Progress...

[Malibu]

With Christmas holidays, I've been a busy beaver down in the workshop. Lots of work, but there's very little to show for it!
A week spent carving the top-plate out of spruce and this afternoon with a pin router cutting the F-holes.
The sides were bent across a span of a couple of days. I practiced with 20+ pieces of wood (from pine to hardwood to the worst piece of timber I could find) to get the feel of the timber and try to bend without cracks. Happy with my practice bits I moved onto the Queensland maple and managed to get 3 splits in it. :~
A bit of CA and hopefully there'll be no show after it's all sanded back.
A few hours making the blocks and a couple more hours glueing it all together.
All up, pretty happy with the progress so far. There's still a bit of carving to do, but that's tomorrow's job. It's beer o'clock now! :2tsup:

[old_picker]

Is this off Benedetto's book?
Is it accoustic or you gonna put a pickup on it?
Looks as though it is going pretty nice.
To me this is the ultimate project out of wood.

[kiwigeo]

With Christmas holidays, I've been a busy beaver down in the workshop. Lots of work, but there's very little to show for it!
A week spent carving the top-plate out of spruce and this afternoon with a pin router cutting the F-holes.
The sides were bent across a span of a couple of days. I practiced with 20+ pieces of wood (from pine to hardwood to the worst piece of timber I could find) to get the feel of the timber and try to bend without cracks. Happy with my practice bits I moved onto the Queensland maple and managed to get 3 splits in it. :~
A bit of CA and hopefully there'll be no show after it's all sanded back.
A few hours making the blocks and a couple more hours glueing it all together.
All up, pretty happy with the progress so far. There's still a bit of carving to do, but that's tomorrow's job. It's beer o'clock now! :2tsup:

Nice work on those sides Malibu. Did you bend them on an iron? Wherabouts did the splits occur? If theyre on the inside then its not a big problem. :2tsup:

[Malibu]

Thanks guys..:D
I'm starting to see the draw to guitar making; It's frustrating, but it's a great way to spend some time in the workshop and do something worthwhile (hopefully).
The plans and all the ideas have come from the Benedetto book. A great book, but sometimes it leaves me head scratching a bit because the some of the details are a little less than clear. So far the plans have only been for an acoustic, but lately I've been toying with a few thoughts on adding a pickup. Maybe I'll play with some piezo transducers later on down the track.
I'm not sure about being the ultimate project Ray, but I do know it's a heck of a good time! I can't wait to get it all finished, but I'll be disappointed too. I'll probably start having thoughts about the second one by then :roll:
I used a home-made bending iron which was great, but I think I made a mistake in soaking the wood for a while before I started the bends. I think it softened the wood too much. I recon it would have been better to do it dry and spray water on as I bent it.
The splits were 4, not 3, but there's a total of 7 all up... One on the inside cutaway and two I managed to hide between the neck block and the neck and they don't bother me.
There's 2 on the cutaway on the outside and 2 near where the neck attaches on the non-cutaway side. Oh well, if they're noticable, there's not much I can do with it except do better next time.
Anyway, back into it... the glue should have dried by now! :D

[old_picker]

I wouldnt use piezo's on a guitar like that. they sound plastic...
I would go for benedettos or kent armstrongs. the ones that dont screw into the body or maybe charlie christian style.

[Malibu]

I'd recon you'll be right about the piezo's Ray... they're a thought wandering around my mind at the moment, but I'm 99% sure this will be purely acoustic. A long way off to that stage, but thanks for the thought :)

Today's effort:
Finished the sides apart from a little cleaning up and started on the F-holes. Wow, what a job that is!!

[contrebasse]

How are the rib-stiffeners made? Are they necessary? I woulda thought those ribs are plenty strong enough!

hey have you found a use for that little wooden plane yet? :-)

[Malibu]

The sides without the kerfing was a pretty flimsy affair. I used the stiffeners basicaly because the book says to!
After I got it all done, it's solid as a rock. I'm not sure now that the stiffeners were really necessary and I think the reverse kerfing has done all the strengthening.

The plane was a boon! I carved most of the top using it, going on to my 10mm ones for final finishing. The 20mm plane carved big chunks of wood out compared to the half sized ones. I did most of the (rough) carving in 3 days, so it really sped things up! :2tsup:

[JackG]

The stiffeners are not just for the rigidity of the frame, they also are a pretty quick and easy to make insurance in case the guitar is dropped or falls from the stand.

