000 12-fret, first build

[Tim R]

Ken,

Okay I will leave the gap and glue.

The mold is from John Hall and its dimensions seem to be dead on.

As I said earlier, the spreader force to keep the rim against the mold is not trivial. Do you all think that building that stress into the guitar it (will exert tension on the front and back sides) is okay? If I can get a confirmation that that's okay I would appreciate it.

Thank you all for your help!

Tim

[tippie53]

That won't hurt a thing . Look and see if there is a gap at the waist . You can adjust the gaps on each and as the joints are covered . Tail wedge on the lower and neck on the upper .

[Tim R]

Hi all,

Well, I got the tail and neck blocks glued to the sides, all in the right place (I think :). After the kerfing I'll do the side reinforcement sticks. These do not appear to come with the kit. What do you guys use for this? I have some 1/8" and 3/32" thick bass wood sheets. Would this work? How wide should I cut them?

As Tony and others are saying on another thread, this is just plain fun! Its kind of sick, but I'm already thinking about what I'd like to do for my 2nd guitar. Is there a cure for this? :>)

Tim

[tippie53]

000 doesn't get side supports . You can put them in if you want . I am using ribbon more than wood .

[Tim R]

Ah, good. No, I won't add them. Who am I to mess with a perfect design!

After kerfing, I guess it is on to controlling humidity and bracing the back and top. I am thinking of storing the top, back, and brace parts in an XL Zip Lock bag along with one of those Humidipaks that keeps humidity at about 48%. The parts in the bag will occupy a tiny volume so one pack should control humidity for many weeks. I noticed also that one forum member (sorry, I can't recall or find the posts now) does go-bar deck assembly with the bracing and top (or back) all contained within a zip lock bag, and the go-bars making contact on the outside, through the bag. I could control humidity in the same way while gluing up using that approach. It might be awkward trying to set-up the brace pieces while they are inside of a plastic bag and then setting the go-bars on the other side of the bag, but it seems worth a try as a dry fit test...

Controlling humidity at this stage appears, form what I've read, to be very important...

Tim

[David L]

You're only thinking about what to build for your second one? What a slacker! I'm not completely done with my first and I already have four more lined out. The cure is "hammer jammer baby", building guitars is like doing herion, it's got a sharp hook on it!

David L

[Tim R]

David,

Well, my next drug hit might be an 00 project with my son, if I can get him interested.

At some point I'd really like to try doing a baritone guitar, perhaps as a deep body 000 with a 27" scale neck. But I'd have no idea how to find a 27" scale neck or make one, or whether such a thing would even work.

Sometimes I like to "sing" and play, although it is not clear that others like it so much. The thing is I can't really hit the high notes. A baritone would solve that problem, and they do sound cool! But then I would be really dangerous, because I would be more confident and would sing louder.

Back to reality. Now to get that kerfing glued on.

Tim

[David L]

I like your attitude Tim, there are some other folks who have turned this into a parent/child project.

David L

[kencierp]

Ditto Rick --

We include side supports/reinforcements with every KMG kit, just makes sense to me.

[tippie53]

It won't hurt and you can use ribbon or wood off fall from the sides .