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000 stewmac kit sides

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 2:07 pm
by gatorbrit
Hi - working on my first 000 stew mac kit.

We've got the sides glued to the end blocks and are finding that when we put the waist clamp on to squeeze the sides in around the cardboard mold, we can't squeeze them close enough. This means that the top won't quite cover the sides at the narrowest point in the middle. About 1/16 of each side is visible when you look down on the top - this is just at the middle narrowest part.

The issue isn't that the waist clamp is too wide. The issue is that there physically isn't enough length to the sides to bend all the way without the wood stretching. A solution (not possible now) would have been to leave a small gap between the sides at the end block (which would be covered by end trim) so that there was more length. Another solution is to trim the template a bit at the widest point, but this will change the body shape.

I don't think that this is going to be a problem though because the fact that the sides are visible at the middle may not matter though once I do the routing for the perfling trim. But I am not 100% sure of this.

I am sharing to see if anyone has had this issue and if anyone has a suggestion!

Thanks

Rich

Re: 000 stewmac kit sides

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2019 4:19 pm
by tippie53
best advice is get rid of the cardboard internal mold and get an outside mold.

Re: 000 stewmac kit sides

Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2019 5:33 pm
by MaineGeezer
What kind of glue did you use to glue the sides to the end blocks? If it was fish glue, hot hide glue, or even original Titebond #1, you can separate the sides from one or both end blocks by applying some heat. Set a clothes iron on the joints and pry with a thin blade, like a putty knife. Once they are apart, clean the surfaces of glue residue especially if it was Titebond, and re-giue. Hot hide glue and fish glue stick to themselves so surface prep isn't as big an issue as with Titebond, which does not adhere well to itself. This may sound daunting, but it shouldn't be a big deal.

Put the sides on the mold before you glue the ends to the head or tail block, whichever one you took off.

Re: 000 stewmac kit sides

Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:03 pm
by gatorbrit
Thanks for the suggestions.
After sitting for a few days it sort of narrowed and fixed itself - at least to a reasonable amount.

But I think I will be building more 000 guitars (this one is for my daughter to take to college -she’s building it with me). So I will invest in or build a mold for future builds.