Dr. Rick Gets a StewMac Kit for his Big Birthday

[Srick]

MG - Yes, I am aware of that. And I have a pretty good idea of which joints are critical, and which are not. On this first build, I’m learning where to pick my battles. I’ve had to use the heat gun at least twice to re-do a poor joint. Again, I know where the problem with my gluing is, and that is that traditional cam clamps are great at hiding problems because of their size. Lighting in my shop is another issue that I am in the process of taking care of.

So again, I see this guitar as a learning experience. I’m not expecting this guitar to rival a pre-war Martin, but it will play well and look decent. Will the joints last for fifty years? I’ll likely never know.

[MaineGeezer]

Here's a thought; I don't know if it would work or where you might want to use it. Could you make silver inlays out of dental amalgam?

[Srick]

It has actually been tried! I think I saw it in Fine Woodworking Magazine many years ago.

Amalgam can actually polish up pretty well. If it was fashioned into a broad, thin section, like many guitar inlays, it would be fairly weak and tend to crack; amalgam gets its strength from bulk. One thing I worry about would be the migration of mercury into the surrounding wood during setting. This could oxidize, leaving some black staining. Once the amalgam is fully set, there is no danger from the mercury, which is of course, why it can be used in the mouth.

It’s funny that you mention this, as I just saw a picture of TJ Thompson’s newly developed precision router\base. I looked at it and instantly thought, “That’s a straight dental handpiece!”

As the build has progressed, I’ve recognized a lot of crossover between luthiery and dentistry. And maybe the biggest correlation is that everything has to be “just so,” in order to go on to the next step. Building the guitar is “sort of” relaxing, but then it’s not, because you are setting a very high bar for yourself.

[tippie53]

one of my first kit customers was a dentist and did the outstanding gold silver ivory inlay all dental fillings He cheated LOL

[Srick]

Last night I learned that rosewood bleeds into alcohol. I was putting a quick coat of 1 lb cut shellac on the interior (brushing, not spraying) when I saw to my horror, reddish brown drips on all the spruce. Fortunately, I am aware of this now for when I do work on the exterior of the guitar. A quick search of the net came up with some workarounds. I guess I was just next in line to learn this fact of life.

[Srick]

one of my first kit customers was a dentist and did the outstanding gold silver ivory inlay all dental fillings He cheated LOL

that sounds like fun!

PS: in 2023, this could be pretty expensive. That is, unless you submit it to your dental insurance company.

[Srick]

I purchased a used Grizzly laminate router off of Ebay thinking I could save a few bucks. After all, I was going to be cutting thin pieces of wood and giving it very little workload. Well, the beast drove me crazy. The bearings weren’t entirely concentric, The start up torque totally threw me off, etc. the final straw was when I put in my brand new StewMac router bit and discovered that the depth of the collet was way too shallow. Needless to say, it was unusable - it would have destroyed the guitar.

Off to the toy (uh tool) store for a Bosch Colt. Holy cow. Night and day. This is one nice router - Bosch knows what they are doing.

A life-lesson has been learned once again.

[Srick]

Who needs a cardiac stress test at the doctor’s office? I’ve got a palm router and big honkin’ StewMac binding cutter with bearings that can destroy the last few weeks of work in mere seconds! I can see how this would get old really fast. The Fleischmann Style jig looks more attractive by the minute.

Once again, the star of the day is my roll of double stick tape. I used it to increase the surface area of the router plate (added a piece of lexan), make a temporary plug for the dovetail recess, used it to hold onto small pieces, and oh, so much more. Second star of the day was the StewMac bit with bearings. It made it unlikely, albeit still possible, to mess up the depth. Third star was again, the Colt router. It was money well spent.

One hint I would give every newbie is to make sure that you put either a star washer or a lock washer under your adjusting knobs. This gives a little added insurance against something going loose from vibration at just the wrong time.

[Srick]

There are a lot of other pictures, believe me. And you already know how these things are built. But I don't have the patience to day to post every one of those photos with narrative.

And in fact, once the binding channels were cut, there was a lot less drama. The finishes that I chose were very forgiving and they made it easy to go forward and back as necessary. Plus, I fixed a lot of issues with drop filling using GluBoost.

So it's time for the post-game wrap up.

First, it sounds like a guitar. And it sounds pretty good. Will the top collapse after twenty years? Who knows.

Second, it looks pretty good. I used TruOil on the neck and shellac on the body. My French polish finish is not perfect because my grain is not filled 100%. But, I am OK with that because: (you guessed it) It looks good!

I have a bunch of observations for the next soul who is given a StewMac kit for her\his big birthday:

• The machining of the StewMac neck block is excellent. It would have been a lot easier if my wife knew about the bolt-on neck option, but she didn't. My neck angle was perfect - no shim needed. In fact, set up was a breeze. I attribute this to my past experience. I'm not sure how well I would do as an absolute tenderfoot.
• This forum, and many others, were invaluable. Thank you all for your advice and videos.
• There will be a number two! It will be a kit. And, it will be built in a mold. I'll be picking us some new clamps before then, too.
• Glu Boost Fill and finish is a really nice product. It was great filling around the rosette and the purfling. It scrapes down beautifully. The GluBoost was also an excellent pore filler for the neck, which was a really open grain mahogany. On the body, I used Aquacoat. It was easy to work with, but I do have some grain that didn't get filled. If I get bored this winter, I will GluBoost some rosewood and see how it finishes.
• You only have to experience rosewood bleed once and then you will have learned your lesson. You should probably get a merit badge for every hitch that you conquer.
• The errors that I thought were so obvious are not that apparent now that the rest of the guitar is built.
• Most important, I impressed my wife ("I knew you could do it"), and on our 40th anniversary, this month, she will be serenaded by our wedding song (which I have never done before). If you are interested, It's Stevie Wonder's, "You are the Sunshine of My Life".
• And I impressed myself. I was impressed by my patience and my attention to detail. Magnification and good lighting are a must (note: Harbor Freight has an inexpensive headset magnifier which is really well-made). I ran out of patience at the end and rushed a few things, but you know, sometimes you have to compromise for the sake of your sanity. I haven't figured out my grade yet-it's at least a B+\A-

If anyone is interested in the interim steps let me know. The documentation of my process is more comprehensive on the AGF 'Build and Repair' subsection because I have photo privileges there.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

I really like the look. The top is special.
With Indian rosewood you can't go wrong.
I'll bet it sounds great.
I was hoping your wedding song wasn't Stevie Wonders "Living for the City!" You picked a much more appropriate song. 😉