Jim's First Build -- Custom 000 Short Scale Cut Away

[jabbiati]

Appears that you are going to be a pretty good writer as well. Looking forward to followimg your progress!

Hehe...thanks. That's my other "after the day job" passion. :-)

[Diane Kauffmds]

You are correct about the use of your "mystery" parts.

[jabbiati]

You are correct about the use of your "mystery" parts.

Thanks!

[jabbiati]

STEP 3: Dry fit tail block

So, I was hoping this step would include far more than this, but I ran into my first glitch. (Color me surprised.) The sides provided were cut near-exact to fit the mold. The butt joint at the back did not have a perfectly seamless fit (probably left that way because it was not needed, as the kit includes a tortioseshell tailpiece wedge). I was going to skip the tailpiece insert, so I attempted to sand the ends of the butt joint perfectly flat. Bad idea. Without a belt sander, I had to set up a temp jig to try and create a true edge. It worked okay, but not nearly close enough for a truly seamless fit. And... between a slightly loose fit to begin with and the material I removed, I now have almost an 1/8" or so gap at the butt joint when I snug up the rims tight in the mold. A pic of the current dry fit and a close up of the butt end gap are provided.

I could glue in the tail block as it's currently dry fit and cut and insert a wedge tail piece later, covering up that whole gap area. Or, I could unclamp and re-dry fit, butting the ends and glue it up that way. If I do that, I would have to fill in some thin gaps in the butt joint with filler later, and the rims in the mold will be far less snug.

Suggestions? Is the second option even viable? I'd prefer that option, but don't know how a looser fit in the mold or the filler would impact the rest of the process.

Any ideas welcome.

--Jim

[tippie53]

you are correct in this , is hidden by the butt wedge your good. No need to panic

[jabbiati]

you are correct in this , is hidden by the butt wedge your good. No need to panic

Thanks. Not in panic mode yet. :-)

So I'm guessing this means the wedge is the route I should take rather than butting the ends and dealing with a looser fit in the form?

[ruby@magpage.com]

I would suggest yes, install the wedge instead of making things too small for the mold. Practice a bit on the next guitar before you cut the sides to actual length - cut and fit to see what is involved in a good fit. A wedge is pretty easy to install because all you have to do is tap it into the socket to get a tight fit.

Ed

[jabbiati]

STEP 3: Con't - Glue in tailblock.

Glued in tailblock with the gap (Tite-bond). Was going to temp-glue it, take it out of form after a few minutes, then clamp it up good, but I got good squeeze out all around the block while in form so I just clamped it up in place. I put a piece of parchment paper between the sides and the form so the block won't stick to form. Walmart didn't carry wax paper! Hoping this is a viable alternative. I'll know in the morning.

[Diane Kauffmds]

So far, so good. BTW, you'll find that installing that wedge is much simpler and nicer looking, than a butt joint. However, if you really dislike the look of the wedge, you can use a piece of straight binding instead.

[jabbiati]

However, if you really dislike the look of the wedge, you can use a piece of straight binding instead.

I like that idea. And I can always go to the wedge if that doesn't come out satisfactory.