What amazes me in Luthery is how timber is glued long grain/short grain with complete disregard of wood movement :)

[Malibu]

in case the guitar is dropped or falls from the stand.

:oo:
Don't even think such things!!!

:D:D

[Malibu]

A bit more to fill the day in. :)
Finished inside top plate and glueing the back to the ribs... Tomorrow a bit of glue cleaning and a look at glueing the top.

[old_picker]

What made you decide not to use X bracing??

[contrebasse]

He thinks he's making a stereo double bass ... :-)

[Malibu]

What made you decide not to use X bracing??

A good question with a pretty lame answer... it was a choice of one or the other, so basically I picked parallel :)
From what I can gather on the bracing, parallel is stronger on the soundboard and has a louder voice than the X bracing. I'm using Engleman spruce which supposedly suffers a loss when you try and play loud. It's also the 'weakest' structurally of the spruces. I'm thinking the parallel bracing will offset those things.
I don't know if it will all work out in the end, but I'll soon find out I guess! :D

[Malibu]

More again the last couple of days...
The top is on. Took it from the clamping cauls after an overnight dry, held it up and gave it a tap at the bridge point. Was greeted by a nice resounding **booong**! It sounded good to me! :D
I checked the vibration on the back plate and could feel it as I tapped the top. I also layed it on the back, put my hand above one of the F holes and tapped the plate. Could feel the air pressure/sound coming out of the hole :D:D
Routed the binding channel today. I made a dremel router base, but my chuck was playing up on it, so I couldn't trust it. Went to the table router instead and made a guide for it. I think it worked better than the dremel would have in the end.
Also cut and shaped a piece of bone for the tail end of the body and started working on some binding strips :2tsup:

errr... sorry about the focus !

[Jackspira]

Nice set up! Looking good!
Jack

[Malibu]

I'm still not keen on the concept of sticky tape or lacka bands for holding binding in place while glueing, so I came up with this solution. A set of cam clamps around the sides of the guitar to hold the binding in place. A little foam between the clamp and the binding to stop bruising. It seems to work pretty well. :)
Last night I glued strips of 4 slices of veneer and another strip of 3 slices. Pre-bent them seperately this morning and set them to cool. Brushed some glue on the 2 pieces and re-set them to dry. Easy to check the alignment of the binding with the channel, and if it's a bit out, just release the clamp, push the binding in better and lock the clamp again...:2tsup:

[contrebasse]

VERRRY nice cam clamping there!

Don't forget to show us pics of the cams in the cutaway :-)

cheers MT

[Malibu]

Thanks Matthew
As requested, here's the cutaway being clamped... Too tight with individual clamps, so I opted for one shaped piece with two clamps outside where there's more room :D

[contrebasse]

That's really neat! You're lucky you can still fit the ribs inside the mould at this stage. The rib stiffeners must have helped!

[kiwigeo]

I use bias macrame rope (used in photo) or dress makers binding tape to hold my bindings in place while the glue sets...looks messy but it works. Attached pic shows a back roped up after glue up but I use the same procesure for gluding in binding.

[kiwigeo]

I used a home-made bending iron which was great, but I think I made a mistake in soaking the wood for a while before I started the bends. I think it softened the wood too much. I recon it would have been better to do it dry and spray water on as I bent it.

This is the way I hand bend my ribs on an electric iron....I spritz the side of the wood facing the iron with a spray bottle and then apply the wood to the iron. When the wood stops sizzling its getting dry so I spritz it a bit more. Its all a matter of getting in tune with the feel and sound of the wood as it bends..you soon get to recognis when it needs a bit more water sprayed on it.

[Malibu]

Thanks for the tips Martin! :)

I'd thought about using string as well, but a couple of things concerned me...
1) not being able to get the binding in tight against the channel
2) holding the string in place and not slip around the bouts
I see you've fixed that problem with the string guide, a good idea that I might pinch for the next one I build (The next one? Gawd, if I never see another sheet of sandpaper, it'll be too soon!)
For the side bending, I had the best success by squirting a bit of water between the wood and the iron, which hit boiling point instantly and forced its way into the pores of the wood. I think soaking the wood first made it too soft at the back and didn't actually crack, but let the grain open and tear away from the main part. A bit of a greenstick fracture.
I took it reeeeal slow, kept the water up, kept it flat against the iron, bent nice and gingerly... yet it still tore the back out on the first bends I did. The second piece I did dry and applied water as I went, and that was much better...
As they say, live and learn!

