Starting my Martin Dreadnought Christmas present build...

[justrfb]

Hello All.
Gluing continues with top braces... Nothing big to report except for I had a little creeping going on with the back brace that goes full length of the back parallel with the neck... I was going to "pull" it but left well enough alone. It is doing its job by covering the seam between the two back pieces so I fought myself with wanting a perfect brace, both looking good and functionally and just went with it being functionally perfect (knowing that no joint or brace is actually perfect) an leaving the looks alone. It is the furthest brace on the back nearest the end block. Here are some top brace gluing and clamping pictures.

Sincerely,
Rich

[nkwak]

Looking good!

BTW, I have a K&K PWM in one of my factory guitars. It's passive as well, just about twice the price. It's sensitive enough that a preamp isn't always necessary though.

[justrfb]

Hello All,
Some more pictures... End piece and hand carved headstock wood inlay. I sanded the headstock and the rosewood saw dust got onto the wood inlay. I tried cleaning it with WD-40, then paint thinner. I hope I didn't ruin it. Moving forward...

Sincerely,
Rich

[Kevin Sjostrand]

nice Rich, looks good so far. Is your inlay maple?

Kevin

[justrfb]

Hello Kevin.
I am a little afraid to tell all what the inlay wood is... I hope I don't get run out of town for letting you know the inlay wood is white birch. I cut and carved the inlay pieces from a Popsicle stick... Did I see in another topic to get lighter fluid (naphtha ?...) to clean the dust from sanding? Thanks for the help and kind words.

Sincerely,
Rich

[JVan]

you can have a small snack before doing your inlays! very clever!
Nice Job~ Keep posting....

Jeff

[justrfb]

Hello All.
Well, I think I made my first real crucial mistake... After gluing the bottom on, I took the assembly out of the mold and had it out for a few days. I carved up the braces on the top and as I was putting the assembly back into the mold and put the spreaders in, there were a few "snap" sounds... Didn't sound like wood cracking, it sounded more like glue joints straining (I hope...)... I just went forward with it.. Got the rim back into the mold, got the spreader back in and glued on the top. I hope it is all well. I will leave it in for a while. Next time, I will get the rim back right into the mold... I was excited to show a few people and flush routed the bottom to see how it looks...Anyway, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure... Please pray that my guitar body is OK... Thanks.

Sincerely,
Rich

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Rich, it is looking great. Those sounds you heard was your guitar making its first sounds!!! My guess is maybe the kerfing got strained a bit. You can go in and check before you glue your top on, and if you see any pulled away from the sides, feed some glue in there. Your mahogany looks sweet.
I'm a praying man so I'm doing that for you too! Onward!!!!

Kevin

[justrfb]

Hello All,
Here are more pictures. Really starting to look like something, I think... Please check pictures and tell me what you think... We have a small issue, well, I have a small issue I am hoping to get strong, sound advice on. Where do I remove the material from? The neck or the body or both?... It is about 1/8 inch too high. Thanks.

Sincerely,
Rich

[tippie53]

Setting the neck it the secret.
Think ACE
Angle
Center
Elevation.
This link may help you
your neck looks close on the angle
You adjust the angle and center on the heel face
you adjust elevation on the dovetail tenon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3YJh9OT4mw