to transfer the heat all the way through, use a putty knife to wedge them apart, could take a long time.
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I also need a good work bench any suggestions?
I'd say make one. I took an old desk a gutted it to a frame, then fitted shelves and a top with a deep overhang to it. The top is a 2'x4' piece of melamine board that I can easily replace when it gets to worn.
This thread talks about tools:
Scooooore!
in Solidbody Guitar and Bass Chat
Posted
Board of riftsawn, solidly flamed maple, 1 1/8" x 8" x 120" for $30
I'm saving it for double bass sides.