Official Luthiers Forum!

I really don't want to rush the cittern I am building, and want to ask how long can the box be kept "open" for.

All I have to do now is to attach the back, after the sides have been profiled, the kerfing glued on and sanded......

The trouble is, these techniques are new territory for me, and a rush job is a bodge job in my case.

I have seen photographs of guitars in molds with inner clamps to hold the waist, the upper and lower bouts in place. Is this necessary?

ARGGHHG!!! (tearing sound) Wrong forum!! Sorry!!

Sam,

I'm a little confused. Do you have the braces on the top and back and have them profiled to their final shape? If so then unless you have a place to keep them with very good humidity control then you need to get them as a closed box asap. If you are just talking about a rim set - sides glued to endblocks - you can keep this in this state as long as you like.

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Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

David, the top has already been attached to the rims, and the glue is drying on the braces of the back, waiting to be profiled, then eventually glued on.

Sam, of course it's better to get that box closed right up. But.... if you can't get to it right away, as long as the humidity stays the same in the storage area as it is when you glued things up, you'll be okay.

About the spreaders inside the instrument..... Many make theirs as I have, removable through the sound hole after the box is closed. If you use the CFox/Woolson or Kett reverse kerf linings, you can dispense with the internal hardware before joining up. It's that solid.

Of course, you know...... we want pictures...

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

[QUOTE=Sam Price] David, the top has already been attached to the rims, and the glue is drying on the braces of the back, waiting to be profiled, then eventually glued on.[/QUOTE]

OK,

Leave the back with the braces unprofiled in the best place that you can monitor and control the humidity. Do the final brace profiling when you are in a position to finish closing the box. If the top/sides unit is keeping it's shape in the mould then there isn't a problem, but you can easily use a couple of scrap sticks in the upper and lower bouts to hold the shape with a small piece of cork between the ends and the sides - Poor mans/girls spreaders

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Great stuff, thanks. Better get my skates on then.