Carl's guitar project.

[warpedbored]

Today I trimmed the sides and cut them to length. I used a piece of the scrap to take the bender for a test run. It worked like a champ.

http://oi46.tinypic.com/2wrpv5v.jpg

[knloregon]

That does look nice.... in our 'unseasonal' summer sunshinse...

[warpedbored]

For the last week I've been hem hawing around trying to decide what style of bracing to use. Since the 1850s when CF Martin revolutionized the luthier trade by inventing the X brace there have been two types of X bracing commonly used. The traditional X brace is just tapered on the ends and the tone is controlled by the thickness and height of the bracing. This style is preferred by some guitar players that like a more even and mellow tone. The other style of bracing commonly used on steel string guitars is the Scalloped X brace. This style of bracing is preferred by many bluegrass players and finger pickers for it's better highs, lows and bass response. The braces are tapered on the ends similar to the traditional method but are also scalloped in the middle.This cancels out some of the sound waves from the back of the rims but also helps transfer the energy from the middle of the sound board towards the sound hole. The tone is controlled by the thickness and height of the bracing but is also more tightly controlled by the peaks and valleys of the scallops. Since it is my first guitar I was going to keep it simple and use the traditional method. The more I thought about it though I realized that the bluegrass and finger picking style is closer to the way I play. In the end I decided on scalloped bracing even though there is more risk that I may not get the type of tone I want since I don't have the control of an experienced luthier who knows how to "tap tune" or "voice" a guitar. I am ready to glue the braces on and then attempt to fine tune the tone by holding the sound board while tapping it and taking small amounts of wood off the bracing where it's needed. My biggest concern is taking too much off and the sound board being too loose. Wish me luck guys since I won't know for sure until I string it up the first time.

 

From the neck end down the braces are as follows. Upper transverse patch, upper face brace. 3 sound hole braces, X brace, 4 small finger braces and 2 lower face braces. There is one brace missing since I wasn't happy with it and I'm doing it over. It's a 3/32" thick piece of rosewood called the bridge patch. It goes on the bottom center of the X brace to reinforce the bridge where the bridge pins come through. What I thought would only take a couple of hours took the better part of two days.

 

http://oi46.tinypic.com/34il9wo.jpg

[Mick]

Lookin' great, Carl! I really enjoyed your lesson on the difference in tone between standard braces and scalloped braces. I would have never thought of that, but then, I only play them, not make them. It has been great to watch this project unfold step by step.

[tsap seui]

REally cool stuff Carl. I had no clue about the bracing and sound effects, tuning in the sound, etc. Your jigs and exact measurements are awesome. Nice to see your photos and get a sense of guitar building and various woods used.

 

tsap seui

[warpedbored]

Today I fine tuned the braces and glued them on. Here it is in my Go Bar deck.

http://oi50.tinypic.com/303fk20.jpg

[warpedbored]

The top and back are both braced. I did the back yesterday and today. Both will need a little fine trimming and clean up before joining them to the rims but all in all I'm pleased with the results.

http://oi47.tinypic.com/15phod5.jpg

 

http://oi50.tinypic.com/ny6vqr.jpg

[warpedbored]

I've had other luthiers tell me that bending the sides of a guitar is kind of a Zen moment in lutherie. I'd bent some scrap to try out the bender but when the moment came today to do it for real I finally realized what they mean. This is a critical point in building a guitar. It is also a point where if you're not very careful you can ruin a set of sides and lose hours of work and money. This is some very special ribbon figure Mahogany I'd been saving for years and I don't have any more to replace it with should I crack a side during bending. First I tested it again with a wider piece of scrap to make sure my temperature was zeroed in and my previous test wasn't a fluke. Next I laid everything out carefully making sure that I knew which was top, which is bottom and which is front and back. I re-sawed the wood in a book match so I wanted to make sure the grain comes together where they meet. I sandwiched the side between two pieces of wet craft paper, put that between two stainless steel slats and on top of that the heating blanket and another steel slat on top. I put it all in the bender taking extra care where the mark for the waist lines up on the bender. I plug in the blanket and watch the thermometer rise. As it approaches 250 degrees I slowly start to turn the press screw at the waist. At 300 degrees I turn it all the way down then back it off some. So far so good, no cracking or burning. I carefully start the cauls around the upper and lower bouts. When I've got them where I want I cinch down the press screw at the waist. I watch the temperature climb to about 340 degrees then shut off the blanket, let it cool to 200 degrees then plug it in again. 3 cycles of this takes about 15 minutes then I turn it off and let it cool for another 15 minutes before taking it out. Now is the moment, did it scorch or crack? I take off the craft paper and behold one perfectly bent side. I put it in the mold and start the process over again taking care to make sure I orient it right in the bender so I don't end up with two top halves. Now I have both halves in the mold. Next I'll trim them to length and glue on the neck and heel blocks. After that I'll radius the top and back, glue in the linings, radius them again and finally glue on the top and back. I'm actually building a guitar instead of making jigs!!!.

 

In the bender

 

http://oi48.tinypic.com/23w9sfm.jpg

 

Bent side

 

http://oi49.tinypic.com/2j0nhuq.jpg

 

In the mold

 

http://oi49.tinypic.com/2lntzdz.jpg

[griz326]

And to think that manufacturers can sell a pretty nice guitar for a few hundred bucks.

 

A labor of love and art...

Very nice work.

 

[knloregon]

Carl, just remember from the ol' BBQ ~ ! the temp inside is directly related to the temp outside ~ ! Burgers cook a lot faster on a 100 degree day than on a 72 degree day! --- (and for the rest of the Candle --- Portland had its hottest day in three years (102) two days ago, and its been consistently warm since ....

[Mick]

Wow, you men the heat wave finally reached you guys???? Is it humid as well?

 

Carl, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching this project move forward and have learned a lot from you. As griz said, it is a true labor of love and a work of art.

[knloregon]

AHHHHH .......... its over, Mick.... (high today in the 70's) nothing to see folks--- time to move along...

[warpedbored]

And unlike the southeast even when it is hot here it's seldom ever very humid.

Thanks Mick. Griz I don't see how even an automated factory can produce a quality guitar for a few hundred. I've got that just in materials in mine.

[tsap seui]

Carl, I am just in awe of this project. I can feel your pleasure, or is that fear as you put the sides in the mold and started bending. So many steps, so much that has got to be just perfect.

 

It's really coming together. I'm very happy for you.

 

I got a good laugh when you said, finally I can start building a guitar instead of jigs.

 

tsap seui

[warpedbored]

Fear mixed with pleasure Ron.

Some progress, I got the neck block and tail block glued in then I took my 28' radius dish with 60 grit 24" diameter disc of sand paper in it and kind of like driving bus with a big ole steering wheel I put a radius on the top of the sides to match the radius of the top. Last night I glued in the linings (the linings give the sides a wider surface to glue the top to) and clamped them to the sides with 100 clothes pins. Tonight I took off the clothes pins and drove the bus some more to get the perfect radius to glue the top to. Because the top is a dome the waist of the guitar is about 1/8" higher than the sides. Tomorrow I'll get out my block plane and trim the the other side close to finished height and repeat the process. After that I'll glue some braces to the sides and notch the linings where the top and bottom braces meet them and glue on the back first then the top. I have an ultra high tech method for clamping on the top and bottom. I went to the tire store and got me an old inner tube and cut it into one long continuous rubber strip which I'll wrap around and around the body of the guitar.