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15th March 2009, 12:37 AM #1Member
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Recycled/scrounged wood guitar as first build
I've decided to build an accoustic guitar, but done using as much scrounged, recycled or extra-cheap wood as i can.
The bit that started this off was getting made redundant in the latest economic festivities, and receiving some cash payout etc. I thought about spending a largish chunk of it on a guitar making course ( which I still might). I have since decided I should continue saving for a house deposit... I've decided to spend as little on the wood as possible, since I don't want to blow 500 bucks on wood, and bungle the build. Plus it leaves more money to buy tools.
Anyways, the local hard rubbish last month has thrown up some interesting woods:
I found 2 pieces of what looks like red cedar 700x330x20mm that should yield 2 tops, it was made into a card table top, has reasonable grain, is very dry and stable. It is quite light and very rigid, and has a decent ring to it. Its probably from the 1920s I guess. There were also some longer pieces which may work as braces, or neck/tail blocks/kerflings etc.
I was moving some wood at my mums new place yesturday and found what looks like ash or a very light coloured mahogany or tassi oak, so I have the bits for the neck, headstock etc. It looks like its been part of a shelf or something for the last 30 years. The pieces are about 30x180x600
I went to the Wood Turners and Woodworking show in Shepparton last weekend, and bought some jarrah that will make a great finger board and bridge. I think its some offcuts from ripping up some slabs. I got 1 peice about 70mmx10mmx900mm, and 2 pieces about 70x10x350 for $6. I was speaking to the violin maker there, who said that using the 2nd peice of cedar for the back probably wouldn't make a very good result-its not heavy enough, and wouldn't reflect the sound. So i need to find/inherit/scrounge something for the back/sides still.
I'll have to wait and see what turns up for things like the kerfing, bridge plates, etc. Hopefully I can come by some tuners somewhere.
I'll try to post some pics as I go along\ might be a while tho.
EDIT
I will try to post a pic of the pieces of ash- maybe someone knows what it is.
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15th March 2009 12:37 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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15th March 2009, 03:42 PM #2Senior Member
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Hi Slashbot,
Welcome to the forum. this is definately the place to get good advice. I'm not an acoustic builder, however the choice in timbers for the back and sides is important for sound, however you can buy good quality tonewoods quite cheap. It is only when you seek out highly sought after rare timbers that it gets expensive. Anyway, I will leave it to the acoustics builders to answer your questions.
Cheers,
Peter
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15th March 2009, 07:12 PM #3Member
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Thanks for the welcome Peter. This forum certainly has loads of info and helpful members. I'm really quite new to wood working, but the bug has bit as they say.
I took some photos of the woods I have so far.
The
Attachment 99285
Attachment 99292
Fretboard/Bridge:
Attachment 99286
Attachment 99281
The Neck/headstock:
Attachment 99283
Attachment 99282
Attachment 99284
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15th March 2009, 08:15 PM #4
looking good man...
im a big fan of using recycled timbers
i will be doing a simillar acoustic build soon (once i find some wood)
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15th March 2009, 08:50 PM #5
I love what you are doing there Slash. My first mandolin used salvage teak from a boat for back and sides and a WRC offcut from a plank that was being made into a boat. I bought a piece of Honduran Mahogany for the neck, milled some NT ironwood for fretboard and bridge that was a dead tree in the botanic gardens then used second hand tuners. Still have it 17 years later.
Jim
Someone please turn up the Tele
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15th March 2009, 09:02 PM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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dont have much to offer in terms of advice, but i'll deffinately keep an eye on this.
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17th March 2009, 05:29 AM #7
A couple of ideas for you;
you will see second hand instruments in Vinnies, garagre sales etc, with a bit of luck they will have an instrument that is beyond repair. A great source of tuners, bridges, nuts, etc
you dont state what kind of guitar you want to build. If it is a nylon string be aware that some flourocarbon fishing lines are used by high end players
back wood does need to be reasonably hard, merbau, tassie oak are prospects, as is the veneer from old dressers etc. Ive oftern thought of getting some and putting several layers together.
