Cuban Mahogany and Lutz Spruce 00

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I just knew I would find a reason to get a silicone heating blanket...my coffee never stays hot.
John, you always find ways to enlighten us newbies.

Kevin

[johnnparchem]

Darryl the sides look great. All of my mahogany stained when bending. It sands off easy. I have learned how to leave stains on until sanding is required for the next step. In the mean time I add glue stains, scratches ... It is better to get it all at once.

[Darryl Young]

That's a good suggestion John and I think I'll do just that. I'll just sand the insides before adding lining and neck/tail blocks.

[Darryl Young]

I had a depressing thought last night.

I was feeling good about getting the sides bent and it finally seems things are starting to take off on this guitar........when I realized I'm just now at the point I would be had I started with a kit!!! Well, I'm slightly ahead as I have the braces glued to the back and top but neither are tuned as yet.

That there was a little depressing.......

[JRHall]

I had a depressing thought last night.

I was feeling good about getting the sides bent and it finally seems things are starting to take off on this guitar........when I realized I'm just now at the point I would be had I started with a kit!!! Well, I'm slightly ahead as I have the braces glued to the back and top but neither are tuned as yet.

That there was a little depressing.......

But, you did it your self.

[SKBarbour]

Darryl, I'm coming to the same realization as you about the kit. But it is nice to know that i'm able to get that far on my own.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Darryl,
Think of all the fun you would have missed if you had started with a kit.
This one you can call your own buddy. Stand firm, you are doing great.

Kevin

[johnnparchem]

depressing ???

[Darryl Young]

Well, depressing that I haven't gotten further. I'm glad I'm doing it the way I am......just depressing to think how long my first one took to build so I just realized how much I have left. <smile>

The good news is I think everything that is left is somthing I've done before so no new fields to plow........hopefully it goes quicker than first one did.

[Darryl Young]

I finished gluing the last braces on the top (soundhole braces were all I had left). And I glued the neck block to the rims. Last night I glued the tail block to the rims and it's still clamped up. I'm home sick with Strep and started antibiotics this morning so I hope to feel up to doing more over the weekend.

I taped the two sides together while they were in the outside mold and it made things a little easier to control. Put a little glue on that tail block and it wants to slip and slide and twist every which way. I'm glad I had lines marked on the sides on both sides of the tail block showing the correct alignment. I also had a mark on top and bottom of the tail block noting the centerline which to use as a double check that the block stayed in the correct position while tightening the clamps.

I wanted the tail block to be laminated to help prevent splits should the guitar bedropped on the end pin so I took a 1" thick piece of mahogany and resawed it into two pieces just under 1/2" thick. I sanded these on my drum sander down to 3/8" thick. I turned the grain on one of these 90deg to the other one before trimming near final dimensions then glued the two halves together with the grain turned 90deg on one of the holves. After the glue dried I cut the block on my table saw to final dimensions then added 30 chamfers on the half of the tail block that would face the interior of the guitar. First time I've did much cutting on mahogany and I did it with a 7 1/4" Freud Diablo 40 tooth blade that has a 1/16" kerf. Wow, I've never felt so precise doing wood work! I can see why mahogany is considered such a nice wood to work with.

Here is a shot of the tail block clamped to the rims waiting on the glue to dry.

GluingOnTailBlock.JPG