000 12-fret, first build

[Tim R]

Hello all,

My Martin kit from Blues Creek arrived today. I figure that an unused guitar case is as good a place as any to keep the parts (see pic). Everything in the kit looks great. I love the color of the rosewood and Engelmann, and the cap!

First question: I want to be certain I have identified the top and back side of the rim halves. The Martin manual says to find the edge that rocks on a flat surface, and that that is the back edge. For my set, this puts the most pronounced grain run-out going toward the back edge of the upper bout (you can see this in the pic).

The thing is, on one half of the rim, only on edge rocks, but on the other half, both edges rock to some extent. So, I’m hoping you guys can confirm the back edge for me in terms of the edge with the most pronounced run-out. ('m just being extra careful here not to mess it up on the very first build task!).

Tim R

[Tony_in_NYC]

You are going to need to post a better pic of the sides on a flat surface for us to identify the back edge. However, if you have identified the back of one of the sides, the other side will fall into place so to speak, since they have to form the rim.
The is always a small chance that you have two left or two right sides. But more likely, one of the sides is a little twisted. No big deal. They look OK in the pics. Runout has nothing to do with identifying the top or back edge btw.

[Rick S]

Like Tony says, if you can determine the flat edge on one side for the top, the other side will only go one way so you should be able to determine the top on the other side as well. I believe the sides are suppose to be book matched so matching grain should line up where the sides meet. But get the opinion of the experts on here, I don't know much about it at this point.

Good luck! You're in for a heckuva journey and a lot of fun.

[tippie53]

If you take the side on a table and stand them on the end joints , you should see one side is flat and one is round . Once in the mold the sides become very identifiable.

[Tim R]

Hi folks,

Well, I did manage to figure out which way is up (a good sign). The pic shows the sides in the mold, top side down. I first fitted the waist and then used the spreaders and scrap wood blocks to press the rim against the mold. The gap where the neck block will go is the way the rim came and not due to any trimming on my part. I assume it is okay since more of the sides will later be trimmed away there for the neck…

I had to put a fair amount of force on the spreader to get the sides to fit the mold, particularly on the upper bouts. If I remove the upper bout spreader and allow the rim halves the overlap at the neck area, the rim separates from the mold about ¼” on both sides where the upper bout outside curve is. It takes moderate hand pressure to force the sides back to the mold.

Will this relax over time with the spreader in place? If not, is building this stress into the guitar okay?

Next I will dry fit then glue the tail and neck blocks while the rim is in the mold top side down. The tenon on the neck is slightly off center (I think John warned about this possibility in one of his posts for the Martin necks), so I will center the neck block accordingly. I’ll probably post pics of the dry fits to see if the group can find any issues with the setup. Kinda scary to glue-up major pieces!

Thanks!
Tim

[Tony_in_NYC]

The gap at the neck is no good. Part of that joint is exposed after the neck is in place so you will need to glue the neck block in place taking care to make the ends line up and touch. Shims in the mold at the upper bouts will push that gap closed and you can glue it up. Just make sure it stays closed while you glue in the neck block.

[Tim R]

Hi Tony,

The rims will spring closed at the neck block if I remove the upper bout spreader, so that's no problem. Of course, then the guitar rim looses its OOO shape. I could try to move the whole rim forward to compensate, so that the waist bend in the rim would be away from the mold waist and somewhat toward the upper bout area, but that would further compound the stresses needed to push the rim against the mold, and I fear I would crack the rim in trying. Also, it would just seem very unnatural to do that, working *against* the pre-bent contour.

So, what to do... John any suggestions here?

Thanks!
Tim

[Tim R]

Tony and all,

Here is a link to an 000-28vs that shows the back of the rim completely hidden, suggesting that I might be okay leaving the gap. I guess I am not understanding the reason why there cannot be a gap there...

http://www.tejonstreetmusic.com/martin-0-28vs-for-sale/

Thanks,
Tim

[tippie53]

You glue in the neck and tail blocks . Be sure to get the neck block square and centered . it is not uncommon to make some adjustments to fit the mold but this may be a difference in the spreader as I set this up with a turn buckle spreader .
You should be fine , just first guitar jitters

[kencierp]

The gap will be covered with the binding -- it is odd that the sides are too small however, there's normally enough material to trim and square up the halves -- perhaps the mold is a bit large. Did you make the mold form a drawing?