Guitar #4, I hope

Take us through building your guitar step by step. Post pictures and tell us what you're doing.
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by MaineGeezer »

This may end up being my dogfight guitar -- so ugly I wouldn't take it to a dogfight. We'll see.

I routed out a pocket for the end wedge and inlaid it. A bit of the top binding chipped out -- incompetence strikes again -- but overall I guess it's not too horrible. I'll try to fill the gaps along the edges of the wedge with rosewood sanding dust and glue.

I don't want to blame Parkinson's disease for all my screw-ups, but it is definitely making things more difficult than they use to be.

[Later] With more sanding and filling, and a couple wash coats of shellac, it looks fairly decent. (This picture was taken prior to that cleanup work.)
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MaineGeezer
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Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by MaineGeezer »

...or maybe not. The back is looking pretty good.

I may have mentioned it before --- I was planning to use the fingerboard from the butternut neck disaster of my 3rd guitar. The fingerboard is fine, it was just the butternut neck that was a problem. Anyway, after further examination I've decided to make a new fingerboard. The old one is for a 1-11/16" nut and 2-1/8" 1-6 string spacing at the bridge. I want a 1-3/4" nut and a 2-1/4" string spacing. It also has the OM-42 inlay set, which is very nice, but for this guitar I'm going for the minimalist look, and that inlay set is certainly not minimalist.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Talladam
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Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by Talladam »

The back looks really nice.
MaineGeezer
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Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by MaineGeezer »

This morning I cut the neck dovetail. The process went quite well. No catastrophic disasters. I think I probably should have made the neck pin longer though. I figured 1/2", but the neck is Spanish cedar, which is very soft, and I'm not sure 1/2" is really enough. Others figure 5/8" to 3/4" as routine, in stronger woods, so compared to those the 1/2" is pretty short.

How long do you make yours?
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
jread
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Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:52 am
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Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by jread »

MaineGeezer wrote:This morning I cut the neck dovetail. The process went quite well. No catastrophic disasters. I think I probably should have made the neck pin longer though. I figured 1/2", but the neck is Spanish cedar, which is very soft, and I'm not sure 1/2" is really enough. Others figure 5/8" to 3/4" as routine, in stronger woods, so compared to those the 1/2" is pretty short.
Nice! I'm getting ready to make these cuts. May I ask your method of cutting the mortise? Leaning towards a simple Japanese pull saw, drill bits, and chisels which I finally learned to really sharpen thanks to Diane and her advice on the Alisam sled. I fixed up every bevel in the shop and boy, what a difference! I am considering a router though so was just wondering.
MaineGeezer
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Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by MaineGeezer »

I made this setup:
https://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_R ... tions.html

The fixture to hold the neck and the guitar body wasn't difficult to make, but can tell you that after making the templates, StewMac's price of 89 bucks for the pair didn't seem so outrageous.

I have a DeWalt DWP611 trim router, which I like. It is possible to buy 1/8" and 3/16" 3rd-party collets for reasonable money. The ability to hold 1/8" and 3/16" shank cutters is very handy.

Here is a rather bad photo of the setup.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by MaineGeezer »

It is progressing. I've carved the neck and glued the bridge in place on the top. To glue the bridge I used a custom clamp. I got the design from somewhere or other, it's not original with me. I used 250-gram hot hide glue for the first time. Previously I'd used 190g. The 250g has more body, and is tackier.

I've also got the frets in.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by MaineGeezer »

I put in the fret position markers. They are pretty subtle. I got the idea from Carter. They are just bits of ivoroid binding, glued into slots along the edge of the fingerboard.
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Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I never thought of using ivoroid for position markers. I like the idea and look.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Guitar #4, I hope

Post by MaineGeezer »

I'm trying something that seems to be working. I fitted the dovetail joint, mashed it together with a couple of clamps, then put a screw through the heel block from the inside, into the heel of the neck to keep the dovetail joint from sliding apart. The screw doesn't hold anything to speak of, it just keeps the joint from sliding.

I've put the strings on and tuned it up. This has let me check string height and neck alignment with the guitar assembled and under tension, but it's not glued so I can take it apart to adjust as necessary. (The neck alignment does need a bit of correction.)

The sound is quite something. I'll post a sound sample in a bit, but I think my top bracing scheme is a definite success.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
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