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Good Tutorial Hesh. That's perdy much how I do it but I like to use HHG on mine.
Nice pics too...Thanks

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Great tutorial, Hesh! Thanks for taking the time to post.

BTW, that back is a killer.

Hesh--

Thanks for the post. I shoot edges with a plane also and I really like the idea of using the straight edge in the stack. Cool tip!

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

You know, I had always wondered how you could use a straight-edge in there... Now I see that it has to be very thin... A picture truly is worth a thousand words!!!

Another great tutorial my friend! I had tried the 'tent' methode before but I wasn't happy with the results. Now I see that my 'protocols' could have been much better... I will give that another try for sure!

Oh yeah, killer figure on that back!

P.S. I could suggest that Lacey take pictures when you're using both your hands but then I know you like building in the nude...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Great tutorial Hesh!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks Hesh. As usual, great information and good clear photos to answer the questions that might come up.

I'm thinking its time to do an archive search for "Hesh tutorial" and gather up whatever the search engine spits out at me. I can remember a couple of others that I didn't bookmark that I need to go back and look at.

Good stuff.

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Aoibeann

Thanks,Hesh.

That`s exactly the same method I use. I really like not being able to see the joint or a glue line. That is until I need to find the center line again.

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

Another great tutorial post Hesh.
We are going to have to start paying you soon arent we

What if I wantd to insert a nice back strip.

Would you do the same as you have shown above but instead insert the backstrip as well during the gluing (all straight and trued of course)

Barry

Yes, Great tutorial!

And, I love the planing jig!

I’m guessing it took about an hour for the whole procedure. (Not including drying time)

Am I close?

Robert

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Everything has beauty, But, not everyone see's it!

Good tutorial. I joint my plates the same way but without the straightedge stop. I'll have to try that next time.

But the glue up looks complicated to me. I have a workboard that I clamp 6 small blocks to, then put down a strip of wax paper under the center join, glue up the joint, butt the plate against the blocks on one side, wedge it in tight with some triangular wedges between the plate and blocks on the other side. Then another strip of wax paper and weights on top of the joint, like you. All the taping looks fiddly to me.

For rosewood backs, I just wedge the plates in and soak the joint with thin CA. The method doesn't present any difficulty for backstrips, either.

My only joint failure during construction so far was a back done using the tent method with the elevated center join pressed down flat against the workboard. I think the joint got starved. The method described above is easy enough that I don't feel inclined to try any others in the future.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Hesh mentioned that I have talked about the concept of "routers go left".
This is for using a router in its' normal position and NOT in a router table
(where "routers go right"). All that basically means is that, if you put a router
into wood and gave it a shove the router would leave the straight shove and
turn left (because of the rotation of the bit). If you understand that, then
putting the fence on the left side as Hesh suggests causes the router (or
Dremel) to want to pull itself into the fence not away from it. As a result, it
requires almost no effort to keep the router against the fence during the cut.
a quick way to always determine where the fence goes is to use your right
hand and point at the direction the router is going to move. Your right
thumb then points at the side where the fence should go! Truly
understanding this very basic concept will make using a router pleasurable
and very, very accurate.

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Sylvan
http://www.wellsguitars.com

Hesh, thank you for the clear instructions and the great accompanying photos.

Something I wish I would have asked you to do a long time ago is using a common heading for all your tutorials, for example.....

Hesh Tutorial - Tape Method - Joining Plates

Hesh Tutorial - Cutting a Rosette

Hesh Tutorial - Using a Performax 20-10 for Fret Dressing

It would make searching the archives for all your gems so much easier.

Thanks again

yikes --   i don't believe it --- shavings actually visible on hesh's bench. your standards are slipping hesh!! what is the world coming to??

but as usual, clean, very tidy work and a very clear exposition of the gluing technique.

however, i really can't see any advantage in using the straight edge.

a well set up plane is what produces the good joint. to me the straight edge seems an unnecessary complication.

Hesh, you might not have had thousands of board feet go through your hands and become something else, but you do have woodworking skills, unless you have a shop gnome we don't know about. If you didn't have respectable woodworking skills there is no way that you could turn out the beautifully tight (meaning workmanship) guitars that you do. I will concede that your skills may not be broad, but there are there. Don't sell your abilities short. There are many of us that are dreaming of the day that we can do what you do with the same ease and grace.

As for your tutorials, having been a technical writer of sorts, I know how hard it can be to get a concept across. Your verbiage and photos do an excellent job of both. I have an obscure guitar building book that is a great example of how not to do things. The only thing it has going for it is his neck shaping photos, which aren't that clear. All the photos are zip-toned. Your photos are always focused and color/contrast balanced, which makes is much easier for those of us peeking over your shoulder to see what you are actually talking about.

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Aoibeann

Hesh, could you work with the technical writers for Microsoft, especially the guys who write the "Help" section????

No really, before I read Lillian's post, I was thinking you'd make a great teacher. Great tutorial there!!

hesh, i second lillian's comment about your woodworking.

i have often told folks that the woodworking in guitars is really very simple, and with the exception of perhaps hand cut dovetail joints and vee joints, it is mainly just variations on butt joints. but it just has to be done very, very well, with consideration of aso many dynamic factors.

any custom furniture maker does much more complex woodworking than we do, but his work is not subjected to high stresses on thin components, and doesn't have to sound good. usually it just sits there, with draws and doors having to open and shut, and stay there, and look good. plus the standards expected on usually non-visible elements are nowhere nearly so high as is expected on custom made guitars.

i haven't yet experienced hearing one of your guitars, but clearly your work, as evidenced by the photos you share with us, is as lillian put it, tight. and so much of it has been accomplished in such very limited space.

you should take deserved satisfaction from your accomplishments.

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Jim I have a Sapnish tourniquet jig
...
[/QUOTE]

Now that always struck me as way more complicated than needed

The contraption I described is all spare parts too - in between jobs, it doesn't exist. There are as many ways to do this task as there are particiapnts here.   

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

I’ll third Lillian’s comments, and second Michael’s

Hesh my friend, there’s an old saying, “PROOF’S IN THE PUTTING”

Well, we’ve all seen your PUTTING, and its quite PRETTY! Seems to me, that PROVES you have not only the ability, but, also the talent to create a beautiful instrument!

You have my utmost respect as a guitar builder. And, I’ll bet there are a whole lot more people
listening that feel the same.

With that, I’m looking forward to the next tutorial!

Robert

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Everything has beauty, But, not everyone see's it!