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Very nice.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Great idea to write down the number of fret location. Why haven't I thought of that!

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Pat

Agreed. Why didn't I think of that. I love picking up tips like this from this forum.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

First time I've done that and you guys know why!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

seems like a technique i should adopt. : )

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Wake up and smell the rosewood!

Looking good. Seems we both inlayed the same inlay I skipped the 3rd fret marker.

That's funny. I'm not much on 3rd fret inlays but I thought what the heck, it's just decoration anyway and I wanted this one to have a bit of flash.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Got the dovetail cut but not fitted yet. Still, I was able to put the pieces in their correct locations to get an idea of how it will look. I'm pretty satisfied but not sure I like the bridge. I may make another bridge out of rosewood to see how it looks.

Strange, not sure why Tapatalk dropped this photo in so big?

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Looking good. I love the point in the process when it finally starts looking like a guitar. When you can put the neck on and get a feel for the proportions and everything. My vision of seeing the forum flooded with a bunch of parlor pics is starting to come to fruition

Visually, I usually like the bridge to match the fretboard, but in this case, I'm interested in seeing the rosewood bridge. I'm not sure why exactly, but you obviously had the same thought. . . Also, is that bridge a little thicker (taller) than average or is it a trick of the camera combined with the small box throwing me off?

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

The bridge is 3/8" x 1" x 5 1/2" but does look chunky to me too. I'll try a rosewood bridge. I generally prefer rosewood anyway and it will probably be a better sounding choice for this small box.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I wonder if the 5 1/2" length is what is throwing my eye off. Like my brain is assuming it is 6 inches and so it looks thick in relation. Now that I look again, I can see that the wings are shorter, that is probably tricking my brain.

I have't made my bridge yet but I am planning on a 6 inch bridge and was worried that it being so long in relation to the lower bout width might look odd. . . It is funny how our brains interperet pictures bassed on what we are used to seeing.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

One problem is that I had the bridge in the wrong location, it needed to move back about 1/2". Here's photos with both bridges in the correct spot.

6" Rosewood bridge


5 1/2" Ebony

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That correct position looks a lot better. Pretty amazing how much of a difference 1/2" makes. How do the weights of the two bridges compare and how much difference in x-brace overlap is there between the two bridge lengths?

The guitar is looking really nice.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

^^^^^^Pretty much what I was ready to say on all points. My only additions is to say that visually, I prefer the roseswood which is different than my usual preference. Somehow, it is the color but I can't put my finger on it.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Guys, the ebony bridge comes in at 28g but would probably be around 26g after I cleaned it up and eased some of the edges. The rosewood bridge was 15g but it is also too thin - that's why it was in my leftover bridge bag. If I made another one it would probably end up just under 20g which I think is a better weight for this little guitar. I would prefer something around 18g. I'll look for a light piece of rosewood.

Agreed about the color; rosewood just looks better.

As far as the X-brace overlap. Here are some photos with the template that I used. The bridge plate is about 1/8" farther forward than the template as I made some adjustments for the scale change. You can see where the 5 1/2" came from.

5 1/2"


6"

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I'm going to guess that the extra 1/4" on each end of the longer bridge wouldn't make much difference since essentially the same amount of x-brace (and finger brace) would be overlapped by either bridge.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

The 5 1/2" came off the LMI 3/4 size plans I have been loosely following. I suppose the idea was to maximize the free top area but I agree that the extra length shouldn't make a significant difference, especially if I thin the wings down a bit more than normal. Plus the 6" bridge just looks better, I think.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I agree. The larger glue area is also good, considering that it's redwood.

Good point Dennis.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

These are interesting discussions. When I was designing my bracing, I never really considered shortening the bridge even though losing significant free plate area of the edge (with a narrower body) was a concern of mine. It just never really occurred time to do that. Instead, I focused o. Getting the x as far forward and wide as I dared. Having a longer bridge helped that goal. Of course, I was also up against another restraint. My body design is short, so with a 12 fret neck I don't have a ton of area behind the bridge. A wide and forward shifted x seemed better to keep that area loose. It is going to be fun hearing all these different guitars.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

This guitar is so small I have no idea what it will sound like but I can't wait to find out.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

A pretty boring update but haven't made much progress in the last week or so. Got the neck fitted so it's centered and at the proper angle.

Edit:Sorry for the big photos, I got a new phone and haven't figured it out yet.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Looking good Steve. Neck fit looks perfect.

Not sure which I like better though, the guitar - or that little LN block plane. Is that the 102?

Thanks Chuck, I'm happy with the progress so far. Youre right, the plane is an LN 102 and it's the one I use the most.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Neck is finished. Pretty close to time for final sanding and finish.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"