Andyjr1515

I've said before to new builders, 'It isn't that experienced builders don't frequently make rookie mistakes - it's just that they get much better at hiding them!' And a case in point: "When you use a binding router, don't forget to put in a temporary end graft in the slot" Because if you don't, then the router guide will drop into the slot and your binding channel will suddenly become 2mm deeper than you intended" Which is why, all of a sudden, I've decided to fit some herringbone purfling on the back! Back binding now done, ironed on as above, ready for some serious sanding: Folks who have followed some of my other builds will know that I generally use the Tru-oil slurry and buff method to prepare the finish even if I am going to ultimately varnish it. This is no exception. The back of the neck will be left slurry-and-buffed, but the body and headstock will be eventually gloss coated with standard, brushed-on high volatiles (sorry!) polyurethane varnish. What I use the tru-oil slurry for is to grain-fill, gap-fill and to prepare the surface for finish varnishing. And don't you just have to love what Tru-oil does for wood! First coat applied with 180 grit emery and wiped off. The top is at the moment simply plain sanded - tru-oil won't be used here as it has too strong a colour and so,at the appropriate stage, I will apply just polyurethane varnish to it: So, starting to get there. But it may well be at least a couple of weeks - MrsAndyjr1515 is starting to recover from Covid and is finding many more jobs for me to "more usefully occupy your (my) time with" - and we have the said little people here over next week and so it's all going to have to be tidied and hidden away!

And this below is the way I personally glue the bindings nowadays. And here, the disclaimer that I used to put on all of my build threads: "I'm always happy to describe what I do and why...but never assume that this is how it should be done and that I know what I'm doing. I simply find that it works for me with my (limited) skills and equipment" So why don't I apply bindings the 'normal' way? - Because I can't stand the 12 hours of sheer hope, once I've taped and bound the glued bindings, the hope that once I unbind it the joints are all going to be tight and gap-free. - Because, for me, they never were gap free. Oh, the dashed hopes! Oh, the anguish! And so a year or two back, I had a crazy idea. The way I apply veneer is that I apply a decent PVA wood glue to both surfaces, I let both surfaces fully dry unjoined, and then position the veneer and iron it on. Yes - with a standard household iron. There are tips and tricks, like all the things we do, but my veneer results have been pretty much successful from the first one I tried after learning of the method. So could it be done with bindings? Well. I tried it on a build a few years ago, and I've used the method ever since. And that is how I am going to do this one. I had already applied the purfling using the same method, but now it was time for the pre-bent ebony bindings. So, for what it's worth (and please do heed the above disclaimer), this is my method: - I tend to use the 'standard' white PVA Evostick wood glue simply because I know it works. I have successfully used Titebond also, but I am a creature of habit - I put a thin coat on ALL joining surfaces and let them dry (usually around 30 mins - longer is fine). Here below, the white bits are simply the areas that haven't yet dried - there is glue on every bit of every single joining surface ***this is important*** - Because the glue surfaces are then dry, I can position and re-position everything as often as I like until I'm happy I know where to start. I use the hot iron, an inch at a time, to melt the glue between the two surfaces. While the glue is molten, it melds together and the binding is moveable for final positioning. - While still hot, I press the binding from the top to fully seat it into the channel: - I then hold the binding in place with gloved hand for 15-20 seconds during which the melted glue re-solidifies and is fully re-solidified. - I then move round to the next inch or so - The melting is FULLY repeatable. So if I realise that it isn't quite seated properly, I just put the iron on it for a few seconds to remelt it, close the gap and hold it for the 15-20 seconds to resolidify - The binding is ready for trimming/scraping immediately. This whole side is around 20 minutes after I started ironing it on: - 30 minutes after starting the ironing, it's fully finished, ready to final sand and varnish if this is your last piece:

One of the nice things about doing stuff on a small scale is that I've been able to experiment a bit - and some things will now be incorporated if I build another full-size one sometime One thing on full-sized ones I've struggled with is on the backs - especially getting the traditional back brace and centre strip arrangement to hold the spheroidal shape after I take it out of my 15 foot radius dish. What I find is that the radius-bottomed cross braces hold the curve in one direction, but the traditional cross-grain centre strip has no chance of holding the lengthway radius and so what I end up with is a section from a lengthways cylinder and not a sphere. Surely what it needs is proper radius-bottomed lengthways braces?? Like these: And glued in the 15 foot radius dish - well, to my admitted surprise...it worked!!!! :party So the next job, after I've added a label, was gluing the back on:

Great stuff

With luck, by the way, I will be able to get some clips of it in action next week.