Matthew, it's a firm fit! I have to pull the mould apart when I want to get it in and out, but I'm happy that it still fits in because it makes sanding easier.

Tonight, all the bindings are on and I'm tuning the top and back. I wasn't quite sure from the book what the tuning was all about, but once I started I got the general idea of it. Doesn't mean I'm doing it right though!! :rolleyes:
Also ordered a bunch of stuff for the neck/fingerboard etc. Still a way off before I start that, but I like to have everything and ponder over it for a while

[Malibu]

A couple more days to go before I'm back at work, and then things slow down a bit.
Bunches of sanding the last couple of days... and almost had a big time disaster :oo:

For reasons unknown to my thick head, I went with an 'off the shelf' grain filler. Mixed it to a perfect colour match on the maple and applied it (while a voice in my head said "don't do it!"). Got it all sanded back, it looked great until I put the spit coat on and realised that I'd lost about 50% of the figure in the wood. There was just no life in it! :(
Some serious work with a couple of rags and some meths and water got most of the grain filler out, and I'm back to 95% of the figure from before. I think I've lost a little bit, but it's hard to tell... Tip number 1: NEVER use grain filler on figured wood! :((

Anyway, the spit coat is back on and I'm filling the grain the hard way. Everything is together, but haven't routed the neck mortice yet.
I'm real pleased with the way the binding has turned out too :2tsup:

[kiwigeo]

Malibu,

I use the spanish method for my classicals so Im working on a workboard that has slots in it to take both threaded dowels and also serve as anchor points for binding tape or rope. The trick with tape/rope is the roping pattern..see the pic in my last post.

One further tip for ensuring good fit of wooden binding is to put a slight bevel in the lower inward facing edge of the binding. That way if your binding channel isnt quite square theres a better chance of getting a firm fit with your binding.

re grain filling..im just about to do an Indian Rosewood Steel string using Z-poxy. Will post up results of same when its done.

Cheers Martin

[Malibu]

Back at work now, so things have slowed down a bit :(
I started on the neck... lots involved, more than I thought. I managed to botch one up by cutting it too thin, but also had enough wood to make 2 necks (oops, ordered too much!).
The second one is going well so far and still have to attach the headstock ears, headstock (ebony) face and a few minor trims. I'll thickness it during the week once I figure out how to do it on the router!
Three piece laminated with veneer, white/black/white. I counted up the pieces of wood that I used in this neck so far and came up with 26 seperate pieces and there's more to go on to it yet! Amazing!
One it's all done, next onto the fingerboard and try to dream up some inlay designs... :2tsup:

Martin: It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on the Z-poxy and how it effects the grain/figure. I was sorely disappointed with the chemical filler I used. I hope yours is a better success! :D
Keep us informed :)

[kiwigeo]

Hi Malibu,

The Zpoxy grain fill job on the Indian Rosewood back and sides of the steel string got done the other day. It didnt however go exactly to plan but the outcome was a favourable one.

I followed the procedure on Robbie Obrien's finishing DVD but wasnt happy with results so made some modifications to the procedure. Robbies method involves spreading the Zpoxy on neat using a credit card and then sanding the zpoxy back smooth. If bare wood is exposed during the sanding then another coat of zpoxy goes on followed by a third coat diluted 50:50 with alcohol. The aim is to have an intact smooth coat of zpoxy on the wood before the finish goes on.

I had major problems sanding back the zpoxy to a smooth fnish without exposing bare wood. After applying a zpoxy wash coat diluted with alcohol using a paper towel I sanded eveyrything back to bare wood. I reasoned that filling the grain was the aim of the exercise rather than leaving a coat of zpoxy on the wood (in effect a finish). I found that once I'd sanded back to bare wood all over the pores in the wood were nicely filled.

The zpoxy does darken the rosewood markedly and sanding back to bare wood as I did leaves you with the original colour of the wood. Not an issue for me and today I started french polishing and the finish is as smooth as smooth.

Cheers Martin

[kiwigeo]

Martin: It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on the Z-poxy and how it effects the grain/figure. I was sorely disappointed with the chemical filler I used. I hope yours is a better success! :D
Keep us informed :)

Malibu,

Heres the steel string I'm currently working on after a Z poxy grain filling job and 6 body coats of shellac. As noted in earlier post the z poxy was applied and then I sanded back to bare wood.

