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.

Side Bending, the learning experience...

Thank goodness that mango is such a flexible wood. Spritz a little water on it, place in the side bender and in no time it just bends. It is also very easy to straighten out once bent. Ask me how I know this.....
Yes, I "got" to practice straightening one of my side pieces!
Here is my newly straightened side board.
I placed the bass-side piece in the bender upside-down. oooops. I caught it when I was lining up the grain on the tail end of the guitar, well trying to at least. Since the two side pieces are "bookmatched" the grain should match up on either side. It does now. This time I marked the wood and paid much attention. Going slow is sometimes hard for me. This is a good exercise.

I also finished up the 90 degree bend on the lower side where it joins the neck. I couldn't do it on the side bender so I made a bending pipe. This is one of those "old" ways to do it. I got an electric BBQ lighter and squished it in the vise so it would fit into a 2 inch galvanized pipe. Clamped the pipe into the vise and it's ready to go! I thought the electric option was better than the propane torch method given my ADD. I was amazed how easy it was. I had heard all sorts of horror-stories, but just wait till it gets hot, keep spritzing and GO SLOW. Piece of cake.

I'll get some better photos for next time. These don't make much sense without arrows and labels. Next time.


I also cut the scarf joint and glued my neck blank. The neck joint is 10 degrees, where as most other steel strings is 15. Strange. I'm not doing the traditional mortise/tennon neck joint. Since I'm part of a class they had everything set up for the scarf joint method. Which is what most people do now days.

I'm going with walnut for the neck, as is traditional to the Maccaferri guitars. Walnut is also one of those things I am allergic to (along with just about everything). I haven't noticed any itching or stuffiness (other than the usual spring time stuffy nose) or Anaphylactic shock that I get when I eat walnuts. That's a good thing. Then again, I have lots of benedryl just in case.....
I still have to trim down the sides to the right depth, rough out the head stock and laminate the heel block which I hope to get to this weekend.
I'm very excited. It's starting to look like a guitar, as opposed to just a bunch of pieces of wood.

Oh, I forgot: I still need to do the rosette, which is done (finally) and soundhole. Then glue down the braces.....

Holy Mangled Mango, Batman!

After several weeks of doing fiddly stuff and not make ANY progress on the guitar I finally got around to bending sides. This was very exciting because now it would actually start looking like a guitar. When people have asked to see what I'm working on and I show show them flat un-cut or bent wood they seem disapointed. If I say, "yes, but here are the braces I've made--no, you don't see them because they go on the inside" they doubt my sanity even more so.

Bending is also somewhat nerve wracking. Taking an expensive (about $40 a slat)piece of FLAT wood and forcing it into a couple of gentle curves and a couple of very extreme curves is daunting. If not done right, Snap Crackle, Pop and swearing will result. I practiced on some "doorskin" paneling before I used the mango.

This is what happens if you go too fast. This is the lower front of the guitar. It has a bend that's about 140 degrees. Good thing it was the doorskin. I have lots of it!

Fortunately, there was very little drama.


I got to use the class's Fox Side Bender. It's a jig that holds the wood and pipe bending forms I made earlier and heats the wood using light bulbs while you clamp in various directions.
The wood gets spritzed lightly with water and wrapped in parchment or aluminum foil (to hold the steam in) and placed between 2 steel slats. Then, it's placed in the machine and the giant clamp on top gets cranked down. Turn the lights on and let the heat and water work their magic.


Little by little you tighten the cauls into place. The big crank is first. It's the waist of the guitar, and it has a gentle curve. Next is the rear or lower bout of the guitar.




The bass side was fairly easy as it was 3 gentle curves and it bent in about 20 minutes. The treble side was the tricky one. You can see the light leaking out between the the wood/steel sandwich and the side of the bender. The side will eventually bend to the shape of the mold thanks to the springs on the caul (big wood thing on the outside) and the heat. This made me nervous! I still have to do another outside bend where it will join the neck. That gets done on the pipe bender next week.

After the bending and the cooling. the sides get clamped into the big mold so they will retain their shape and its a nice safe way to store them.