And you are a jolly fine chap Thanks

Yes - there was a reason. It was to do with the width of the Steinberger units and keeping straight string runs with a narrow, short headstock (leastways compared with the original) and trying to keep as much of the weight nearest the nut to minimise any neck-dive.

Great pics! Eating outside? EATING OUTSIDE??? And...is that SUN I can see???? MrsAndyjr1515 is still testing Covid positive. Mind you, she must be getting better - she's started b*ll****g me again. This time it's for not catching it (yet). I'll admit, it didn't feel right, not getting shouted at this past week Anyway, looks like it was up to its normal splendid standard. Count me in for the next one - missed you folks

Not yet! His band only meet infrequently (he has some very odd shifts) but I remind him every time I see him

It's starting to look how it should

I've already pm'd @scrumpymike with my apols but MrsAndyjr1515 went down with Covid a couple of days ago and, even though I am still testing negative, it would probably be the decent thing to do (certainly, according to MrsAndyjr1515) to go down with it too. Have a great, great bash!!

It was time to glue the fretboard to the neck: And then to turn my attention to the bridge. Usually, on an acoustic you fit the bridge once the top and back are both fitted. But to do that, you have a special long-reach clamp that fits through the soundhole. And this soundhole is just too small. And so I will fit the bridge while the back is still off. So to get that ready, I need to cut the saddle slot. On a nylon strung acoustic, you generally don't have the intonation issues to the same degree as steel string and so the bridges on classical guitars are generally square to the centre-line. For good measure, though, I will use a 3mm thick piece of bone to give me at least a modicum of adjustment if my understanding is wrong! I made a small jig out of some scrap wood to use with my Dremel precision router base to cut the slot: Yup - that will do Next task is prepare the surfaces and glue it in place If ever there was a 'measure 15 times and glue once...it's fitting the bridge' I am using a couple of pieces of cocktail stick to use as positioning pegs: And then masking tape over the whole area, bridge positioned with the cocktail sticks, scored round with a scalpel and peeled off where the bridge will go: You can never have too many clamps! : And - here is the voice of experience - a peel off of the tape once all the squeeze out has squeezed out but before it hardens! And on a question of scale - those are my small clamps

One of the jobs before I can put the back on is to sort the fit of the neck while I have easy access. It will be a glued joint but I will also use a bolt and insert, for additional security and to ease these next steps. Having got a 'starting' neck angle and fit, I double-sided-taped some emery cloth onto the body to improve the fit by loose-fitting the neck and raising it and lowering it a small distance to sand down any high spots. The sanding marks show you where there is contact and whether all surfaces are level or not: Next job was to fit a bolt hole in the neck block and an insert in the tenon: Then, bolting the neck on, I could work out the neck angle fretboard alignments and fine tune with some 'flossing' strips of emery until: - the neck angle lines the fretboard up OK with the bridge - and the side fit lines up the fretboard dots with the centre line of the body: A final bit of flossing for a decently tight fit:

Looks splendid, Mick!

Progress is a bit stop start at the moment with life's many distractions, but a few steps forward this morning. I got my 'I can't remember where I bought this and it's not perfect but actually does a pretty decent job' purfling/binding router jig out and attacked the top: Both channels done and just waiting a razor-blade trim of the whiskers: For both the purfling and binding I will use my preferred method - a la veneer - of PVA on both surfaces, left to dry and then iron them on with a small travel iron. The purfling didn't need pre-bending and I just went ahead with ironing it on - I'll take photos of the method when I do the binding. The binding is ebony (or was it rocklite?) with a teeny white stripe: I won't actually fit it yet, but I have started pre-bending the binding for the top as the bending pipe was still handy: I've also started sorting the end graft - it will be a simple one, really just joining the top and back binding and thin white lines. I have sawn and chiselled the end graft slot: The top and bottom binding won't be fitted until the back is on and channel routed. Then, all being well, the end graft will tally up both sides something like this:

You're not over thinking it at all. Are you talking about the bridge plate or the bridge itself...or both? Yes - it definitely affects it...as does gluing the top to the sides, and fitting the neck with the fretboard overhang resting on the top. Generally, the tap tuning would be done with the internal bridge plate fitted. However, the bridge itself is generally not fitted until the very end - including after varnishing, etc. ! That said, with the bridge plate already fitted, the bridge itself won't change the shape or flex of the wood and so shouldn't sonically affect anything. But gluing the sides certainly will - as will fitting the neck. And fitting the strings can make a BIG difference because it tensions the top and even changes the shape of the top. So the conventional wisdom is that if the top isn't ringing to start with, then it certainly won't ring once you've done everything else to it. But if the top IS ringing at all frequencies before everything else is fitted, then at least it has half a chance. There is a lot of voodoo around the topic - a bit like 'tonewoods' on a solid guitar or bass - but the basic principle is that if the top has been made more flexible through its thickness, the position of the braces and the flex of those braces, then it will reverberate in harmony with the note frequencies. If it is stiff, then if won't and most of the sound you hear will be simply the strings vibrating...it will sound dull.

Turning my attention to the bridge plate, I only then remembered that, to minimise the stretch for little arms, I'm joining the neck at the 12th, as with a classical, and not at the 14th that the X-brace pattern is based on. As such, my bridge will be further back than a standard steel string acoustic - and therefore one of the two diagonal braces is in the way! Easily sorted - a hot iron along the length of the brace soon softened the glue enough to remove it: With the bridge plate being where it will be, I don't think I need that extra brace repositioning - I'll just leave it out. Paper template done and I'll use that to cut a slice of maple or similar for the plate in the morning:

Indeed! The reason it could be useful here is to add a bit of perceived bass to counteract the higher pitch of the v small scale guitar.

That said, it's also just another place to get a small arm stuck!

Well, not overly sure just how thin to make stuff, but at least this is now ringing out with sub-harmonics and definite bass /treble tap notes from the upper and lower halves respectively. Then the linings were relieved where the main cross braces will go that will lock the main strength-critical braces to the sides: Quick check fit, looking for gaps: And the old adage that you can never have too many clamps And tidied up: Next jobs will be fitting a bridge plate, doing the first rough-fit of the neck angle and pondering on whether to add a side sound hole or not

There's a huge amount of detail here but, in the last third of the video, he actually goes from the un tweaked top's starting point to where the sound he is after is getting close. I would be pleased to achieve the sound that he starts with, let alone where he finishes! The basic theory is that you want the top to ring at the critical frequency somewhere on the top for every note that is going to be played up the fretboard. So he listens for the 'drum' pitch and associated sub-harmonics for every note and, if one is missing, takes off a miniscule amount off the appropriate brace until he can hear it.

Much of the position of the notches is 'Mr Martin put them there in 1920 whatsit and it was good enough for him and so it is good enough for me' To be honest, there are certain positions and proportions, especially of the nodes, that many of the 'respected' plans share and it is said that even 5mm difference in their position will make an audible difference. But there are actually a myriad of alternatives that will produce an acceptable result. And this is where tap tuning comes in. I'll try and find the Bourgeois video where their main man demonstrates what he does - and you can see and hear the difference. I can tell when I get it right, but getting it right is usually more by accident than design. I generally start by creating nodes and tapers in the 'conventional' places and then chisel away blindly and stop when it sounds OK or starts sounding (even) worse

After a few days child-minding the said special little people, I'm back in the cellar For the bracing, I am using my home-made 25 foot radius dish although, for this build, will dispense with the Go-bar deck - I should be able to get away with just clamps and cauls. The bracing pattern is going to be pretty basic X-bracing with the standard-recommended tightly vertically-grained spruce. I've taken a bit of a guess at how much to scale them down. I started with the X-brace with gluing the cruciform and then sanding the bottom curve on the radius dish: This was glued to the top with a long caul keeping the curved brace bottoms pressed against the radius dish while the glue cured : After that was set, it was time to add the other braces and sound bars. All of the braces will be chiselled to create the nodes, etc, once it has dried overnight: And here it is ready for tomorrow's chisel and tap-tuning work :

Looks good. Sounds great!

Modding is a great way of getting to understand how everything functions, what needs to be right and what you can take major liberties with to turn it into something more unique (and there's a lot of that!). It's where I and a lot of fellow builders started - and continue to do.