Are these pre-bent sides bent enough?

[Mitch]

I'm test fitting the sides of a dreadnought kit. (step 1 and I already have questions). When I test clamp the bottom (with a caul curved to match the block), it seems that that I have to flex the sides quite a bit to get them the meet at the head(?) block. Obviously, I would have stopped at the first sound of cracking when trying to bring the top together, but it still seemed like I was using too much force.

The two pictures show it with one end clamped, and then with both ends clamped.

It's a stew mac kit and the sides are rosewood.

What do you think? Do the sides need additional bending? Or is it OK to bring them together under "spring tension".





Thanks,

Mitch

[tippie53]

I think the sides are ok But I suggest you make or buy a real mold. If there is one thing that can mess up a good kit , it is a bad mold.
The mold holds the shape , and the neck block in the proper position. I use the hollow forms . I want to set the sides up , get them in the mold and then it stays there until the top and back are on.
Check out this link.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... 4O9gnyWxqM

[johnnparchem]

The sides look good to me as well. I would follow johns advise and either make or buy a outside mold. The are many steps that require support for the sides to keep them in alignment, especially when you profile the rims for the back.

[Mitch]

Thanks for the replies. I can see that this will be a very useful forum.

I watched your vids and can see how the mold solidly ensures good geometry. The molds are reasonably priced for the benefit they provide. The price is a little more than I want to spend, so I'll do some test clamping to see if I can make do with the stew-mac inner mold and "waist clamp". The instructions do point the importance of keeping the sides straight and give tips on how to do so.

BTW, I watched many of the vids and they are all have a "real" feel, as opposed to some vids that seem overly staged and perfect.

Mitch

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Mitch,
How are you coming along with your sides?
I used the inside mold idea on my first kit, which I got from LMI. It went okay, and I am playing that guitar today, but I have to tell you that my sides, well, one side did not remain perpendicular. It pushed out at the bottom, not alot, but you can see it if you sight down the side.
Get yourself a half sheet of MDF and make a mold. It won't cost you very much for the material and you will be much happier with the results I believe.
Good luck and show us more pics.

Kevin

[Mitch]

Kevin, I might just do that. Currently I have the sides glued up and the kerfing glued on. Everything still seems to be straight. I guess the next critical step would be when I glue the top and bottom on. Does the external mold make it easier to glue on the top and bottom? At what point did you notice the sides were not straight?

Mitch

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I didn't know it was this way until the back and top were in place and trimmed, and I was sanding the sides flat and square...or at least I wanted them square. This is where it was obvious. With the guitar finished and I've been playing it for over 4 years, I don't notice it or think about really, but I don't want any others to have this happen. I'm building #7 now and I'm glad to have a mold. I believe its the only way you will make sure to stay perpindicular. put your rims in a mold with spreaders.

Kevin

[bnjp]

Mine looked about like that and I had no problems. I tossed the cardboard aside and bought a mold from John.

I will say your rosewood is way prettier than the green/gray set I got. Gonna be a nice guitar!

[Dave Sayers]

If you are going to build more than one buy the mold, but you won't be able to use spool clamps, so you'll need to invest in clamps, and quite a lot of them, so that would be another expense. HOWEVER I did make my third guitar using some plastic clamps with the mold and they worked well and were very cheap. Use wood strips under the jaws to even the pressure. They are also useful for lots of other clamping jobs. They don't have a very deep throat so I'm now making two sets of cam clamps to also use. As a newcomer to guitar building I can understand only too well how important it is not to spend too much.

I think the point I would like to make is that when I built my first guitar I thought I would only build one or two and so I didn't want to spend too much. By the time I was half way through my second build I realised that guitar building was more addictive than breathing, and so I began to start thinking seriously about a heavy financial investment BUT a lot of my tools came from car boots and garage sales. That saved me a heck of a lot of money ESPECIALLY on small things like planes, straight edges etc, just don't buy dirty stuff or stuff that looks well used, and be very dubious about anything with a rechargeable battery that has heavy signs of wear.

[Mitch]

I will say your rosewood is way prettier than the green/gray set I got. Gonna be a nice guitar!

The first back I got from Stew mac did not have even grain. I sent them an e-mail and I got a new matched set (sides and back) in two days. I had a picture, but they never even asked for it. They have also been responsive to the few questions I have asked them. Two thumbs up for customer service.

Mitch