Cheers Martin

[Jackspira]

that looks great Martin, I see you've got the curve in the back nice and even!
jack

[Malibu]

Looking great Martin!
I like the trim down the centerline of the guitar... it adds a touch of class.:)

I take it that the Z-poxy is water clear? The filler I used was a coloured number that I matched the colour pretty well, but killed the figure at the same time, so I still had a nice grain/colour, but just not the effect of the grain. I'm pretty happy with the u-beaut hard shellac as a filler, but a lot of elbow grease to get the grain filled by that method. If you haven't tried the u-beaut stuff yet, I can recommend it!
It makes sense to sand back to bare wood after a fill with epoxy, because it doesn't make sense to leave it as a base coat. Seems to me to make the french polish redundant!

At the moment, my body work is on hold while I work on the neck.
I manage to get the right thickness for the neck/headstock by putting packers under the right points and running through the drum sander. I need to get Autocad fired up and get some templates/profiles made and doodle with a few headstock shapes. :2tsup:

[old_picker]

mmmm coming along real nice there malibu.
It will be a great guitar. Have you decided on pickups? Amp?

BTW I done binding on a couple of mine so far and found the masking tape ok if you heat the binding up a bit with a hairdryer and bend into the curves first so it hasnt got much pressure to hold on to. Doesn't take too much heat b4 it starts to bend and sag right outa shape so you gots to be easy on that blower. I also tried a heat stripper gun but it was too localised and pretty savage. Dunno whether I would have the patience to cut all them little cams and cauls but its a great project malibu and you are pulling it off pretty damn good.

:2tsup:

[Malibu]

Thanks Ray... No, I'll probably go without pickups. I have an electric (el-cheapo) that I use now without an amp, mainly because I can't be bothered hooking up, hence the acoustic.
Besides, the dog howls with fear everytime that 90W amp thumps into life! :D

I haven't given up on sticky tape... I just couldn't get the hang of 7 pieces of veneer, glue and sticky tape all together! I thought there might have been a better way for me to handle, but I like Martin's way with the twine. I might give that a go on the next one ( :oo: ???!!)
Were you using plastic binding, or wood veneer with the hairdryer? I contemplated bending with my heatshrink gun, but opted for the bending iron and a light spray of water.

[kiwigeo]

I take it that the Z-poxy is water clear?

It makes sense to sand back to bare wood after a fill with epoxy, because it doesn't make sense to leave it as a base coat. Seems to me to make the french polish redundant!



Yes Z-poxy is clear.

I sand back to wood mainly because I was having problems getting a level ridge free layer of zpoxy on the guitar. Z poxy can in fact be used as a finish if a few coats are applied and then sanded lightly to get a smooth finish. Leaving a coat of Z poxy on the instrument also pops the grain and can markedly darken down the colour if that is desired.

[Malibu]

More work on the neck the last few days... :)
Queensland maple veneer on the back of the head stock, ebony on the front. I've got the truss rod in, ready for the fingerboard to go on and trimmed, then shaped. The binding is done on the head stock and the fingerboard.
I did my first piece of inlay yesterday/today... here's the result, and I'm pretty happy with it :2tsup:

When I took the router bits out of the packet, I thought how small 1.25mm bits looked. Until I got it in the Dremel and lined up to do the routing... then they looked about the size of a canon!! :oo:

There's still a bit of white marker paint to pick out, but that's a job for later...

[kiwigeo]

Great work on the inlay there Malibu. Where did you get the Dremel bits from? Are they special inlay bits from LMI/Stewmac?

If youve got some it'd be nice to see some pics of the inlay actually going in.

Cheers Martin

[Malibu]

Thanks Martin
The bits are called "carbide rotary files" (I think!) and I picked up 50 x .0937" and 10 x .0492" from e-bay in America for (US)30 bucks delivered. They work a treat and are cheap as chips! Originaly used for drilling/routing fibreglass for printed circuit boards on CNC machinary, they go through timber like butter :D
I'd like to pick up some smaller ones for the sharp corners when I see them again.
Sorry, I don't have any pics of the process, but I'm going to do the tail piece soon so I'll remember to get a step-by-step photo session happening and maybe post them in a new thread (if any one would like to read about it.. I'm a looong way from being an expert!! :rolleyes: )

[Malibu]

Only a bit of work on the neck lately.
The fingerboard is glued on and the binding is complete. I cut the excess off the sides of the neck tonight with a coping saw and did the 12th fret inlay, this time glued in with epoxy mixed with ebony dust. It's curing now and I'll see how it turns out after some dinner and a bit of a relax :D
During the week I made up a fret bending jig out of aluminium and some unbrako's. Two fixed runners with a slotted runner above, mounted on a swing arm, to take the fret wire. There's a thread to push the swing arm down and force the fret wire to bend as I push it through the runners. It seems to work pretty well, and makes a nice smooth radius in the fret wire :2tsup:
After all the hours on this project, I've managed to get through without losing any blood until tonight when the scroll saw decided to attack for no good reason! Those blades may be small, but those teeth are gnarly!:oo:
Next job? Shape the neck and smooth it all off...

