Closed these two up (#15 and 16, I think?)
#15: Brazilian RW Parlor for a friend
#16: Bubinga SJ
Waiting for the finish to cure on these so I can sand and buff. (Cuban Hog & Walnut SJs)
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| Whatch You Doin'? http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=51211 |
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| Author: | Colin North [ Sun Nov 11, 2018 12:04 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
CarlD wrote: Sitting in a hotel room in Reno, evacuated from our place because of the Camp Fire. The whole town of Paradise on the next ridge over is gone. We held out for a time but was running out of gas for the generator so we put 5 of the guitars in the van, some clothes and vital papers and left. The perimeter is about 3 miles away from the place and the wind is blowing toward the fire, so we're hoping for the best. Had to buy a new computer to get back online. Bummer, sorry to hear that Carl. I really hope things work out OK for you and yours. |
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| Author: | Haans [ Sun Nov 11, 2018 12:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Very sorry to hear, Carl. Hope everyone got out of Paradise and Forest Ranch escapes the tragedy. |
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| Author: | Terence Kennedy [ Sun Nov 11, 2018 12:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Ditto. |
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| Author: | Michaeldc [ Sun Nov 11, 2018 12:59 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
I've got a buddy who's ranch is a mile from the fire... Glad you and yours are safe! Take good care! |
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| Author: | doncaparker [ Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:15 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Our prayers are with you, Carl. We have friends at Pepperdine U. who had to be evacuated. Rough time to be in California. As a distraction, I can report that I have been a busy bee this weekend. First (and most importantly), I strung up #6 and #7 (my first time building more than one at a time, and I'm not doing it any more) so they can get used to being guitars before I do the detail fret work, wax the bridges and fingerboards, all that jazz. Still a bit rough, and they definitely need some fret work, but they sound pretty good, tone-wise. Photos: Attachment: 079.jpg Attachment: 080.jpg Attachment: 081.jpg Attachment: 082.jpg Attachment: 083.jpg Attachment: 084.jpg Attachment: 085.jpg #6 is on the left, and it is a baritone scale (26.875") with 14 frets clear of the body. #7 is a standard scale (25.34"), but it has 13 frets clear of the body. The bodies are pretty much the same, with pyramid bridges and red herringbone purfling that I made myself. The necks are the same except for the scale; both slot head (square slots). Lutz spruce tops, Indian Rosewood backs and sides, Honduran Rosewood headplates, fingerboards and bridges. Lots of "from scratch" designing going on with these two. Lots of mistakes, too, but I'm getting better at most things. My other project was making leather-lined jaws for my pattern maker's vise and an old Versa Vise I bought off a guy in Nashville and didn't get around to cleaning up for about 2 years. I should have done this a long time ago; the leather really helps grip the workpiece and avoid damage. I should have cleaned up the Versa Vise a lot sooner, too. Very handy little vise. |
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| Author: | CarlD [ Sun Nov 11, 2018 10:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Thanks for getting the tread back on track Don. Sorry for the hijack. So far we're OK. |
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| Author: | sdsollod [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 9:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Lookin' good Don. I like to work on two at a time. Since finishing is such a PITA, I like to spray two at a time... |
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| Author: | doncaparker [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 10:27 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Thanks, Steve. The fact that finishing is such a PITA is part of what makes me not want to build two at a time any more. It makes that part of the building process which I don't enjoy literally twice as long, which is a drag! Plus, I feel that I can give more of my attention to just one at a time. I'm still learning a lot (these are #6 and #7), and I feel like I needed to have better focus on each as I build these last two. Some mistakes I made would have been completely avoidable with a bit more care. Here are Versa Vise photos. The metal jaws of this one don't have the holes for mounting wooden jaws, so I inset some rare earth magnets with cyano on one face and put leather on the other face. I'm really liking this vise now! The vise without the new jaws: Attachment: Versa Vise bare.jpg The magnets: Attachment: Vise jaws with magnets.jpg The leather: Attachment: Vise jaws with leather.jpg The vise with the new jaws in place: Attachment: Versa Vise with new jaws.jpg Once you get the clutch mechanism adjusted so the vise grips the post both in vertical and horizontal mode, this thing is pretty strong. And like my pattern maker's vise, it just bolts to the bench through dog holes, so it can be removed to give me more real estate when I need it. |
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| Author: | Clay S. [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:24 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Hi Don, That is impressive that you made your own herringbone. The red color almost glows in the pictures. When I first saw the tops I thought they were Sitka, but I'm not that familiar with Lutz. I guess as a cross there is a lot of variation in looks. |
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| Author: | Pegasusguitars [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Carl, I'm a native Californian but have been in Hawaii the last 35 years. Every few years I find myself in Cohasset, Forest Ranch, Paradise, visiting friends and hiking. Been talking to them this week. Smart that you evacuated. My very best wishes for you and your family. Hope the winds keep working in your favor.. Aloha, Bob Gleason |
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| Author: | Marcus [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:18 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Closed these two up (#15 and 16, I think?) #15: Brazilian RW Parlor for a friend #16: Bubinga SJ Waiting for the finish to cure on these so I can sand and buff. (Cuban Hog & Walnut SJs)
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| Author: | sdsollod [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:25 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Marcus, Interesting top on the walnut. Looks like some kind of birds eye. What is it? |
