Andyjr1515

What? WHAT?? Damned varifocals!!!!!

So - time to add a swift: And then cut out the rosette ready for installing:

Well, scraped and a quick coat of tru-oil. Mmmm - that looks OK. Better not wreck it - Tasmania is a long way to go to get another piece!

Ah - OK. Thought you meant the fixing method. Yes - it's a bit of a departure shape-wise. So, you're looking for a straight (Gibson-ish?) stop bar but that screws in rather than sits on pegs? I'm slow, but I think I got there in the end

Very exciting that we have a new build on the board! Not sure what you mean ref the Warwick tailpieces using inserts, @Christine ? Presume you mean this type? https://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_bridge_30118_4c.htm

Bit more progress in between the distractions of normal life! The second side of kerfing strips was completed: ...and then back to the top to get it down from just over 3mm to closer to its final thickness. My hand arthritis is causing me gyp at the moment so I brought out the Stanley No80 scraper plane into action. I'd forgotten what a useful plane this is! It made short but controllable work of the final thinning. After each pass, I picked up the top from an edge and rapped it with my knuckle. It had passed from drum thump to drum thump with one harmonic to drum thump and multiple harmonics - probably just going from 3mm to 2.8/2.9mm ish. Then one last pass and a change again - now even running my hand across the grain was making it ring out. So I've stopped. It's probably just under 2.8mm. Now I must stress I don't fully know what I'm doing on this sort of thing - I reckon to do that you have to sacrifice at least one top (or guitar) by taking it up to the 'oops - too far' - but I know from my last build that this is going to be strong enough and will be capable - if I get everything else right - of producing a nice sounding guitar. Here it is laying on top of the 25' radius dish: I was worried that the top might still be a little too stiff (and therefore too thick) but it presses into the dish no problem - the go-bar deck certainly won't have difficulties. What is nice is that for the last dreadnought I built, I marked the brace positions on the radius dish so that I could sand them to the correct radius for each position. One less job this time around Next task is the sound hole - but before you can cut the sound hole out you have to sort the rosette! A Tasmanian member of one of the other forums on a visit to UK a year or so back presented me with a few nice sample pieces of local Tasmanian wood and the challenge 'to incorporate this onto one of your builds.' Well - I reckon a book matched pair might do for the rosette! First I thicknessed it on my bodge-home-made-job thicknesser jig: That's gluing, then I can see if it will work OK as the rosette feature ring

I think the chequer looks different and quirky cool. But if it's lifting too much, it might start looking a bit naff. I'm a sucker for bright yellow and jet black but it's whatever you like, not necessarily what we like

Just had a look at the photo and can see that you are just covering three - sorry, misread your post. Yes - a low fret creates a high fret next to it, if that makes any sense. Do the rock test three at a time from the 1st fret to the end of the fretboard and jot down which frets rock. It may be that the fretboard needs levelling if they're all over the place.

Do the rock test only covering three frets at a time. If the credit card is too long can you use something else ( or cut an old card / store card etc)? If you can do that, then try 8 9 10 then 9 10 11 then 10 11 12 to see if you can work out where the issue is

Sounds pretty good to me.

^ I would have thought. Use the edge of a credit card or similar as a rocker to bridge across the 9th 10th and 11th frets and check if it 'see-saws' on a high 10th on the A string. If so just use a fine flat needle file in that area to take the high spot off (until it doesn't rock - don't overdo it) and polish it up with very fine wet & dry or micro-web to polish out any scratches. For a single high spot you can do this with the strings still on.

Yes you are right. The main thing is that the gluing surface - which is actually the kerfing strip - is acting as a proper mating platform.

And in the meantime, the first length of kerfing strip goes on. This is the strip that the top and back will glue onto. It is set a mm or so higher than the sides because the top and back will be dished - the kerfing will be sanded down in the radius dish so that is ends as a close fit to the dished top and back before gluing - I'll explain that better when I have some photos to illustrate it!

There are various ways of thicknessing an acoustic top. In the end, I used a similar method to one or two classical guitar builders I've seen in various places. Sounds surprising, but it uses a block plane! First cross grain, then diagonal and then with the grain: I did sharpen the blade before I started, and these are SUPER thin shavings, but this is the best surface I've ever managed with a block plane! This is straight off the plane: When I was about 3.6mm, I moved onto the scrapers. This is now down to 3.3mm and I will move to a large sanding block to drop it down to about 2.9mm. I say about, because I am using the tap tone approach (great video on one of Robert O'Brian's 'Luthier Tips du Jour' videos, although he uses a thicknesser sander) rather than aiming for a specific thickness. I will not, however, drop below 2.7mm tap tone or not!

For anyone interested but for whom the above made no sense, I've 'borrowed' this shot from someone's YouTube video: Basically, the left hand fence is brought forward a mm or so (using a shim or similar) Then the fence is positioned so that the router bit is EXACTLY in line with the left hand fence So as the board is pulled across - flush with the right hand fence - the cutter takes that mm or so off and the board remains in contact with now both left hand and right hand fence sides. Works a treat!

I remember now you bringing this to the Midlands Bass Bash! Thanks for the reminder - I'd clean forgotten about it!

Yes - exactly that. You put a 1 or 2mm spacer behind the trailing side of the fence and line the router bit flush with that. As long as the fence is spot on where it is supposed to be, it works a treat. I'll try and find a diagram in the morning that illustrates it better than my dodgy description

They are looking outstadingly good. On the stands or hanging in the wardrobe!

That Schaller jobee looks very neat as a pickup and a fixing, although the cable exit is maybe an issue, even if you didn't mind an external cable @owen ? What does the fingerboard extension look like @owen?

Rock hopping a little on the sequence of the build, but the top wood has arrived so I've planed the joining edges using the 'offset fence' technique on the router table and now am gluing it prior to thicknessing it from 5mm to 2.5 - 3mm. Now it's down in the cellar being glued: The only clamps applying any pressure are the three sash clamps - two on the bottom and one on the top. The rest of the clamps are just gently holding the cauls, top and bottom to prevent it bowing or twisting. I will be doing the thicknessing using hand planes and cabinet scrapers (gulp) once the glue has fully dried overnight. I think this afternoon will be taken up with me honing plane blades and burnishing scrapers!

Black for me. It's going to look really good whatever

I'm not certain yet that I will go for the maple neck but have started to work on it. First time in real terms using the router table. Fantastic! Neatest truss rod channel yet (small beginnings, but beginnings nevertheless ) And then the side profile band-sawn: The heel will have to have an extension added whatever, but the maple blank isn't deep enough to do that with just one - it will end up being a three piece heel. I'll have a think whether I can add a contrasting wood in there or whether that would look naff. If so, I'll revert to the mahogany / walnut blank I've also got and which is a touch deeper and would do achieve a two piece heel. I tell you what, after neck through basses, these necks are TIDDLY!

First time I went over this (soon after it was put in so wasn't aware of it in advance) it was pelting down with rain and none of the white lines or arrows were visible. I was vaguely aware of going over what I took to be speedbumps (in reality, the mini roundabout circles) and went round it like a standard roundabout. Swindon kindly stopped to let me through.

That's a nice grain pattern

It wouldn't all fit onto a dvd. It would have to be a streaming service