[contrebasse]

Gee Malibu, you're firing on all cylinders! Haven't you got kids or a wife or something to keep you busy? I come home, pick up my scroll and put it down again. then make dinner for the kids then clean the bath then ... AAAAAAAAARGH!

[Malibu]

Naaaah, no kids, no mrs... but I've got a sick dog; does that count? :(

[old_picker]

Is that the stewmac fret bender in the pic above??

[Malibu]

It's not a stewmac bender (I didn't even know they had one until I looked just now!).
Mine's similar, but it's just a home-made job based on a picture I saw on internet somewhere. The stewmac one looks pretty nifty with bearings and a handle. Mine's only drilled out aluminium rollers and I just push the wire through by hand.
Here's a photo of the back

[old_picker]

i almost bought fret bender from stewmac in today's order but dang it US$98 is pretttyu steep for what it is so i reckon i can build one like yours....

[Malibu]

hehe...
I thought the same thing about the price. It's probably worth it if you do heaps of fret bending, but for me, this one does fine :D
I was thinking some slugs from a 25mm hole saw through wood will probably do just as well as the aluminium

[zenobia]

Hey, I was thinking about buying the fret wire bender. But I did not have the patience to wait so I thought about it and decided to make one.
This not wholly my idea as I saw something similar somewhere on the net.
I tried different sizes but found you need a tightish curve to account for spring back.
First I cut out an accurate 6inch circle from 3/4 ply. Next I took the dremal with a base and cut a slot all the way around the centre of the edge using a fine grinding wheel that came with the kit. Bit of smoke but it worked. It is wide enought for the tang of the fret wire.
To bend the wire i simply insert the tang and hold it in the slot and roll the disk across the bench top and the wire comes out nicely curved to fit my 12 inch radius fret boards.
Simple.
Dom

[Malibu]

Yeehaaa!
I couldn't resist this photo session! :D
I spent the morning cutting the mortice for the neck joint... 1/4mm at a time, finaly I got to the right size, a test fit and in went the neck...
Ta-dah! A guitar is born! :2tsup::D

[Jackspira]

Thats looking really good Malibu! It sure is a good moment sticking the two bit together!
Jack

[kiwigeo]

Yeehaaa!

I spent the morning cutting the mortice for the neck joint... 1/4mm at a time, finaly I got to the right size, a test fit and in went the neck...
Ta-dah! A guitar is born! :2tsup::D

Ya spent only a morning on the neck joint??? Talk about beginners luck!! :((

Took me about 3 days to get my first dovetail M and T joint to fit properly.

[Malibu]

... to fit properly.

Well... I'm still working on that part of it! :-

[myguitar]

Malibu,

I like your approach to crafting.

You are following the book, and also implementing your own
research to compensate for what may or may not happen.

:2tsup: Cutting edge Luthery. You could be the next big name in
Archtops.

Enjoy your process.

Fiona :p

[Malibu]

:2tsup: Cutting edge Luthery. You could be the next big name in
Archtops.

Enjoy your process.


Thanks Fiona, I am definately enjoying it!
I doubt I'm ready to make a big dent in the guitar building world, but I'd be happy enough to be a big name in my own workshop :)
It's funny that you mention cutting edge, because I was thinking tonight while doing final shaping on the neck how much it probably hasn't changed over the years (including violins etc). The tools we use are quicker, but the process would remain the same.
Just one of the idle thoughts that clutter my head from time-to-time :wink:

[old_picker]

You'll find not many makin true archtops for selling.
So much time you coulld never make money off them unless you charged $10k
prolly about what benedetto would get.

