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My # 2and # 3 are officially started, i joined the plates last week with HHG and it went rather well except for me being messy







useruploads/SergePoirier/2006-02-25_080448_DCP_0906.JPG[/IMG]

I also made some templates out of a piece of plexiglass that a friend gave me








I also finished my side bender, inspired by Jc Jones, Bruce Dickey and Lance's bender so i have a mix of bending ideas. It's still a bender, not a blender ok!













Last night i thicknessed my tops in preparation for my rosettes and my drum sander was up to the task and made me really proud, 1/4 turn on the lever and just a fine hair was taken off at a time!







My sander in action with the dust port!





Sorry for the lenghty post, i was just happy with the way it all went last night that i wanted to share those good moments with you all. We even had an 4 RS earthquake while i was at it but never felt a thing, i was too concentrated on thicknessing while the elders were running for cover!

Serge

Serge

Looks like you are well on your way!

It looks from here like that is a pretty tight cutaway you have going on. Make sure you thin the cutaway portion more than the rest of the side so that it will bend easily. I think the rosewood will probably be able to make that bend, but I wonder about some other woods.
I have no experience with machine bending so I can't really comment on how it might work.

Let us know how it goes eh!?!

Josh

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Serge, You've been quite industrious. That's some fine looking wood pieces you have joined up for those guitars.

Even earthquakes can't make a committed luthier leave the joy of guitarmaking.

Nothing like the feeling of progress in the shop. Best wishes for may more days and nights like that for you!

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Lookin' Good!!

Got any more info on that homemade drum sander??

Josh, Thanks for that great advice, i must admit i did not think of that but i will remember it when thicknessing the sides
I'll let u know for sure!

Hesh, thanks, yes it's a Dread(sorry for swearing ) shape from my old 1981 IBANEZ, the cutaway design was added from me, just thought it looked so (getting addicted to that lil fellow too )and Yep, i'm the proud Daddy of my home made drum sander, thankfully, there was a lot of info out there on how to make them and i have access to lots o junk to build quite a few things! Very dusty tho!

Thanks Bruce, My tops are Lutz S from Shane and they are just so beautiful that i could stare at them all day and all night but hey, i'm a junkie hooaaahhh!

Hey Serge-- man you've been busy! Building all those jigs and the thickness sander sure adds time to your build. Good stuff!

Hi Colby, the iron table was given by my brother Martin, the motor is 1/2 hp, bought from an old pal for 50 bucks and runs at 1725 which is plenty enuff for this. At first, i did like most do ie a drum made with glued discs of 3/4" plywood but it was too heavy for 1/2" shaft so i thought of using 3" ABS PIPE which is already trued and inserted 2 small discs of ply at each end of the ABS drum and drilled 2 center holes 1/2" for the shaft to go through the drum and get to the 1/2" pillow block bearings. The motor is suspended on a springed table for pression on the belt and the plate on which i feed my wood is hinged on one corner of the sander.

The mechanism for lifting or lowering the feed table is very simple, it's just a 1/2" threaded rod going through 2 bars with welded nuts( welded by my pal Jacques) and i added a metal plate under the table so the threaded rod did not damage it. the drum allows me to 18" to sand, it's good enuff for me now but would go for 24" min. if i were to do it again!

Thanks Anthony!Serge Poirier38773.3991087963

Serge my friend.... things are looking realy good. Great job, I'm proud of ya.

Along with thinning the side in the cutaway, make sure you have good heat there and GOOOOO SLOOOOOWWWWW when bending it, just hand pressure (wear a good heat resistant glove) and realy let the wood form round that bend, I'm assuming you will be using your heat blanket and steel slats (can't remember if you have the SS or the spring steel), those slats will help support the wood on the outside of the bend.

#2 and # 3 well on there way. Great job.

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Thanks Rod, i do not have the stainles steel slats, i do have 2 slats of some galvanized stuff i used for my first build but i might check out the options for that kind of bend which is pretty dramatic! Don't worry bud, i'll have the gloves to protect me paws!

