Official Luthiers Forum!

Me? Nada. However, I did finally order the big tools (18" Jet Bandsaw, 2800 Powermatic Drill Press, and Jet Super Saw). Saved $600 total using MS Cashback (got the email notification this morning). Sweet!!

However, I did make HUGE progress in another area. I spent the entire day making blue bird houses with my boys Corey (6) and Caleb (9). 'Course, I did not let them use the table saw, but I did let them team up and drill all the holes on the bench drill press. They also sanded everything with the palm sander. And they used the portable drill to screw everything together. Then they base painted them. Tomorrow, they will hand paint designs on them and we will hang them up (let them season over the winter).

I will post some pics tomorrow.

Mike

Mike my friend we gotta talk! I need two Blue bird houses either making them or getting/purchasing them from someone. The blue birds are here in good numbers so I have been asked to put up a couple of houses for them.

As for weekend accomplishments I have been painting and painting...... and it sucks but it looks good.....

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Maybe you guys should get a room?

Don't blame me it was the voices, or...... actually my dog Sony can speak and he told me to make this post........

Todd your great room looks fantastic!!! You understand of course that 6 clapping hand emoticons are currently reserved for guitars only......

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Me, finally got around to cutting down a bunch of standing dead and burning a whole lot of brush..it's where I should be right now. Any excuse to use my chainsaw and burn things I guess.

I did also get back to some guitar building. Just finished the rosette on a Small Jumbo I'm working on. I had some Brazilian and Bubinga scraps around and wanted to see how they looked together. Pretty good in my opinion. Once I get it cleaned up I'll snap some pictures and post them.

Anyway...the trees aren't going to cut themselves down!

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Jamie M

Well, I got my first L-00 size (I think I will call it my 0-5) strung up and playing! This one is a prototype of sorts, so not too much bling other than the burst.





Now, I am just enjoying the view off my front porch, down the driveway:

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Brad Tucker

Killer looking guitar Brad!!!!

Tell me - how do you like how this body style holds? It's my favorite.

Great job!

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I used this site: http://www.bygpub.com/bluebird/ for the plans.

I modified for a sloping roof (45 degrees)... add 5.5" to the back and so on. My top is hinged for cleaning. I used two hook clasps to hold the top down. I also added a perch under the hole. (I drilled a 1.25" hole instead of a 1.5" since that is reccomended for our area). 2 1x6x6' pieces of poplar and one 1x8x2' piece of poplar to build both houses. All front and side drill holes were counter sunck and plugged with 3/8" poplar dowels. The kids and I had fun building them

Mike

Thanks, Hesh.

I love the size. It's really comfortable. A fingerpicking friend of mine played it, and absolutely loved the way it fealt, played, and sounded. I sent an email to some past clients, just to show them what I had been up to, and it generated a phone call!

I didn't realize how much different it was in size to a dread, until I sat it next to one!
Looks like a Ferarri sitting next to an F-350!!!

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Brad Tucker

made the feed table for my thickness sander, hopefully i'll find the time to finish the machine the coming week.

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Frank

Yesterday morning I dialed in a Strat I'd finished earlier in the week. Set the relief, action, intonation, etc. Pretty sweet guitar. Fiesta Red with a bit of blue showing through intentionally worn areas, and a beautiful madagascar rosewood fretboard over a birdseye maple neck. During the afternoon I tore out some of my previous wiring in an amp because I think I can do a better job.

Picked up a Keeley compressor, too.

Then of course this morning I wondered if I should sell all of the electric gear since I never use it anywhere but my room. Why have a setup made for playing U2 if you'll never get the shot?

Uploaded YouTube videos and went to Woodcraft for a sale yesterday. Picked up a 1 X 3 X 8 4000/ 8000 grit Norton wet stone, DMT Duo Sharp 4 X 10 325/1200 grit, nagura stone and some System 3 quick cure 5 minute epoxi in the syringe. Oh , and thickness sanded 8 strips of maple binding. Now if I can only decide on what type of binding machine to build.
The great room looks great Todd and I wish the leaves turned here.What I miss the most about PA is seeing the leaves change.

