Thread: 1st Accoustic build (StewMac)

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Greg,

Did you sort out the issues with the sideways play in the neck? If the cheeks are hard up against the body then it sounds like the tenon needs shimming.

When Im doing the tenon for my dovetail neck joints I rub chalk inside the mortise and then test fit the tenon. High spots on the tenon will have chalk on them and can be lightly sanded with a sanding stick until the fit is good.

Cheers Martin

Hi Martin,

Yes I ended up shimming it and I seem to have got the play out of it.

Wow,I almost forgot about all those probs! Brings back some memories!

Its funny,I was really worried about the headstock tear out etc,now I really don't even notice it

Cheers

Greg

I just chipped a piece out of the underside of my fretboard , quite fixable but no less annoying , that will teach me for working in only reasonable light

Well I finally got my bluetooth dongle for my laptop so I can download my pictures from my phone. The cable was no good anymore so it was my only other option.

I have got the guitar to the stage where Im almost 100% satisfied with the neck to body setup, a bit more tweaking & waiting , as I refuse to rush myself into doing something dumb.

I thouroughly think things through before I then do something dumb. LOL

The pics should give an idea of my progress. Oh the pic of an inlay with another piece of M.O.P. beside is where my wife made that one, for her piece of input into it.

Originally Posted by Dix_Fix

I just chipped a piece out of the underside of my fretboard , quite fixable but no less annoying , that will teach me for working in only reasonable light

The guitar is looking good. If the chip out is on the underside of your fretboard then youre not going to see it..I wouldnt worry about it. Ebony is a bit fussy about the direction to plane it in. Your plane needs to be really sharp and adjust for a fine cut.

kiwigeo I got the chip fixed , it was right at the soundhole end when I was cutting off the excess fretboard.
It came out clean as a whistle so I superglued it back in & shaped it & it looks passable. When i get a decent camera instead of my phone I'll do some macro shots of my problem areas.

well I hate 'bumping' though I have new stuff to get on with this week when I get home (I work in Sydney 3 days) but live in the Blue Mountains. Yeah I only work 3 days cool eh?

Back to the point, I finally got hold of a cheap ($12) bridge pin tapered reamer.



This should be just the thing to get me back on track , as i have been slack the last 2 week ends. You know the go just dont feel 100% & cant get any further than the shed, I do get in there but nothing happens , well nothing that could be considered work. I suppose cone-ing on doesnt help !!

Hi again all ,,, had a bit of a lay off (only cause I cant spell hiatus) been working too much ,,back to normal hours again so have got back to my build.
I got the neck set in fairly well ,, i am pleased with it & i think my shaping on the soundhole end of the fretboard looks neat
Here is to date pics

I have been idle for long enough , I got the guitar to playable stage, I had a slight issue with the bridge moving backward when glueing but i angled the saddle forward to get it to intonate correctly, however that was too much for the bone saddle & it snapped along its length,,,,,, so i made one out of stainless steel (actually cut it from a bar-b-q scraper) It took three goes to get it to the correct shape & height but now the guitar plays equal or better than my Maton EBG808. The saddle is a little out of the ordinary to accomodate for a very minor neck to body alignment problem.
So now I call it set up ,,,,,, the saddle could go down a little further , but i like that it doesnt do the 'E' rattle when the 'E' is hit hard. So at least for now it is in setup just how I like it.

So now play it for a week or so (I put approx 24hrs into it allready) then strip it & paint it.

Wish me luck
















My saddle blank :

Hi Richard,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but that forward sloping saddle is on a sucicide mission. Tilting it forward the way you have increases the risk of the front of the bridge splitting away markedly. I may be mistaken but it looks like a crack is already forming on treble end of the slot..or is that something else?

Some makers angle the saddle back about 7 deg to reduce this risk and also improve transmission of string vibration to the bridge but angling forward is a no no.

The saddle looks way too high as well......whats action height at 12 fret? If neck relief and action are set up correctly then you might have an issue with neck angle.

To stop a bridge moving while its being glued up its a good idea to drill out two of the bridge pin holes and fit some temporary plastic pins to hold bridge in place.

If it were my guitar I'd take the bridge off and re position it. You can probably save the bridge by filling fill up the saddle slot with a piece of rosewood and rerouting the slot.

Cheers Martin

Rich - I left most of my tooling behind when I came to Oz in early 07 to make wine for three months... still here, married and living in NW Tassie so I feel ya on the tool thing.

One of the best Classical builders ever to come out of Paracho, Mexico - a guy named Benito Huipe - built many a great piece using little more than a sharpened butter knife, some hide glue and a whack of old bicycle inner tubes. Oh to have such skills, ay?

Now to the point - from the pics it looks as though you are moving right along on that Martin influenced 000 from the lovely folks in Ohio. Good on ya.

Now to the real point - Have you decided how you are going to finish the piece? Bug shells have some romance to them and if the guitar will spend most of it's time being played in the lounge room it is a magical process to learn. Poly is the current finish of choice for us due to Nitro being fee'd to H**l by the SoCal Air Quality Nazis (used to live and build in LA) and it crazes and is brittle... thoughts?

Now to the real, real point - ALL guitars come with the same songs in our shop. Heh. Good on her for smackin' ya around a bit. Had to chuckle at that one.

Keep it up,
Riggsy

Um er..I hate to labour a point but before any finish goes on that instrument that bridge and saddle need attention. If the bridge needs to come off then best you do it before any finish goes on.

Hi Martin, I am not a luthier, but I spend alot of time with them watching & talking.And Richard take note of what Martin is saying even I can see it from the photos, you will have major problems if you dont take that bridge off and start again.
Cheers Bob

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Um er..I hate to labour a point but before any finish goes on that instrument that bridge and saddle need attention. If the bridge needs to come off then best you do it before any finish goes on.

The finish needs to be applied to the guitar first. The the area where the bridge is to go has the finish removed (very carefully with a sharp chisel) and then the bridge should be glued on.
If you need to, get another bridge or blank and make sure this is done right. Don't spoil all of the great work at the finish line.
If possible use nitrocellulose finish (not sure if still obtainable) or an acid catylised cellulose.