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| "The Wedge" http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10102&t=2141 |
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| Author: | bob J [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 9:47 pm ] |
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A few weeks back, there was a posting that mentioned building using the 'wedge ' system. I have seen pictures and I would like to know more. What is done for the volume of the box lost when building with the 'wedge'? Is it braced like standard guitar? Thanks, |
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| Author: | Josh H [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:03 pm ] |
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You may want to check out Linda Manzer's site. I think she was one of the first ones to use this design and even holds a trade mark on it. I think there is a little bit of info here www.manzer.com . Look under custom features. josh |
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| Author: | Mike Mahar [ Thu Jun 09, 2005 10:27 pm ] |
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I haven't build a wedge yet but it is next on my list. I've spoken to several builders who have. I've played several wedges and I really like them. They feel like a small bodied guitar but sound like a deep guitar. The most common way is to make a regular guitar for the neck and top. You then angle the back to make the wedge. Subtract an inch at the bass side and add an inch to the treble side. You have to angle the head and tail blocks. I think it would be easier to angle the side after they are glued to the head and tail block as opposed to pre-tapering the side before bending. If you are duplicating an existing wedge guitar you can pre-shape the sides. The biggest problem seems to be in getting the binding to set into the channel properly. You might consider plastic binding which is much more flexible. Wood binding has to have a complex compound bend put into it. |
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| Author: | Mattia Valente [ Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:46 am ] |
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I've got a baritone acoustic with a verrry slight wedge it it, and it is nice and comfy, far as I can tell. I'll be making a few more of these, that's for certain. Linda Manzer and William Cumpiano's websites both have some pics of wedged guitars, if you're interested. The comment I've seen Al Carruth make most often is to 'simply' design the front-to-back taper as normal, keeping the depth at the head and tailblock standard, then just angle the whole thing side to side as well, taking (For example) and inch off one side, and adding an inch to the other. You can probably quite easily prop the guitar up on a radius dish using the appropriate-sized blocks, and then follow the dish to give you a basic cutting pattern. Trim the excess, clean up on the dish as per usual, voila, wedge guitar! I do have to say that Sylvan's reverse wedge guitar (more of a backwards taper, I think: thicker at the tail than the head) sounds wonderful, and is very comfortable. Only large acoustic I've ever played that you can naturally play standing up, without a strap, without straining anything. It looks pretty funky, too! |
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| Author: | Rick Davis [ Fri Jun 10, 2005 1:55 am ] |
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Mike's and Mattia's comments are right on. I take 1/2" off the bass side and add it to the treble. This gives a difference between the two sides of 1", which looks about right to me. The depth at the centerline remains the same as for the non-wedge version, so the total interior volume is also constant. When you are roughing out the head- and tail- blocks, remember to allow for the wedge: you want to add to one side what you take off the other. I made my cutting patterns by clamping 6" x 32" pieces of stiff poster board in my mold, then propping it into position in the radius dish, just as Al C. suggested. The resulting patterns look really weird! I had to recheck them several times before I believed that they were right. The back binding is a real problem. I can't imagine using any sort of hand-held router to cut the binding channels -- depth and angles would be all over the place. Using the Ribbecke-style fixture and a severely radiused router base, I get fairly constant rabbets. I slightly undercut the binding itself for easier fit. Using surgical tubing to clamp the binding works pretty well to force it into place. (This is the technique Manzer uses.) The cutaway is impossible to bind cleanly, at least for me, and I just resign myself to doing some filling. I've used the wedge on all of my "spec" guitars for the last 18 months. I can't imagine why anyone would want a deep bodied guitar without this feature -- the comfort is so much greater! Credit goes to Linda for coming up with this (for her Pikasso, um, "guitar"). |
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| Author: | Mike Mahar [ Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:11 am ] |
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Ah, 1/2 inch from each side for a total difference of 1 inch. Good thing you chimed in. I like the feel of your wedges and I wouldn't want to make one too extreme. Rick, it's amazing that you have time for anything, not to mention on-line forums, with the symposium rapidly appraoching. |
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