I picked up a bunch of nice black walnut for not much money, sold my bandsaw and and building more jigs.

I cut and thinned some lacewood for a back strip, laminated both sides with white fiber (really love that stuff!) and then glued the Harp Guitar back together (using the backstrip).

So, what IS fiber board? It feels like hard papet trims like a plastic.

Mike

I've been getting this ready for finish. A 12 fretter.
Silver Oak with Red Spruce.

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Wisdom is justified by her children

the grain in that is gorgeous Max.

Not guitar related, sorry, but I finished making a DJ console (2 record decks/mixer in the main console, 2 CD decks/laptop computer on angled stands) for a friend of mine (known on the nightclub circuits as "DJ DEF CON"). Now I have space in my cramped workshop to get busy with some new guitars.





From the audience side, the CD/Laptop stands look a bit like bird houses, don't they!
The holes are to keep the cables tidy of course, not for nesting birds!!

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

I got nothing done , I had plans to make big progress. I fired up my newly rebuilt drill press motor , drilled about 5 practice holes in a 2x4 and pop/smoke boy was I pissed, i was planning to make my slotting jig set=up and slot my bridge , then I moved to cutting my head stock shape, I have a small delta scroll saw about 15 years old, I cannot find blades to fit it , I ground the ends to make them fit , but after two quick blade snaps I gave up on that too . sheeesh !. sunday I managed to help my brother install a chimney liner for his new wood stove, at least something got done this weekend ! LOL Jody

Max your guitar is looking GREAT!

Dave your DJ console is very cool. Yeah I see the bird houses too but I see very cool looking bird houses!

Mike thanks for the link and info!

Here is what my work-in-progress shop looks like this morning after getting the painting, except for one stinkin door, done. Not to be a complainer but for someone who hates painting having to prime a space and then go back a few days later and paint it all over again really sucks.....

My genuine artificial molded brick wall came out too white for my taste........

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Ann Arbor Guitars

Looks like a productive weekend for a lot of folks.

Working on an L-00 with a cutaway and a soundport. Honduras mahogany from BobC and Lutz from Shane. Made the end blocks and got the rim ready for the plates, jointed and glued the back. Maybe close it up in a few days.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Built my motorized sanding dish thingy - other than the cost of the dish itself, I spent $20 on the motor, $18 for the belt and $6 for the lazy suzan bearing. Everything else was already laying around in the shop.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Andy, looks cool, and a good looking guitar in progress. Are you going to fashion a guard? That thing looks like it'd eat fingers and grab at clothes. I was just turning a belt/pulley by hand yesterday and pinched mine.

It will be way nice in cutting down your sanding of the profiles, etc.

Darrin

Thanks Darrin,

I wasn't planning on a guard but now that you mention it, I probably should at least cover the drive pulley and the, er, pinching side of the rotary table. If I was really ambitious, I'd make a combo guard/dust collector for the whole belt. Amazing how much dust there was from just a little sanding.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Hesh - Wow! your new shop is coming together nicely! I love the nice clinical white look personally - it bounces the light everywhere and makes working more pleasurable IMO. I don't see any guitars being built in it though - when do you think you'll be ready to start building again?

Andy - I like your motorized sander - I'm going to have to make one myself sometime - it's one of the last "chores" of guitar making I'd like to motorize (I love chiseling/planing braces - don't think I'll ever want to mechanize that process!). What's the best rpm for the dish?

I like these weekend accomplishment threads....kind of spurs me on to do more and spend my workshop time more productively. Keep 'em coming!

Cheers,
Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

I don't know what the "best" RPM is but I can tell you that I like the RPM mine is spinning at. I have a home made pulley on mine which is roughly 1" in diameter and the dish itself is roughly 24" in diameter which gives a dish speed of between 70 and perhaps 90rpm (a range because my measurements are very rough).

At that RPM, the sanding was fast but not too fast that I lost control. There was definitely some torque on the guit while I was holding it. If I ever decide I want it faster I can always spring for a factory made pulley of 1.5 or 2" diameter

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I built 2 SJ rims. one back, one top, braced them both, tuned and attached the back and tuned the top. I built a new saddle slotting fixture and caught one heck of a head cold