This time for sure...

Again, more false starts...
Just haven't felt like writing. It requires too much introspection. But now I'm off for 2 weeks and am starting to feel like thinking again.
Actually things are moving forward with reasonably few screw-ups. So far. I HAD to take a break for a while because I had surgery on my left hand to remove a "Dupytron Nodule" the size of a Lima Bean from my left hand. It had gotten to the point where I couldn't hold or carry things in my left hand.

It made playing very painful.








The doctor did a great job and things are good.




While I was in having it looked at, the same doctor gave me my 4th(!) shot of Cortisone in the left elbow. They're scheduling me or surgery... The "tennis elbow" keeps coming back.


Anyhow, the stitches are now out, and I'm back in the garage! Stuff is happening. Sawdust is being created!
I got the back and top of the 12 string braced. Now I have to do the sides. I hope to make the bending forms this week. Once the sides are in the form, I can glue the back and top on.

I made a new top for Marilyn's Sel-Mac. The rosette is solid ebony with back/white trim. It's all braced and ready to go.

The bracing is different from the Standard D-hole (which is different from normal guitars i guess) in that it has the ladder brace from the front of the guitar, but the lower bout is fan braced. It is a "classical" guitar.


Plus, the #3 brace is huge!
The top has great "tap tone" and is very ring-ie. I hope this translates to nice tone when it's glued up. I'm still worried that the back is too stiff... We'll see.


I measured the sides and trimmed them to height, then glued the head and tail blocks.


I got the top of the sides sanded yesterday and am hoping to get the back done today. The top is flat so it got sanded on a flat surface where as the back is being sanded in the 25' radius dish.



Also, the necks for both guitars are rough cut. I need to clean up the tennon on the 12 string.






I am using the very bitchen Ryobi table saw my wife and mother in law gave me for xmas!













I've also gotten the drilling template ready for the 12 string, now that the tuners have arrived.

Still much to do. But I feel like I am learning from previous mistakes and am getting better at my craft.

One step forward, two steps back....

One of the reasons I like building guitars is that I am "learning" patience. Sure.
This is something I have struggled with all of my life. For me the alphabet goes A..B..C..Z! Screw the stuff in between.
That nifty rosette in the last post got buggered up because I was sanding with the R/O sander and tore out the purfling. Trying to fix it made it worse. So, I have a new cedar sound board arriving soon....
Oh well.
Then again, work on the 12 string is progressing.



I used the LMI rosette cutter to make a nice ring out of Koa. Circles are so much easier than Ds. Not as cool, mind you. I need a better D-hole template for the NEXT sel-Mac...



After cutting a channel and routing it out, I flooded it with CA glue. The redwood really soaks it up. Then GENTLY
it down and there it is!



The back and top are now braced and ready to go. I still have to bend the sides, but I'm pleased with the progress so far.

I thought the cleats would look cooler than a big graft strip on the back. Hopefully they are wide enough to provide the support....


The reason for the gap between the 1st and 2nd back brace is because I'll make a plate the same shape as the logo sticker and glue that down. That will act as a large cleat as well.




For the last few weeks, our older cat Neemo has been trying to sit on my lap when I practice. Last week, he climbed up between my stomach and the guitar and took a nap.



I've been trying to be more diligent about practicing. Cat not withstanding. I'm polishing up Erik Satie's Gymnopedie #1, which one of my favorite pieces. We also started working on a Shadowy Man piece called "Egypt, Texas" (a cool surf piece) and "Sweet Child o' mine". Go figure. My teacher, Mark is a guitar-god.

Finally getting back to it...

Got yet another Cortisone injection Thursday. I can now bend my elbow and close my left fist without crying.
I was able to get some stuff done on Marilyn's sel-mac/nylon!
I took the top and back out of the gluing jigs and realized that I need to get better at shooting the edges...
The seams are tiny but I see them. Oh well.


Marilyn asked me to do a solid-wood rosette with b-b-w-b purfling around the in/outside.

I was rather nervous about doing the cutting/sanding. It turned out better than I thought it would. I just need to do the routing on the top--maybe tomorrow.












I rough cut the braces for the back and top and glued up the headstock plate.




I am off for until Thursday! Hopefully I can try out the new side bender and set up the go-bar deck!

The side bender is done-done!

I finished the cut away attachment for the side bender!


I also made it easier to us the adjustable plate on the main clamp.

