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I had a pretty good weekend in the shop. I had set a goal to get my top glued in, and had a number of things to do to prep for that progress.

First, I had to make a tail-block.

Next I had to trim down my sides to correct taper for the back.

Measuring at the heel and at the tail-block.

Then I had to taper the second side, checking that both were the same as I went along.

Contiued in the next post...

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Next, I had to trim down the heel to the height of the newly trimmed sides.

Trimming the Wedges to the height of the heel.

Next are the steps in setting the Neck using the Romanillos, double wedge neck joint, at least as I understand it, and as I did it. Here are the wedges which have been prepared to fit snuggly against the sides, with full contact in the slot. It takes a little tweaking to get there, but starting with a piece that is a fit when the sides are not in the slot, then cutting it on the diagonal, is a good way to start. The saw cut will take up part of the thickness, and with tweaking by cutting the length and some minor sanding you can get to a pretty good fit. Here are my wedges ready to be installed. they have also been trimmed to correct height.

Here, the first wedge is in place.

Placing the second wedge into place.

Second wedge in place.

Coming Next - the second wedge pressed home! Don't miss it!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Second wedge pressed into place.

This is the joint from the outside.

The next three shots are of the second side wedge installation.

I just had to look!

You can see that the wedges are fairly even with the foot at the neck/side join.

More to come!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Working in the Solera, you can't tell what's happening on the face of the guitar. Curiosity killed the cat. I had the wedges pressed into place, no glue yet, and the tail-block held in with a clamp. I took the thing out of the Solera, and rested the top in place to see how it would look. It also gives a good shot of the top and sides at the neck joint.

Next comes the "Cluster Clamping" of the tail-block.

I used LMI White, because I wanted to get on with the top installation, and it dries pretty fast. Here we're all trimmed and glued.

Here, the wedges are glued in. Glue on the all the wedge surfaces, except the exposed ones, though I got some on there too.

Here, I'm gluing in dentellones. Using tweezers to hold them, I apply glue with a brush --

then I set them in place and hold them for about 30 seconds. The glue dries quickly, and seems to hold well. I have a block clamped to hold the edge of the top flat against the edge of the raised lower bout, to get a square corner.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Weekend Progress!

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Is that Waddy or Wilson?

Anyone know who Wilson is?

PS Hey Waddy, nice job and really enjoying the photos man.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

We are really screaming along now, and I have switched to holding the dentellones down with my glue clean-up stick. It seems to hold better than the tweezers.

Making Progress.

Close-up of alternating sizes so mismatched sizes don't draw the eye.

First half of the lower bout is done.

All Done!

Couple of Close-ups.

That was it for progress, but I did adapt my little glue bottle for a brush. I recommend getting extra tops when you get bottles, then you can have one for a brush and one for squeezing out glue.

Well, I got them all in. It was harder than the old way, but it works. It just takes multiple entrys. There were more pictures, so, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can review them in my photobucket album at the link in my signature. I update the date every time I update the album.

Thanks for looking.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

exellent tutorial Waddy! I have a couple of questions if you dont mind?

First, I notice you placed green tape along the sides when you were laying out the taper. How did you lay out the taper? Is the back on this guitar flat (no dome)? I would be interested in how you layed it out.

Second, I know that the dentellonies are the traditional way to line classicals, but is there any real reason to use them instead of a kerfed ribbon lining? These may be stupid questions, but I will admit ignorance when it comes to classicals in general.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Thanks, Ken, and Bruce.

Ken, I just measured the plan, at multiple locations that I could identify on the sides, and just did the best I could. It is not domed much in the long direction, mostly just tapered. It is domed across the back. If there is a longitudinal doming effect, it must be a pretty large radius. I had to work with inside measurements, and transfer them to the outside on the tape. You cannot see a pencil line on this wood. The tape is easy release, and came off cleanly.

I don't think there is much difference between kerfed lining and the dentellones. There might be some different opinions on that subject though. I just wanted to use as many of the traditional methods that I could, because I thought I would learn more doing it this way. It is slow and tedious, but it makes you pay attention to every detail of the construction.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

alright waddy, you get the "hesh breakstone clean room of the week award" for the rubber gloves and tweezers. are you in the medical field? or maybe you are an archeologist. good job buddy. you are making great progress and are doing a fine job.

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sweat the small stuff.

Thanks Heath - no I'm not in the medical field, however, I tend to get glue all over everything when I'm working, and since I do not build in a bath room, there is no running water in my shop. Yeah, there is water, but I figured if my hands got all sticky, I could pop the gloves off and I"m clean again. Thought it might help me not get glue all over the top and sides.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

hey, whatever works, right? either way, it looks super clean.

and i guess i was too late to edit that last post. ive yet to use that feature. but i do know how to spell archaeologist.

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sweat the small stuff.

Nice work Waddy!! I really like seeing this kind of neck joint gone through as I don't have any contact with it at all. I'm not really into classicals much ...but I am into luthiery and woodworking, and who doesn't enjoy seeing a job well done?

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Waddy,

Great stuff - you're getting close to a completed guitar!!

