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Hey guys,
I'm about to glue the front and rear blocks on the sides to my guitar kit. My question is: Do I put it in the mold after the blocks dry on? I am wondering because I am using the stew Mac DVD and they don't use a mold. After they glue the blocks on, they put cardboard in the middle and a waist clamp on. I already have a Martin jumbo guitar mold ready for use. Thank you for helping me out.

Most builders that use an outside mold glue the blocks on in the mold, so it all goes in before you glue the blocks.
I suspect you'd have some trouble getting it to fit the mold precisely with the blocks already glued.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I cut the sides to fit tightly together when they are in the mold. When I am ready to glue the head and tail blocks in place I put a piece of waxed paper between the sides and the mold, then clamp the blocks against the mold. Sometimes I'll pop the rim out to do some little operation but most of the time it remains in the mold.

Here is one that I'm working on right now. Normally it would have a turnbuckle waist expander but it was in the way so I temporarily removed it. This is a cutaway so there is some funky gluing going on



btw - you can slide it partway out of the mold to install kerfing and sand the rim.

The ribs go in the mold right after bending and don't come out till the top and back are glued on.

If using a mold (which I do) I put them in as soon as bent. But I do all the lining, and everything else with them in the mold until after the top and bottom on.