Keep us posted,"We must never become callous. When we experience the conflicts ever more deeply we are living in truth. The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil." - Albert Schweizer
My blog. http://theupanddownblog.blogspot.com
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17th March 2009, 07:54 AM #8
drawer sides from old cabinets are usually great, well-dried, quartersawn wood, that I reckon would be great for guitar sides. quartersawn because those pieces were chosen by the drawer builders so that the sides didn't warp or twist.
now I think of it, you'd be hard pressed to find a drawer side long enough for a guitar side! Oh well. Multipiece back? Uke or mando?
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17th March 2009, 08:57 AM #9"We must never become callous. When we experience the conflicts ever more deeply we are living in truth. The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil." - Albert Schweizer
My blog. http://theupanddownblog.blogspot.com
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17th March 2009, 09:20 PM #10Member
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Hi All
Thanks for the ideas, I'm trying to make a steel string. Not sure how long it will take, but hey- that's part of the fun.
It won't be too long before something turns up I can use for the back/sides- once it does I can size up the overall guitar a bit eg body dimensions, scale length etc. In the meantime I have to split the topwood and joint it.
Another builder on this forum suggested to make a ukelele size guitar ahead of the larger one to iron out workflow problems, jig issues etc. I can't remember who it was, but its a great idea. I have some smaller pieces I could do that with.
I like the idea of Vinnes etc for hardware like tuners.
I asked at a local antique shop last week, and was given a very posh, padded cedar dining chair, with the back 2 legs broken off that was to be thrown out. there's some decent peices of cedar, for example the front rail, that could be a ukelele neck, or small tools like marking gauges, or plane bodies, the list goes on.
Cheers
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25th March 2009, 08:44 PM #11Member
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I have been hard at work on the Ukulele -see this thread:http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com...175#post924175
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1st June 2009, 10:48 PM #12Member
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Well Ive been working on the guitar slowly here's a bit of progress
I spent some time on the weekend booking the
The outline is half a medium classical size (Yamaha G230A) so theres room for a larger size gitar
Its planed down to around 2.5-3mm thich. I guess the next step is to sand it smooth and joint it.
I put some amber shellac on an offcut from the cedar- its going to have quite a dark old looking sound board.
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2nd June 2009, 09:59 PM #13Hey Slashbot_427 Good for you, I have a High regard for anybody who brings old timber back to life and hard rubish collection is my favourite time of the year LOL
Cheers and regards to all
Wal
<style type="text/css">p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line- 120%; }</style> Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Abert_Einstein.
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4th June 2009, 04:22 PM #14
Looking good. One tip....leave the sanding till after youve jointed the soundboard (9 times out of 10 the joint will require sanding). I actually do the planing as well after Ive done my jointing. I also make use of a cabinet scraper for for final working down of the top......its a bit of an art but I have more control with cabinet scraper than with a plane or sandpaper.
Re shellac....if its the stuff you get at Mitre 10 then make sure its fresh. I use blonde shellac on my tops as I prefer to leave the wood its natural colour.
Cheers MartinWhatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)
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4th June 2009, 11:50 PM #15Member
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Hey guys thanks for the comments.
Thanks Wal.
Yeah I looked at the thin wood I created and suddenly wondered how I was going to keep the edges lined up to glue the joint on the soundboard.
Will have to think up a jig to keep the edges aligned while it glues. Maybe I should have glued it while it was still 6mm thick
I m thinking it will be hard to scrounge wood of a decent quality for the back and sides anytime soon, may end up buying a set in a few months if nothing turns up, just to get progress on it. See how I go anyway.
Re the shellac, I got the bunnings variety, so I hope its OK, its amber flakes i dissolved in metho. I haven't used shellac before so I'm trying to figure out how it will work on offcuts from the top wood.
Also I am looking at getting some liquid fish or hide glue. I currently have the yellow pva. I don't want to go to a glue pot yet for convenience, whats the vote between yellow pva, liquid fish, and liquid hide glue? I have used yellow pva to glue up the neck laminations so far, but if theres a major difference in the glues then for the bookmatching joints, neck to body joint, fretboard to neck joint, should I really go with one glue over another?
Matt
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