I also went ahead and pre-bent the ebony binding pieces. One less thing to worry about down the road.




Now I have to get back to the rosette, which is proving to be a major headache.
I keep wandering back out to the garage to see if there is anything else to do. I am not good at the waiting-thing.
Maybe this is good for me?

Rosette bending jig

I've been stressing about bending the purfling for the rosette for several weeks. I had some inside pieces from the routing jigs and thought it would be a good start for a template. I made an inside piece and screwed it to a piece of mdf. I was thinking of clamping the strips as I went around but that would get crowded real fast.
I drilled several holes and cut down some wood skewers to act as pins.
Wa-la.

It looks like a cribbage board but seemed to work.


First, I soaked the wood in HOT water in the kitchen sink for a few minutes, then put it into the jig.

I did get some de-laming and cracking in spots but I think that was because I was going too fast.

Guitar Update-forms and functions!

Last night at guitar class I got more work done on the molds for the shape and got the back glued up. Seems like I'm building the workshop before I can build the guitar.
Before I could glue the back I had get the two sides baby-butt smooth. With NORMAL wood it's a few passes with the block plane and a quick check on the light table (to make sure that it fits perfectly) then smear some glue on the edge and slam it into the glueing jig.

Oh-no, with Mango, the wacky grain necessitated getting a router jig set up to cut the edges with identical cuts on both sides. Even that took about 6-8 passes with checking in-between on the light table. But, in the end I got a light-tight joint and was able to glue up the back. Next class I hope to thickness sand it and cut out the basic shape.

I spent a lot of the time working on the damn molds. Six inches of mdf board weighs a ton. Moving it on the band saw will surely allow my chiropractor to send his kids to a nicer college.


I still need to tidy it up with my fancy Japanese pull-saw and the spindle sander.

I also sanded and drilled the bending forms to go into the bending machine, It looks like the machine from the Princess Bride. I'll get a photo of it for next time.

I am hoping to be able to start bending next time too.
When I got home there was a box from the LMI with my stuff for the next few steps!
Neck and Finger board: Walnut and Ebony.


The black sticks are the Ebony binding for the outside of the guitar. They protect the edges from dents etc. The tiny black/white sticks are the prufflings. They go between the top/side wood and the ebony binding. All this stuff is wood which will need to be heat bent as well as the sides.


The sticks with the notches cut in them are the edges for inside the guitar. This helps hold the sides to the top and back. I bought the pre cut stuff because I'm lazy.
Here's the headstock plates. I'm going with Ebony on top of Birch. That way I get a nifty little white line between the walnut neck and the head plate.

I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about how all of this is going to work together. I'd still be wearing Giranimals just for the simplicity if they made my size!
We'll see....

Guitar Update

The past two weeks have been hectic. I'm doing LOTS of stuff but not making much progress in any of them.
At last weeks guitar building I was able to get my mold glued up. It's 6 layers of 3/4 inch particle board; and about 900 pounds. Next week I will cut out most of the insides and it'll be ready for side bending.
Also, I ran the top through the giant drum sander to get it down to about .100 of an inch. After each pass through the sander you check the boards with a digital caliper and give the machine a 1/4 crank and shove it through again. After 10 or 12 passes, its ready for the next step. Cutting out the rough body shape and doing the rosette. More on that later...
I'll get some photos up when I can.

Playing wise, it's been hard to sit down and practice. Too many other shiny things have caught my eye. Stuff like going to see my guitar teacher's band play, re-roofing the garage and fixing Joels' quad, but I digress.
I'm currently working on two different and challenging pieces. One a manouche piece called Valse a Django and Asturius or Leyenda by Albeniz. Asturias is a great classical piece that is all overt the neck and has some wild parts, making me concentrate on finger and arm positioning. Because you have to hold these chord-like positions, moving fingers around but staying in position it's painful. My fingering is getting better as a result, at least my left hand. I need to tighten up my right hand now. The picking has pedal tones, played on 1 string, then 2 strings then 3. It's a good division of attention exercise. Fun stuff.