Lookin good Serge!
That is a very ambious curve you got going there!
I would probably thin that down to about .060 where the apex of the curve is, and even then, luck MUST be on your side to get that done.
When I designed my cutaway models I used the cap from a can of spray paint to find the curve.
Im not saying that yours wont work, because it very will may.

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Serge, you've come a long way in a short time. Your workmanship is looking good. Can't wait to see your latest creation. I've started #2 and #3 also, but I'm doing the necks first. Almost have them machined.   Keep us posted. (as if you wouldn't )


Ron

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And I thought you spent all your time posting. Looking very nice Serge.

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Congratulations!
looks like you have spent your fair share of time with your....hmmm... sould I say "hobby"?

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Thanks folks for the encouragement! To avoid any confusion, the drum sander was built last summer and took me a bout a month OR 2 to build on evenings and week-ends so you know that i'm not that quick of a builder yet. When everything runs smooth tho, i must admit i can be prolific there as well Jokin', still got lots to learn in woodworking

Thanks for the tip Lance, i'm also considering adding a hot pipe to my arsenal of jigs and tools to achieve this bending.I might also order some practice wood for bending that kind of cutaway and see how it goes.

Kind of nice to be working with real wood instead of ply!

Way to go, Serge! Your bender is set up alot like mine, just don`t have the cutaway, though. Glad to see you`re making progress

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Looking sweet! Getting a lot done, too, if I'm seeing things correctly. Rockin'!

Serge,

Nice work all around. The template has a pretty aggresive cut away profile. Let us know how the bending goes. Or is it Blending?

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Great work Serge, coming along nicely. Your sander looks very stable and seems to have done a great job of thicknessing for you congratulations.

Cheers Kim

Serge,

CHARGE!!!!! Man you ARE at it! I think everything looks tremendous also. But please do try some practice wood on that curve before you bend a matched set. I think it is a pretty tight bend but when you are successful at it it will be your trade mark!

Shane

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Thanks again ya great folks, i'll try not to let it go to my head though and sure am proud to be able to at least share this much. This morning, i attempted to cut slices of purple heart for my rosettes with the bandsaw but it didn't go that smoothly, the blade would fall off the wheels along with the rubber things that are gettin' tired around them wheels I thought to myself that it was time for me for a little break at home and figure out another way of doing this! But all in all, i'm happy with where i'm at so far with all your help and support! On top of that, today, i celebrate my humble 2 months with you guys here!

SergeSerge Poirier38773.818587963

Serge,
Looks good! You're obviously an ambitious guy. Thet cutaway is going to be a tough bend. Let us know how different woods behave on it for you.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Serge, how wide is the purple heart? you could always use a thin kerf sawblade and cut it on the table saw, start on one side than flip to cut the other, than run it through your sander, I know you will loose a bit more this way, but if the bandsaw isn't cutting it (pun intended ) than use the table saw if you can. Or if the saw blade doesn't cut through on both sides, just cut as much and you can this way than use a small razor saw to cut through the rest if you can.

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"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

Hey Serge, I was taking a second look at your pics and noticed this



That's not a gap is it? I'm hopeing that it's just a thick pencil line and not a gap or the plates separating. Please check it out, I would hate for you to route your rosette channel than have to pull the plates apart and re-shoot and join them.

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"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

Thanks kevin, after discussing with another member here, i changed my mind regarding that severe cutaway, i'll be going back to the drawing board for a less severe one, it'll only be a short delay but really worth the extra time to save my EIR from crackin'open!

Cool advice my friend Rod, my purple heart is 6" wide by maybe 1/2", the thin kerf blade sent by Shane should help get very thin rosette veneers.

Question, could you tell me what pun means ? I've been meaning to ask for a long time but was too shy. Is it that you're just rubbin' my Bear back ?TIA

Serge