Couple of beginner questions...HELP!

[jjejj87]

Hi, I am building a Martin style Dread with EIR and Sitka top. I have few questions that I would like to ask.
I am experienced in French polishing, so I am FP'ing my guitar. (Using U-beaut)

1) Do I have to FP the Fretboard?

2) Should I be using colored dyes to match neck('hog) and B&S?

3) Anyone tried finishing the inside of a guitar?

Regards.

[JJDonohue]

1) Leave the fretboard and bridge unfinished. FP the guitar with the neck detached and before the bridge is placed.

2) No need to dye the neck. The contrast between the two looks great IMO.

3) Just sand the inside to 320-400. It will look nice and clean. Finishing the inside could affect brace adhesion. Also, if you ever need to repair a brace years from now, the finish could also retard glue adhesion.

Have fun!

[ngerty]

I've wondered about finishing the inside of a guitar. If you put tape over the areas where braces will be then there will be no adhesion problems. Say one does finish the inside of their guitar. Won't the wood be much less susceptible to changes due to humidity? If done right, it might make the guitar look really nice inside and could protect the wood to a degree. However, if you finish the top, back and sides on the inside, you're essentially finishing two guitars and that added work might outweigh the benefits.

-Neil

[ngerty]

I would think it best to finish the inside before glueing the braces so one can cover up the brace positions with tape. Finishing after assembly would be pretty tricky and almost impossible to do really well.

[Freeman]

1 - no finish on the fretboard or bridge (classicals have the bridge finished)

2 - Martin stains their mahogany or spanish cedar necks to match rosewood (they also stain mahogany on D-18's). I happen to like that effect (I don't really care for the the contrast between different woods, but your milage will vary) and have done it on all my rosewood guitars. If you want to stain it a couple of drops of StewMac red plus brown will do nicely. btw - if you are doing contrasting offsets (like a light maple strip under your headstock plate) be very careful about your stains.

3 - Most of the time the insides are not finished. Here is a good discussion

http://www.mimf.com/cgi-bin/WebX?50@174 ... 2cb6d8d9/0

[deadedith]

I've attached a pic from Taran Guitars. He FP's the heck out of his instrument's insides.
AS you can tell, there is a wide range of opinion on the matter. I give mine a very very light application of shellac after bracing. Very light. Any inside finish can look bad if it is too heavy and attracts dirt and other crap.
Dave B

Inside 01.jpg

[jjejj87]

Thanks everyone for your support

deadedith, could you tell any tonal difference? I mean, it looks good, but I am not willing to sacrifice tone for interior looks...

[deadedith]

If you are like the rest of us on this Forum, you're not willing to sacrifice tone for ANYthing :-)
I have not heard a Taran guitar; the reviews vary in their assessment of the sound, some finding the sound brash, others raving about it. I don't know how much of that is directly attributable to the amount of interior finish. I'm not sure how one could even measure the difference. I think we can be sure that any luthier taking these extremes on the interior is also taking extreme care on every single part of the build, and that amount of effort must make a difference overall.
I myself do not like the look of that interior; but if it could be proved to provide better tone - well, in that case I would do it.
Dave B

[deadedith]

I believe that the Ergo guitar built by Chas. Fox has the variable sound port as an option. Here's a pic
Dave B

[JJDonohue]

I've made 3 with ports so far. I have found in all cases that the player definitely likes the effect of hearing his guitar better. I heard Mario Proulx say that he liked the port when playing instrumentals but found it distracting and preferred it closed when he was singing. Still not sure about just how to "properly" size the port in relationship to the main soundhole.