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I'm toying with the idea of building a squareneck resonator on one of my upcoming builds and was wondering about body size. I have the beard plans but haven't made a mold yet from the plans. I was wondering if I could make a Dreadnought size resonator and be able to use my existing molds? Or is the typical larger size resonator shape different than a D size guitar? I'm planning to do a spider bridge with sound post construction.

Jeff

go for it and post the build thread here!!!! this forum needs some life!!!!!!!!
I am building my first "Resoacoustic" , after having built 13 steel strings guitars, thought I would try something different...as far as designs go I think your imagination is the limit, if you spend hours , and I have , searching for Reso builds , specs and stuff you will find limited information as compared to steel string acoustics...IMHO.... seems there are a few builders trying different stuff with great results. It also seems some of the old ideas are being challenged , for instance some say its just a speaker box???others have found that the body has a lot to do with the signature of the instrument whether or not to use a sound hole , or baffles , etc......the way I figure it if the first one doesn't measure up, all the more reason to build another!!!!!!

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MK5acoustics.com

Jeff,

I'm finishing up a 00 build then building a squareneck resonator. I've never built one so take this for what it's worth.

Most high end builders use some type of baffle system to either:

- Block off part of the interior volume to improve sound
- To improve airflow through the sound ports which improves the sound

This leads me to believe that the soundholes on these models are undersized for the volume of air in the body. I could also be full of it........but why else would the baffles improve tone? I mention this to say that if you go with an even larger body, like a dreadnaught, you will likely make the ration of soundhole size to air volume even lower.

Something to think about.

I may build mine on a 14 fret 00 body but reduce some of the curve in the side so it fits against the body better. If so, I'll probably join the neck to the body at the 13th fret so the resonator is positioned in the middle of the lower bout.

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Formerly known as Adaboy.......

I think I'm going to go for it. The plans combined with the Gary Dusina article are enough to get me most of the way through I hope. I just spent the last couple weeks making molds and jigs while waiting for the lacquer to cure on my 2nd guitar so I think I will try the D size since I have the mold already.

Wes, you're right about the limited information available. I had gotten bits and pieces here and there but nothing too concise. I thought I had struck gold when I found the Dusina PDF. Here's the link in case anyone needs it:

http://www.hangoutstorage.com/resohangout.com/storage/attachments/archived/files/building-a-resonator-40021252011.pdf

Darryl, that's a good point on the sound hole size. I hope we get some other folks to chime in on that subject but for now, my plan is to do the sound posts with a baffle. There is a gentleman on youtube that has a pretty neat idea. He uses a sound well design but each hole of the sound well has a removable plug so one can theoretically customize the tone.

Anyways, I'll be sure to post the thread here when I get going. I'll probably enter this in the newbie challenge thread as well.

Jeff

Thumbs up for the Gary Dusina article. As for body sizes I personally feel that a dreadnaught body does not transfer well to a resonator. It does'nt look good at all. I have built with the OM body size and it does transfer well, you need to lay it all out on paper and get all the geometry correct. The original Dobro profile is what I use with a deeper body. As for soundpost and baffle versus soundwell( I think some are using the term soundhole which are the two holes on the top that have the tea strainers in them) if you want an old timey Brother Oswald type of sound build with the Beard plans with the soundwell. If you want your resonator to have a more modern sound with lots of sizzle ( a la Jerry Douglas or Rob Ikes) build with the Dusina article. A soundpost and baffle design can be made to sound old and honky by turning back the tension screw on the cone a little. Don't over think things too much, it's all been worked out and its nearly all down to which cone and spider combination you choose. A Beard, Scheerhorn or Quarterman cone and a #14 spider will give you a great sound.
Hope this is some useful information,
Cheers John
www.copleyaustralia.com.au

Thanks for the info John. I think that's a good idea to draw everything out first. I've got two molds, one of an OM shape and one D size so I might draw them both out and see what I can make work. If it turns out ok and I decide to make another one, I'll probably try to make one in a more traditional shape. Thanks again. Great looking guitars on your site by the way!

Jeff

Thanks Jeff,
If you lay it all out on paper and work it all around the 25" reso scale I think you'll find that your OM shape will provide you with a quite attractive looking guitar. One thing to be careful of is to make sure there is not a gap between the cone ring and the tail block, butt them together or put an infill in, there is a lot of tension on the strings and they will pull the two of them together. Gary's article provides reinforcement from the cone ring to the neck block. I also epoxy a 3/8" square steel tube into the neck which then protudes about 1" into the neck block . On a square neck there is nothing to be gained by having a 14 fret neck, you can slide right up to the cover plate if you like.
Good luck and enjoy the build,
Cheers John
www.copleyaustralia.com.au

John, thanks again. I appreciate the heads up about the reinforcement from the tone ring to the tail block. I will be sure and reinforce that area. I also followed your advice and made a drawing using my OM mold and you're right, I think I'm going to be pleased with that shape for a Reso. If there is anything else you can think of that may not be addressed in Gary's article, I would appreciate it if you would let me know. I'll probably be starting a build thread here as soon as my materials come in.