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| Author: | doncaparker [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Clay S. wrote: Hi Don, That is impressive that you made your own herringbone. The red color almost glows in the pictures. When I first saw the tops I thought they were Sitka, but I'm not that familiar with Lutz. I guess as a cross there is a lot of variation in looks. Thanks, Clay! There is a thread somewhere here on OLF from back when I put this batch of herringbone together, if you are interested in doing it yourself. The red does look cool, I have to say. It causes more of a threat of bleed over onto the spruce than a black fiber would. I had to carefully seal over it with shellac at the very beginning of the finishing process, and even then there is a little that smeared here and there. Some of the glow is attributable to the fact that I French polished these guitars. I have not yet buffed out the finish, and might never get around to it. Without buffing, my shellac finishes tend to be "softly" shiny, if that is a good way to describe them. I like them like that. I've built with Sitka, Red, Englemann, and Lutz spruce, and cedar. I own a few tops of European spruce. I'm developing the opinion that the characteristics of the individual pieces matter more than the precise species. And I am more and more appreciating the virtues of wood that looks a little boring, but causes fewer problems. Give me straight grain, well quartered wood with little runout, and I'll gladly live with the relatively plain look. |
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| Author: | Marcus [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:41 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
sdsollod wrote: Marcus, Interesting top on the walnut. Looks like some kind of birds eye. What is it? Yeah, it's kind of an interesting piece. I bought it from a local guy trying to sell Luthier sets to local luthiers on craigslist. I think he marketed it as some sort of burl/birdseye redwood. I was pretty sure it would make a terrible sounding guitar but I also thought it looked super cool. So I picked up a set. |
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| Author: | Clay S. [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 7:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
I tried out a new bit I got off ebay for radiusing fingerboards. Even with a quick and dirty setup it worked O.K. |
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| Author: | Haans [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 8:30 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Well, well, laminated back braces! What did you use for centers? Looks a might thick but might work for you... |
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| Author: | Marcus [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
I used some padauk that I had laying around. In hindsight I agree that they are a tad thick. Also it made thinning the ends down to 1/8" quite a challenge. |
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| Author: | Ruby50 [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Marcus What went into your decision to use laminated braces on one and not the other? Ed |
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| Author: | Haans [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:45 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Marcus wrote: I used some padauk that I had laying around. In hindsight I agree that they are a tad thick. Also it made thinning the ends down to 1/8" quite a challenge. 6"x89" sander or spindle sander does wonders...on the cheap, one of those oscillating sanders with 60 grit triangular works fairly well. I used to pretty much completely shape the braces on the 6"x89". |
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| Author: | Marcus [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 5:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Ruby, I honestly couldn't find (in my shop) a contrasting piece of wood to laminate with the mahogany. This guitar is a gift for a friend, so I also didn't want to go spend more money on something. I am also lazy... Haans, that's a great tip. I am going to preshape my braces on the next guitar. |
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| Author: | Haans [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 6:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
If you are doing the X on the top, remember that the half that has the 1/2 lap on top will have to be done by hand to leave the lap part square...pre mark and file by hand. Hate to see the finish on the inside, but to each their own... If you know basically all your bracing #'s, pre-cutting them works pretty well, only have to make some changes if you feel it's not tapping right.   The oscillating sander (Dremel or whatever) works well to make small changes after the braces are glued on. The 6x89 makes triangular braces a breeze and center lamination is a natural marker. Note the difference in center lam thickness and that they are Grand Concert size. I hope the braces work for you. They sure had made a difference in my instruments. |
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| Author: | DanKirkland [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 7:59 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Don, I have one of the tall boy versions of the versa vise in my shop. Every older mechanic/gunsmith/luthier/woodworker I show it to wants one once they see what it can do and how it works. |
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| Author: | bcombs510 [ Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:01 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Why.... making jigs of course!!!  Side laminating jig for an upcoming 14 fret 00 project.    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
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| Author: | Colin North [ Wed Nov 14, 2018 3:59 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
bcombs510 wrote: Why.... making jigs of course!!! Side laminating jig for an upcoming 14 fret 00 project. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Like that Brad - what's that? layers 3/4" MDF? What's that separating the 2 forms? |
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| Author: | bcombs510 [ Wed Nov 14, 2018 4:45 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Whatch You Doin'? |
Colin North wrote: bcombs510 wrote: Why.... making jigs of course!!! Side laminating jig for an upcoming 14 fret 00 project. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Like that Brad - what's that? layers 3/4" MDF? What's that separating the 2 forms? The layers are 5 @ 3/4” and 1 @ 1/2”. I needed the width to be 4 1/4”. The spacer is 4 layers of .060 HDPE. I use the layers of HDPE to fill the void if I’m only doing sides. Otherwise if I’m doing lining at the same time I will take a piece of the HDPE out at a time and replace with the lining material as I bend them. Hopefully that makes sense.  I use Burton LeGeyt’s method he shared here for making solid linings. The gap between the molds is .250. That allows for a .070 side (or two laminated sides equaling .070) and 3 layers of .060 “lining sides”. Smash it all in there together and they nest in a way where the lining fits to the sides perfectly all the way around. The two 1 1/2” holes drilled into the upper part of the mold itself are used with a spreader clamp to get the thing back apart. It’s a tight fit once all the layers are in. Brad Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
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