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Linings are in on the dred. Hoping to brace plates tomorrow.






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Here is a short video of the process I use for solid linings. It is derived from the Burton LeGeyt tutorial here - viewtopic.php?f=10117&t=21455

https://youtube.com/shorts/1hX_2emssRs?feature=share

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Just finished a fret job and fitting a pickup to this beautiful lady. Plays and sounds like a dream, unplugged or plugged in. Lowden, Honduran Rosewood and Adi, finger style.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Feeding my WAS.,,
Unpacking new arrivals
Torrified Bearclaw Swiss spruce.
African Ebony.
Tasmanian Blackwood
Massive set ( 20-3/4" wide)of Madagascan Rosewood (Dalbergia Baronii)


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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I'm working on figuring out where my neck has to be on this viola. I never make the same thing, but "they" like to have things the same. The stop, the neck length, the string angle, the overstand (how high the neck sits above the belly). So I figure out a whole speed of neck angles, and string angles that will make the overstand about right; because that is the easiest to spot if it is off; and go from there. But I have to add in some angle, because the belly is on a slope, the upper block is shorter than the lower block. Then I'll have to subtract the age that the upper block is on, because the belly is longer than the back.

I make the end of my neck square, and put the angle in the mortis in the block. It is the easiest thing to measure. I can measure top and bottom, and get an angle. I do it when the ribs are still on the form. Now I need to make a neck, and glue the bass bar in.

I put it beside a viola I made up from a cross between a Gagliano Cello and a Gagliano Violin I saw in a calendar that came as a ad in the Strad Magazine. The Guadagnini I'm making now is 10mm wider, 5mm shorter, and has about a 3mm higher arch. I think my f holes needs some beefing up. The Guadagnini Cello f holes are fatter looking. I put them on my archtop.

Collin.

What is that stripped, rippled wood??!!

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Why be normal?

Fiddleback maple?

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I don't know about that Brad. Maybe some really wild Big Leaf. It's curly something, with a deep curl. Fiddleback is more like the ones in the calendar. Mine is the plebeian variety!

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Why be normal?

If that were a gun stock, we would call it Tiger Stripe Maple.

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

That would be his Tasmanian Blackwood. Mind you, not all of it actually comes from Tasmania. A lot of the same stuff grows on the southern mainland of Australia too. It is an acacia, closely related to koa. My favourite tonewood.

Mind you, not all of it is even black, or dark at all! Acacia melanoxylon, in Greek, or mela/black xylon/wood.

Where do they come up with these names? It seems to be an Oxymoron or Greek, Oxy/pointing out moron/foolishness. How do the grain lines get rippled? That is the strangest part. The ones I see look more like Koa. The set Colin has looks like nothing else.

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Why be normal?

I started putting new strings on the Stauffer, Aquila Ambra 800's; the high e snapped overnight at the 5th fret or so. Those nylguts go forever when they just get put on. I tie a plastic ball on the end to work with the bridge pin, so the knot stretches too.

The tuner started getting tight, so I pulled everything apart. It isn't a major problem, but I'll need to sacrifice the other half of the 12 string set: I need a new post the string wraps on. It is just a cheap Chinese tuner, that looks just like an open back Grover. I made the tuning knob posts longer, but that isn't the problem. The brass pinion screw came loose, and the post started moving around. Now it won't tighten up. I checked it with calipers compared to the other set.

It is only about .005 wider, so it gives slop. Probably even more with a loose pinion. The original one from the other set gets tight when the pinion is tightened.

So I have to take the original, long post, chop it off, and make it pretty with a brass end soldered on. A little grease on everything wouldn't hurt any either.

I don't know if a higher quality tuner would have faired any better. .005" was the problem. The design doesn't give much of a land for the post to ride on. .206 to .235 diameters.

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Why be normal?

Made a 15’ radius workboard and bracing halo. The base has vacuum to pull it flat to the bench and pull the plate down into the dish.



Brad


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You sure are demonstrating the versatility of CNC in the modern luth shop Brad. Very nice sets of jigs and fixtures that would be a pleasure to use.

Very nice work that could easily become a side biz to guitar building.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I was thinking the same thing.
If I were younger, I would get after that CNC and associated SW skills.

