Thread: 7 Course Renaissance Lute

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Be warned my job keeps me away from home for at least half the year so this project will be long term and there'll often be long intervals between posts.

Pics are of the mold around which the bowl shaped body is built up.

That's OK mate good things take time and patience and you gotta love a challenge, Looks good so far.

regards

Wal

Aussie timbers Martin?

No mate....got alot of opp grade IRW lying around the shop so will use that for the bowl. For the neck Im undecided. Top will be Englemann from Graham Hein (its so stiff it just gives you a stiffy!).

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

(its so stiff it just gives you a stiffy!).

ewwww queer!

Originally Posted by Andrew_B

ewwww queer!

Ya cant hold a good woodie down I always say....

Originally Posted by Andrew_B

ewwww queer!

Mate youre going to have to pick up the lingo if youre going to be an acoustic builder. As far as tops go theres one basic rule to building an acoustic....BUILD LIGHT AND STIFF (Im talking about the wood not your woodie)

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

Mate youre going to have to pick up the lingo if youre going to be an acoustic builder. As far as tops go theres one basic rule to building an acoustic....BUILD LIGHT AND STIFF (Im talking about the wood not your woodie)

Its also OK to talk about how you brace it, if your are pinning or using tie downs and yes the size of the hole matters.....

LMAO!!!!!!!
looks like my dirty mind will fit straight into acoustic building

Not a whole lot of progress on the lute. Ive have had a cold for the last week and yesterday there was a trip to the dentist for a root canal which left me in no mood for lute building. Anyway since last post Ive made a second mold (left front in photo)..I wasnt happy with accuracy of dimensions of first attempt (in the background in photo). Ive also started working the Indian Rosewood side stock down to circa 0.065" in preparation for making up the rib strips. This is a laborious task with the LN No 4 plane being useable on some stock but many of the side sections requiring working down using a scraper plane. The IRW is opp grade from Allied Lutherie and the stuff Im working on here has some lovely orange colours in it....really good value tonewood this stuff.

Interesting build Martin,
I will watch this build with interest.
as I am sending a billet of plain blackwood on Monday to a guy in Queensland to be used for the ribs of a lute build.
Cheers Bob.

Cutting all the ribs from a single billet will result in better looking ribs as they can be pattern matched. I considered this but cjheaper option was using some of the stock of Allied opp grade IRW Ive got sitting around my shop.

Cheers Martin

Got adventurous today and got the first rib bent and trimmed. The Indian Rosewood has been thinned to 0.065" so bending was a fairly easy job. Trimming of the ribs to final dimensions is done on an upturned plane held in a vice and final trimming is done on a sanding board. When at final shape the rib should lie flat on its edge on a flat surface (Im using a piece of melamine MDF).

Looking good Martin.
Cheers Bob

Armadillo ?

Looks like a heap of fine work having to bevel as well.
Looking great with the progress.