The timer works and it throws out a ton of heat. the steel bending sheets should be in next week.

Now I just need to get the tops and backs joined--which is proving to be harder than I thought. I might just make a jig for the router...

Side Bender

I finished the basic part of the side bender. I still need to do the cut-away clamp.
but the switch and the timer work! Just a little fine-tuning and I can start bending for Marilyn's guitar.

The Rosewood showed up yesterday. It's pretty but too thick right now (i forgot to order it pre-thinned) so I need to do some planing first.

I also got some tortoise-white-black celluloid pickguard material for Ev's mandolin. So, I made one for the Gretsch too! It looks very retro now...

Finishing up and begining again.

Following the old adage "there's never time to do it right, but always time to do it twice"; I finished the guitar. Again. I didn't like the way the top turned out, so I sanded it down and re did it. I made sure I got a good level base with the Z-poxy. That helped bring up the grain of the wood. The mango really pops and the I got the medulary rays in the sitka top to look more 3-d.



Also, I had noticed some buzzing in the 12-13 frets, so I did a re-level on them.
Now the buzz is gone and it looks and sounds way better. I figure the epoxy made the top stiffer. There is a lot less "honk" now. The Selmers can produce a nasal sound sometimes because of the way it's braced. That said, it's not a bad thing. Especially if you play it harder than you would a regular guitar. It was designed to be heard over jazz bands so the sound is big and piercing.
There's a hundred things I'm going to fix on the next one, but overall I'm happy with it.


I started on building one for my wife today. She hasn't settled on what wood she wants, so I got the neck started.














I cut the mahogany billet and cut the 11 degree scarf joint on the bandsaw and glued it up.




This one went a lot easier and nicer than the last.



I got the grain to line up and the glue line disappeared!






Next, I need to plane it to thickness and laminate the heel block.

I have a box!

Or, a very expensive drum..
I got the back glued on at class and did some other fiddly stuff. I also put a coat of shellac on the inside and affixed the nifty label that Marilyn made for me. It's a copy of the original Selmer label from the 1920's.
Since I had a day off I was able to get lots done today.
I fitted the top and glued it to the sides.
Before I could do that, i had to trim down some of the braces that were just a tad long and weren't quite fitting. Prior to gluing I taped a plastic trash bag on the inside to catch any glue that dribbles.

After the glue dried I was able to use a laminate trimmer to trim the top and back overhang. A sanded down the edges and set the box aside for now.















I started back on the neck. I drilled and cut the slots for the strings BY HAND. The router scares me. I had already had it jump and chew out a notch on the outside of the peg head, necessitating a slimmer head. I may have to grind the rollers a bit more so they don't touch.
Finally, I cut the neck to width (plus a little). If I get the plumbing done at the in-laws' I can trim down the fretboard.




I also did some gardening!
We got about 10 artichokes, some giant onions and some lettuce.

Making some progress--finally

My guitar-Sensei, Larry has been helping me get caught up on my guitar.
He's very knowledgeable about all things guitar and my "craftsmanship" is getting better with his help.
I now have the sides glued together and the linings glued. I have the back "indexed" and will get the front done tomorrow.
The back is braced. I put a backseam brace on. The originals didn't have them, they put the seam brace on the top; probably to cover bad joinery or to add strength to the pilage. Since I'm not doing one, it's not needed (i hope).


I cut the top braces (again) and sanded them on a 20' sanding dish.
The top is in the "go-bar-deck". This is cool, It's a giant clamp.





The neck is rough cut and routed for a truss rod. Tomorrow I hope to cut the neck heel.


This weekend, I'm going over to Larry's and he is going to help me plane it down and cut it to width. It really does help having someone who knows what they are doing.

The rosette of Doom!

I have been stressed about doing the rosette. My first attempt was terrible, the templates were difficult etc. It finally came together and I was all set to drop it into the top. But before that, I would have to rout a channel in the top of the guitar. My router skills suck. I practiced on some scrap wood, but not nearly enough. rrrrrgh.












This is why I can't get anything done...
The cats found it infinitely interesting for me to work at the kitchen table. If I would get up, one of them would walk over and sit on whatever I am working on. Then the other would come and sit down on it as well. They were rather irritated at being moved. Doogie knocked tools and pencils onto the floor.

Neemo likes to smash down what ever I'm working on.





Doogie tried to nap on my plans.


It's good to have such close supervision.