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Measure Twice,

Karl Borum

Thanks, Brian! It scratches an itch, that is for sure.

Here is a video showing how it was made & how it works for anyone curious. https://youtube.com/shorts/eagXULGzsG4?feature=share

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Brad has made several things for me on his CNC in recent years, so if he ever does go full scale on selling such items, I can personally vouch for the quality of his work.

Beyond that, he has been a great resource and inspiration for my recent foray into CNC work myself. I started off with a very modest CNC machine, but I recently lucked into a very nice Avid at a crazy low price, so I will be pestering him for ideas on how to ratchet up, once I get it assembled and tweaked.

It's Bracing Day here.

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Jay, do you use HHG with that? How do you handle timing?


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I use Titebond so timing isn't a problem.

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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

I would be interested to know if someone has used HHG to glue braces on with a vacuum frame similar to mine.

One thing I like about the vacuum frame is that positioning the braces is not in any way fiddly. Apply glue to a brace, simply set it where it's supposed to go and move on to the next one. When vacuum is applied the membrane pulls down so evenly that the braces don't skate at all. Seems to me that the main question with using HHG would be how many braces could you get glue applied to and positioned before having to apply vacuum to beat the open time.

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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

Not enough. But here's an idea... you could make a heated dish. It would even work with the plate vacuumed into it like Brad's setup. Glue a sheet of aluminum foil in the dish, cut it into a zigzag pattern, and plug it into a 12-24V power supply. This kid made a 3D printer heat bed that way

I’ve glued braces using HHG in a vacuum frame. I’d say it wasn’t altogether successful, considering that one leg of the X detached about a year later but it’s likely just due to me getting ahead of myself. My experience with hide glue is limited and I think I that joint was glue-starved. I haven’t tried that again but I still think about how to do it better so maybe I’ll try it again.

I glued the braces in 3 stages. I don’t remember which braces were in each step. I do remember using a caul on top of the bridge plate. Considering the multi-step process and the pressure I felt to get it done quickly it felt like it wasn’t the best application of the vacuum frame. With titebond the vacuum frame worked much better for me.

One day, not long after my fussy job with the HHG and vacuum I happened to be in Alan Carruth’s shop listening to him explain something intricate to a group while he casually glued braces to a top with HHG on a go-bar deck. He hardly seemed to be even thinking about it and in what was probably just a matter of minutes he had completely braced the top, everything looked perfect and he never even stopped answering questions. Made me wonder just what the heck I think I’m doing. [FLUSHED FACE] Well, it’s always fun to watch and learn from someone like Alan even if I feel like a klutz. And I probably should make a go-bar deck.

A few shots of expanded tooling for the workboard. Good times!











Brad


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Brad,

Do you own a "Merry Maids" franchise? Or just have them come in every hour or two? You should consider how your photos shame the rest of us.
and do you have a separate warehouse for storing your jigs? <g>

Jay,

For vacuum clamping with HHG, this worked OK for me.
Adjusting the distance of the old fashioned shop lights put out enough heat to keep the HHG at 145 degrees, and laying the braces on the cloth beside the glue pre-warmed them so it's not much of a race against time. Don't know if you can get that kind of shop light any more, but I've used a small infrared heater also.

Just a quick scrape of the bottom of the brace with a razor blade for a fresh bonding surface, bead of HHG down the length from squirt bottle of HHG (thermometer stuck in tip to cap it and monitor temp., and stainless steel nut in glue bottle to keep it from floating in the hot water bath), quick wipe (over the trash can) with little finger to spread glue (keeps the rest of your fingers clean for handling stuff - thanks Mario for that tip - a wet towel draped on the edge of the trash can even lets you wipe your finger), place the brace, lower the lid, and suck out the air.

Also having everything you need right there at hand (trash, paper towels, clean-up stuff, etc.) relaxes the whole process.

(The fan down below is just to cool the vacuum pump inside the cabinet. The vacuum pump was just an old freezer compressor pump that would get pretty hot, with an old propane tank (flushed out with nitrogen) as a vacuum reservoir and controls from the Joe Woodworker site.)

Great setup. Maybe I just need to be better organized. Thanks for the picture.