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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

Waddy, your making real progress now. All that in just one weekend, that much would take me a couple of months!

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

WOW Waddy, you've come a long way in a short time. Are you using hhg on your little teeth? I think it's great that you are using traditional methods. I feel right at home looking at your shop, I bet you know right where everything is too. Just how my place looks. When I put something up I never can find it again....lol When do you calculate that you'll be plucking the strings? Hey, I went to your website and you have a cool little band. Keep up the beautiful work and thanks for sharing.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Regarding Ken's question about dentalones instead of a kerfed lining -

Under normal circumstances, with the top rim flat and the tops glued down to a slightly wide top, then it doesn't make a difference since the lining is flush to the top edge of the side prior to assembly.

However, in the Waddy/Romanillos construction, the assembly has the top trimmed to size minus the side thickness, the sides are placed flat down on the solera, and then the top is placed on the raised solera ramp inside the sides. If you were to pre-glue a kerfed lining prior to assembly, you'd have to calculate exactly where that joint would be along an uneven contour offset up to 5-7mm (ramp+top thickness) away from the flat top edge of the sides. It wouldn't be easy. (Although you could fit everything together, mark the position of the inside of the top on the sides, and then dissassemble and glue up the linings.)

Waddy, could you take a close up pic of the top to side joint, taken from the outside, so we can see what that top-inside-the-sides construction looks like before trimming?

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

I meant side glued down to the top.

heh, where did the edit button go?

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Waddy,

Great job, very neat clean work. Your making rapid progress.

One question, I generally leave the inner heel a little proud of the sides so I can bring it down with the radius of the back, are you making a flat back?

Outstanding Waddy, simply outstanding. I've never seen that before, and it's fascinating. Great work, and I'm really looking forward to more of these photos. This build log has been most excellent.

Bill

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Waddy,

Can't wait to see the finished guitar! I don't think I'd have the patience to go through that construction technique.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Waddy my friend nice work. i really like the use of wedges to fit the side to the heel. I followed the traditional method of slotting the heel to the width of the side and almost interference fit and use thin shims to fine fit is required locations. though my outcome was fine I did not like the process. I think this is a great solution. bravo

Thanks to all of you, for your comments.

Billy, I'm a lot like you. I'm into classicals, but I enjoy craftsmanship in any form, even if it is in a well executed b***o.

Dave, I am closer, but soon, I get to the place where I have to cut into a perfectly good guitar to install bindings and such. I'll be apoplectic.

Thanks Colin, I had everything poised for the attack. I had also spent a lot of time thinking about the process. Putting in the dentellones took me about 3 hours, maybe a little more, but I held the ones in the lower bout for at least 30 seconds each. In the upper bout, where there was no stress from bowing, I only held them for about 15 seconds. It went well in my opinion. I was lucky. Fortunately, I had cut the dentellones and had them in jars, ready to go.

Chuck, thanks, I guarantee that I can find anything I put down in my shop in, lets say, 2 - 3 HOURS, most of the time. I'm not calculating when I'll be done. There are too many details yet to be attacked, and yes, I am using HHG. I have a lot of fun with my "band", if you can call it that.

Jim, thanks for explaining the dentellone/kerfed lining issue. I suppose you could install kerfed lining in sections, and hold it in place. Might speed the process up. I could see doing that in about 30 minutes, instead of 3 hours. Might be worth a try. You could also use fish glue, and, sort of, feed it to the lining as you go along. Might be messy, due to the harder clean-up.

Marc, it's hard to see, but it slopes up toward the tail-block. I tried to keep it in line with where the radius of the back braces will be. If it's too low, there are always pieces of mahogany to glue on and re-work it.

Thanks, Bill, I have now, kind of, gotten into the photographic journal of the build. I take lousy notes, and this will help me remember things.

J, I don't know if it's patience, or if I'm just a glutton for punishment.

Michael, I thought long and hard about that neck joint. I have never seen one, and if it weren't for this forum, I wouldn't know about the double wedge. I had seen the single wedge, Romanillos' old version of the joint (though he says it is from early instruments that he got the process, apparently), before, but had only read Shawn's explanation of the double wedge, which just made good sense to me. Now, if I ever need to take the neck off, all you have to do is chisel out the wedges, and no damage is done to any other parts, since there is no glue on the outside surface of the ribs.

Onward and upward!

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Waddy, that is looking soooo good.
Very impressive.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Thanks for the explanation on the dentellones. Now I understand why this is done.

as a side note, I went to my local guitar center last weekend and took a look at some of their classicals. One of them (I wont mention the brand) looked like they had glued the dentellones on with hot melt glue. It looked like they didnt even bother cleaning up the squeeze out too. The more I get involved with improving my craftsmanship, the more I notice little things like this.

I'm VERY thankful for the picture tutorial Waddy. I'm absolutely positive that this will help me when I begin my flamenco in a couple of months.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Picture Perfect...a great tutorial. All of the Romanillos processes (double wedged neck joint, side against the top, dentellones) are just as we did them in the Romanillos class. Great documentation of all of the steps that you went through and the results are super clean.

Great job and very instructional

Shawn