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OK so I made a mess of planing my sides to thickness and decided to buy a new set and start over .

They arrived today so obviously Ineed to let them aclimatise for as long as possible before using them ( Currently working on the neck as slowly as possible !!!).

I was thinking that if I thickness them straight away then leave them stickered this would mean that they would aclimatise quicker since the wood is 2.5 mm instead of 5mm thick.

Any reason not to do this ?

Also I saw in another thread people recomending jonting the back with sandpaper on a level - would this method be ok for the soundboard too ?

Also if anyone has a link to good info on seting up annd using planes it would be greatly apreciated !!!!

Thanks in advance

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Richard

You know, I wouldn't worry too much about letting your sides acclimate. You are going to spritz them and then cook the living "B" out of them during bending anyway. As long as they are "dry" already, fly at getting your guitar going.

Shane

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Canada

I agree with Shane on this - you are going to change the moisture content so dramatically when you bend them, it probably doesn't really matter as long as they've been properly dried already...

Found this link for tuning a hand plane

-MarkMark Tripp39044.5341782407

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Pullman, WA

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I agree with all of the above.

I have had to replace some Bubinga sides after destroying the first set in a bad bending experience, got the new set in and thickness planed and bent them within just a few days.

I join both my backs and tops the same way.

First I candle the set at the start to see what I need to do or how far I need to go. After determining my front/back and which two sides I am going to join, I place them together in the proper orientation and using masking tape, tape the two ends and down the back with a few pieces to hold things in place.

I use a work board and place a spare back or top set down on the board and then place the one I am truing the edge on top of it overhanging my side to be worked about 1/2". I place a 1"X2"X8" at each end and clamp to the work board. This holds everything in place. I store all of my woods stickered and weighted so my plates are flat.

Depending upon how the set (top or back) candled at the start would determine if I used a plane first then the sand paper or went straight to the sand paper.

I have a 2'level which is metal, not one of the cheapest, just a good one that is true which levels should be. On one side edge I use double stick tape and cut strips of grits starting at 120 and place it on the edge on the tape. The set is elevated perfectly using a spare set so I can just lay the level flat on the board surface and hold in the center, back and forth until it candles to my liking.

If I am planing the joint I lay my plane on it's side and move from one end to the other taking very thin shaves with each stroke, then use the level/sandpaper to finish.

Hope this helped, good luck

Mike

Is your final thickness going to be 2.5 mm?
If so that is .100 which may be hard to bend depending what wood your using.

The level & sandpaper works great if you first true the edge with a plane and shooting board.
Just make sure to join the top first as to not get hardwood dust transfered from the back in your spruce or cedar.
Mike
www.collinsguitars.com

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Mike Collins

Thanks for the tips and links guys.Very helpful .

The coments about the fact that the humidity changes radicaly are something that I've been wondering about. You carfuly maintain your wood at constant humidity then spray it with water and heat it to 300 degrees F. How long do you leave the bent sides before gluing up - from what I've seen most people move on to gluing straight away.

Mike I'm aiming to finish up with sides somewhere between 2 and 2.5mm (depending on how my planing /sanding works out this time ). Hadn't thought about dark sawdust coulouring the spruce. Is this something you have to look out for during final sanding or just when gluing ?

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Richard

The dust can be a problem in both cases.
But I was refering to the sand paper level .
Any oily & dark wood can infect your sandpaper so do the top first!

P.S. I leave my sides 2.1 to 2.2 mm for well quartered woods.

MikeMike Collins39046.6467476852

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Mike Collins

Thanks Mike

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Richard