Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm quite new here, so I'll just introduce myself properly first. I'm a boatbuilding student in Pembrokeshire, Wales. I'm 20 years old and I've just got the guitar building bug, so this will hopefully be the first of many.

Here's a rough idea of my design - it will probably change completely as I build it!


Sitka spruce top, mahogany back, sides and neck.

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Like I said before, I had glued up the top and back a few weeks ago - hope that's all right.


While waiting to start properly, I've been making some tools.
This is my rather disastrous attempt at routing a radius dish:



The router decided to change it's depth occasionally, so it's rather lumpy. I've put filler on it and try to sand it smooth.

I've started on the rosette too.

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Here's my pricing list:

Back, sides, neck - $0 - from an old piece of furniture
Bracing, lining and inlay wood - $0 - offcuts from college
Top - $26 - Touchstone tonewood
Binding - $15 - ''
Purfling, truss rod, bridge blank, fingerboard, nut and frets from Madinter for $93
Saddle - $4 - ebay
Bridge pins -$3 - ebay
Tuners - $6 - really cheap chinese things from ebay. They don't look too bad...

Total $147 plus finish which will be wiped varnish. Maybe another $10.

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

The rosette's finished, I've got the neck ready for gluing up and the radius dish didn't turn out too bad.





I can't believe how fast some of you guys work

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Like the rosette Great work

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

+1 on the rosette!

_________________
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Getting on slowly - I'll be back in the workshop next week, so I'll be able to move on a bit quicker hopefully.
I've glued up the neck and started carving out the heel shape.

Yes, that is my kitchen!





I hope I haven't gone too low on the heel. That line down the side is the cut off point. Does a thin heel weaken the neck at all?

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Nothing like a kitchen workshop, the beer is real close

Nice rosette design and execution.

Thanks for the compliments everyone! I got the rosette idea from looking at Somogyi's guitars.
Sorry for the slow progress - I'm sure I won't be able to finish in time . Anyway, I finally got the sides planed to thickness and bent. I was putting it off for as long as possible, but it went surprisingly easy seeing as it was my first time. I had read conflicting advice about bending mahogany. Some people said bend it almost dry and others said you should soak it for 10 mins beforehand. I tried it dry first and nothing happened, so I stuck it in the shower for a while and it bent like butter .





Next I need to machine up the neck block for the bolt-on M+T neck and get the lining kerfed - time to call Tony...!!

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

You're actually ahead of me and I'll be out of the shop for a few weeks in Oct annnnnnnnnd I still plan on finishing. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've got a few more bits and pieces done. I planed some meranti offcuts from a display cabinet down to 5x15mm for the linings:

(I love pictures of wood shavings )

Then, as I don't have easy access to a bandsaw or tablesaw with the right thickness blade, I made up this simple hand kerfing jig out of a fake japanese saw blade, 2 blocks of wood and a craft knife blade:

The knife blade is superglued 5mm away from the saw blade which registers in the kerf you've just cut. The wood blocks are the depth stop. It's still extremely tedious and took about 2 hours, but I'm sure it's better than cutting with a hand saw.


After kerfing, I found the meranti cracked easily, so I soaked them and bent them round the hot pipe. Now I just need to glue them in.


I've also been having some ideas for the headplate.


That's all for now.

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Nicely done, Peter!

Looking good - I like the headstock. I think most of us share that love of a good pile of woodshavings - I was picking some up last night and checking that I could read something through them just because

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Agreed, that headstock is eye-catching.......(literally)! Love it! Be careful of that sharp top bit!

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Ha. Didn't think of that! Maybe I'd better round it over a bit.

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Free time in the workshop has been frustratingly rare this term, so I hadn't been able to route the mortice in the head block. Anyway, I got it done at last, so I glued it in along with the tail block. Half the lining is on too. Now I'm just waiting for the glue to dry before profiling the sides and sticking on the other half. With any luck, I might be able to get the box closed next weekend.


Tail block


Head block



I also made up a little jig to glue the headplate together. It is made of three pieces (wenge, mahogany and olive) with purfling in between, so I had to use wedges to get it all tight. It should look nice once it's all cleaned up.


Gluing jig


The finished headplate

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

I relly like the headplate concept !! excellent idea !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

More progress today. I had done a model of the guitar in CAD (google sketchup!) and used that to get a profile for the sides. I printed it full size and traced around it.


Side profiling in progress - planed to the line then finished in the radius dish.


I could then bend the other set of linings to the new profile


While they were drying, I finished planing the top and back to the right thickness and cut out the soundhole. I was dreading planing the back because it seems to have a lot of runout and tears really all the time. It was done eventually though!




Starting to look like a guitar!


I then cut out and glued on some side braces.


And finally laid out the bracing design for the top and back.




Just a random image of my current guitar next to the new one.

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Peter, it is looking GREAT! You obviously have a gift for this....can't believe it's your first (even if you are studying boat building). Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Thanks Beth - I hope it gets finished in time!

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Just a small update. The linings and side braces are complete and I'm getting the braces ready for gluing.







I'va also made up a bunch of spool clamps for gluing the top on. (Sorry about the poor picture quality - my camera's slowly dying!)

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Hooray - the top is braced!!
I've used a bracing pattern I copied from a photo of one of Somogyi's guitars. I know it doesn't mean it will sound like one, but it doesn't hurt to try! Anyway, to me, the lower lattice bracing makes much more sense than the two asymmetric tone bars on standard x bracing, as it spreads out the stiffness more evenly. It does take a lot longer to put together though - especially when you don't have a go bar deck . I took me two days to get them all glued on, because I only have about ten clamps in total and most of them are tiny.

Gluing the x brace


Upper transverse brace


Bridge plate (Probably not the best way of doing it!)


Lower lattice bracing


Oversize braces after gluing


Checking the fit of the sides

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

The finished carved and capped braces:


Please tell me what you think. Does it look too heavy still?

I've also been working on a label for the soundhole:

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

I don't know anything about using lattice bracing. Are you letting all of those brace ends into the linings? That would be a lot of work!

Love the label.

No, all the braces are stopped at the lining apart from the UTB. I've been going on this http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?t=110&start=25

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars