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Hey everyone im new and starting out big. lol.

i have a 2x4 thats dried under my trailer for approx. 2-6 years. i need to save my budget for other tools and tonewood, can i make a nice mold on the bandsaw with a nice dried out 2x4? I figure glue horazontially and maybe a few pin joints to hold it true. Does that sound flawed or will it work?

And one more craz idea:? i was also going to make the mold an inch deeper and produce an even bigger sounding cannon? is that all possable??? im really thinking this is do-able as being a simple add on with a lot of class...


ricky.

You might be able to get the 2x4 thing to work... The problem with 1 8' long 2x4 is that it only yields 4 2' long slices... and that is kinda stretching it for a mold.

Scrap plywood is *Really* easy to find in most every construction site dumpster in the universe... and consider that you really only need 2 pieces that are at least 3" wider than your body and 3" longer than your body... then just saw it out. Use a couple 2x4 blocks in the middle... and your mold is whatever size you want.

On the deeper....

Depth does not = loud...
There is an "Optimum" depth for every volume and soundhole size that is a little louder.... but only a wee bit... and most "Standard" designs aren't too far off "Optimum"

The depth is a big factor in the air resonance... You can easily build a "fairly standard" Dread with a Main Air resonance lower than Low E... which then does you no good in the Oomph department...

If you are looking for Loud... Search Al Carruth's posts on the subject...

Mostly it boils down to:
Light top wood
Appropriately light construction for the strings you are going to use and your intended playing style.... Most common Dread kits, books, and standard dread plans are "Designed" to err on the heavy side... and will need Mediums and fairly aggressive playing to really bring them alive.

Good luck

John

Ricky, if I understand what you are saying correctly, yeah it will work. You could also stack and glue them so that the mold would be 3 1/2" deep. You would only have to glue up where you need them. So across the top of the mold you would like 8 or 9 pieces and only 2 or three at the waist. I'd run two full length down the outsides for strength and just 'cuz. After its all glued up and cleaned up, cut it out with the bandsaw. It might look like you used a big chopping block, but it will work.

Another option is to use cardboard and wood spacers. Stew Mac sends out tips about once a month and this months shows what he calls a disposable mold. He made it to keep everything lined up after he took the back off during a repair. It might suit your needs just fine. They also have a booklet on putting a kit together. Its not the greatest, but it does have another perspective on how to do something. Its in their free info section. If you can't get the latest repair tip emailed to you, PM me with your email address and I'll forward it to you.

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Aoibeann

I haven't used 2x4's but I've made molds from scrap pine boards. It can be easier to cut and sand than plywood and its lighter (not that that matters)
You don't need the mold as deep as your sides. Just deep enough to hold things square....about 1/2 - 3/4 as deep as your sides should be ok.

The only caveat I would offer is if you go with a mold that is less then the thickness of your sides, be careful when putting your sides in. If you need to encourage them to fit into the mold because of too much spring back, put something thin to support the sides at the neck and tail. It will keep them from splitting out on you. I use a piece of flashing. The piece is a bit wider than the sides. Slip them in as you put the side in and you won't have to do your first repair on the sides. I found that HHG works nicely for this by the way.

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Aoibeann

You could buy 2x4's at the lumber yard and build a mold. Plywood is a better choice. There are no real need that the wood be dried for as many years as the 2x4 under your trailer. Thats more important for the wood you will use to build the guitar. And is the 2x4 under your trailer really that dry since its out in the elements. It's not like it was drying in a climate controlled shop for years.

I get 3/4 ply cut into 12.5"x23.5" pieces for a local lumberyard for next to nothing. I think I get about 24 pieces from one sheet of their ply which is enough for two moulds (depending on how deep you need to go). I made a parlour mould and have enough wood left to make anything up t a jumbo mould. I could have had the cuts smaller but at the time I wasn't sure what size guitar i was making, also, if I got it cut too small I wouldn't get much other than small bodied guitars out of it.