Official Luthiers Forum!

This is Guitar #4 for me.
I just put the binding on and scraped it down flush today. It is a great feeling to get to this point again.

Somehow it seems like there always ends up being a gap between the binding, purfling and top in the waist area (or I end up scraping almost through the binding at the waist) so this time I glued the waist first and really went slowly. I went into the studio and actually played one of my other guitars for about 45 minutes then went back and glued up the rest of the binding. It worked like a charm... All four times. It was nice to take a break and be patient AND play a little. The results really paid off because I didn't find myself mixing up glue and saw dust for binding bondo AT ALL!

Hesh was EVER so helpful with the bracing after all the research and debating I did regarding scalloped vs parabolic bracing. Here's how that turned out.




This is what it looks like on the bench right now. I wiped it with spirits to bring out the color of the woods for the photo.
It is WRC top, EIRW b/s, 4 5/8" deep OM with a sound port and I can't wait to hear what it is going to sound like!!!

Can you tell us more about the kerfed liners? Perhaps I'm not seeing it correctly, but it appears that they are installed differently from the traditional...and I was just wondering why?

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Ok, I'll play - but my shop doesn't look like an operating room...
I teach part time here: http://www.schoolofwoodworking.com and these are nice shops...but it ain't home

Here is my home shop...



I built this router table this weekend - I re-used an old demo cabinet from one of my classes - the left door is not attached yet, but its quite functional...



Once that was done I was on to bending the sides for #2 - and OM that I'm making for myself from some cherry I've had for many years that has been waiting for a special project...Here's one of the sides in the the bending jig, using Tom's (mandomaniac) bending blanket system -



This is a great system and I've not had one bad bend yet...

As a perk from working at the woodworking school, I have free access to all the scrap I can carry. This week we had a plant stand class where the students were cutting up some nice curly maple for the legs...and the scrap bins were full of the stuff - as well as the walnut seen just to the right of it. I got enough to make bindings for all the guitars I will build this year for sure...nice looking stuff too!

_________________
Mitch

Okay, I admit it. I've succomed to WAS.

Got a sweet set of quilted sapele from NewEnglandTonewoods, a set of Sipo, T. Myrtle, and two sycamore sets from BobC. Got the big itch to get building with all this beautiful wood, but first....I gotta build a rocking chair for my step-daughter and soon-to-arrive-granddaughter. I have three weeks, unless she goes early!

Building the chair from some old red oak that's been in my family for a lotta years...kinda neat to pass along a little heritage, even in the form of "zoot".

Hesh et al,

Finally got help figuring out insertion of photos from my computer on the new Forum. Anyway, here's what I've been doing of late:

While waiting for my finished guitar back from Joe White I've started on my next, which will use the Tazzie Blackwood set I got from Steve at Colonial at our last swap meet. Here's the neck and head made with the new head fixture I just made for the purpose.



You might also note that I have reinforced the neck. This is the first time I have done this.

Max

_________________
Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Here's a better shot of the head and template.

_________________
Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Beautiful headstock, Max!

Max - did you reinforce the neck because of bad experience, or just in case?

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Sam,

Just in case. I've handled a number of otherwise fine guitars that developed excessive neck relief over time.

_________________
Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

sorry, that was Jim. Thanks for the nice words, Sam.

_________________
Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

At this point I am working to improve my garage organization so I have room to work and don't spend so much time clearing a space to work.

_________________
Greg Hatcher
North Carolina

Ditto, nice headstock pattern and shape.

_________________
http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Finally, after taking most of the summer 'off' and doing nothing at all, my mandolins are nearing completion. The commission mando is sprayed and curing, and photos are below. I'll begin spraying my own mando today. As far as finish, the one below has two coats of shellac, two coats of Target Ultima with a weak amber dye added, then a number of clear coats of the Ultima. I'm glad I have some other tasks to finish up around here, or I'd go nuts just letting this hang from the ceiling for two weeks. I've been playing mine 'in the white' since May, and now that it's disassembled for finishing, I miss it!

_________________
Rick Jones
Rochester Hills, MI
http://home.comcast.net/~rajones19

Nice mandolin Rick!

I posted early on in this thread but had no pictures.

Soooooo................

Here ya go.

I've been busy making a fretboard and neck for #5 and because I didn't like my current method of shaping the board I decided to make a matching set of 16" radius'd blocks. Also made a fret bender (see How do you bend your fret wire?)

Here's the fretboard, gaboon ebony I got from JJ about 1 1/2 years ago (Thanks JJ, this is going to be nice) bound with off cuts and ready for frets to go in (I'm going to fret the board first than pre shape the neck and glue on the fret board with epoxy)



And here are the radius'd blocks, one is for shaping and the other is going to be a clamping caul with slots cut to clear the frets.



And here is the jig I made to make the blocks.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

BEAUTIFUL mandolin!!!

I'm getting the urge to try one of these for myself. If anyone is wanting to share some in-process pictures and a story on how they build theirs, I'm all ears (and eyes)

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Clean Jig Rod! I like it!

_________________
Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

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

Hi Rod,
Nice Fixture/jig. I can't wait to see you outgrow your shop!

Thanks for the kind words. I didn't take enough pictures to put together any sort of helpful treatise, but the information is out there. For these mandolins, I was working almost entirely out of the Bob Benedetto Archtop Guitar book. They started out as a less-expensive way to get some experience with carving, so when I start on the matching guitars, I won't (hopefully) trash a $250 back or something like that. What I hadn't anticipated was how detailed and fussy mandolins are to work on, just due to their size.

These have the 'standard' 13-7/8" scale length; I scaled down the Benedetto blueprint so that with the neck joining at the 12th fret, the bridge falls in the proper location. Arching and bracing plans were taken from several F5 mandolin blueprints I have. There are a number of F5 blueprints available, and there is a book on F5 construction written by Roger Siminoff that has been around for about 30 years, and is updated fairly regularly. If anybody has interest in mandolins, there is an extremely active forum, including a section visited by a lot of very talended builders, at Mandolin Cafe. You can click here to go directly to the message board.

_________________
Rick Jones
Rochester Hills, MI
http://home.comcast.net/~rajones19

I'm finishing my koa uke. this is my first attempt at French polish so this has only one session of polishing on it. I expect it to get better.
[img][/img]

_________________
A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

I'd say that's looking pretty good for one bodying session.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Max would you mind tell your procedure on the head stock? I assume you are doing it with a router.

Sure Barry. First I stick the template to the face of the headstock with double-side tape. I use a straight bit with a guide bearing to do the outside shape, except for the "V" at the top, which I do with a 90 degree cutter degree bit. For the inside of the string slots I first use a 1/2" forstner bit on the drill press to hog out most of the material. Then I switch to 5/16" pattern bit on the router to finish it. The pattern bit is also straight sided, but it has the guide bearing between the cutting end and the shaft of the bit. This seems to work well for the inside cut because you can see what you are doing. The ramps are cut with a 1/4" paring chisel.

_________________
Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

In my shop I am putting the finishing touches on this D14. Brazilian everything, with a carpathian top. Just the overlay and neck fit to go and it will be off for finishing.

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Nice Lance. I like the grain lines in that Carp top, and of course the BRW.

_________________
Horton, MI