I remember aksing stewie male years ago about making carve top guitars even like a LP and he said no way....he was making enough outa fender copies and repairs not to bother with all that extra work carving tops.....but that was when strat was king in the 80's early 90's

he made some great guitars that guy specially tele's

maybe you'll make more malibu...:2tsup:
maybe you will make a name and sell high dollar archtops

the one you are doin now looks great...
i would love to play it when your done.....

[Malibu]

i would love to play it when your done.....

You're on! (Although, it might be a little while yet!)

If I was making archtops for a living, I'd have to either radicaly change construction styles (ie: CNC roughing out) or, charge horrendous prices which would price myself out of business.
I think it's an instrument for a specific music style (ie: jazz and/or big band) so limits the market in a big way. For me, I just wanted to build one even though I'm far short of being an average player.

[Malibu]

Just for an indication of price for a Benedetto original...
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BENEDETTO-MANHATTAN-WORLDS-FINEST-JAZZ-GUITAR-RARE-HOT_W0QQitemZ330084463214QQihZ014QQcategoryZ2384QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Malibu]

More work in the past week, and the result is a nearly finished neck (mainly just the FP to go, once it's glued on) ...
Shaped to no particular gauge, but until it felt good. The frets are in, trimmed and leveled, but not polished yet. The nut is on, but needs final shaping once I string it up and check gaps. The tuning keys are in place, but not fixed yet.
I'm thinking of a little bit of binding around the bottom of the heel to continue the body binding, but I'm not too sure yet. I'll ponder over that one later.
I started the bridge today and it's going well so far, but there's a bit in it... that's a job for during the week. One thing I learned with ebony; take your time!
I put a couple of fishing line guides between the tail and into the tuning keys to check distances etc. Once I got a bit of tension on the lines, I had a nice guitar sound (very weak) and could feel a bit of vibration in the top plate. Pretty happy about that! :2tsup:

[bricks]

Where do you get your fret wire from?
PS looks good

[JackG]

Absolutely fantastic Malibu, your craftmanship is second to none.

You are almost there, I hope you post some nice detail pics when it is done.

[Malibu]

Slowing down a bit now.
I've made the bridge from ebony and bone, but I think it's a bit 'clunky' looking, so I'll ponder over the design and see what I can come up with. The bone slips into a rebate in the ebony and to adjust the height of the bridge I'll slip some veneer under the bone. Not sure if it will work, but I'll find out soon enough :)

The neck is all fretted up, shaped nicely and glued on.

I fitted strings a couple of weeks ago (oooh, sounded gooooood!) but getting it up near pitch the tension broke the (nylon) tail strap and I got tangled in a web of strings as the tail flew past me :( I have a new one on order from Stewmac, along with some nut files so in the interim, I started the french polish on the outside. Only concentrating on the back, neck and sides for now until I get the strings fitted again and hear what the tone is like. I might have to do some more tuning on the top. :rolleyes:

While I was at work today, I had a visit from a mouse with a taste for Queensland Maple (or maybe shellac) and took a nibble out of the head stock veneer :((
The most chewed part can be hidden under one of the tuners, but there's a couple of scrape marks across the veneer. I'll have to sand that back and start the head stock back again :((:((
That's gonna be one sorry mouse!

[kiwigeo]

While I was at work today, I had a visit from a mouse with a taste for Queensland Maple (or maybe shellac) and took a nibble out of the head stock veneer :((


Probably the shellac..its actually registered as a food product by the FDA in the US.

The guitar is looking good. Flying bridges and tail pieces a common occurance during string up, its one reason I always stand at the bum end of a guitar when Im stringing it up for the first time.

[old_picker]

Lookin fine there malibu
You be playing it soon :):):)

[Malibu]

You're probably right about it being the shellac Martin. I'm just glad he stopped at the headstock and left the body alone!
It's interesting that shellac is registered as a food product... although, I could think of tastier things to eat! :wink:
Anyway, my stuff arrived from Stewmac last night so I refitted the tail strap and strung it up to pitch.
~WOW~! :D
I was pretty darned happy with the result after all the work! :2tsup:
I strummed for most of the night (this time with no flying bridge/tail!) to get the feel of it and ended up with sore fingers because the action is way too high. I spent the morning with the nut files getting it down to a playable string height at the nut, and next will be the saddle height and then truss rod adjusting.
So far, it has good bass projection and a great open string sound but I think the higher notes are a little thin. I've left the top unfinished because I purposely made it a bit thick until I could hear the tone. I can still sand a bit more out of it until I get good sustain from the fretted strings. I'll do a bit more reading and thinking before I tackle it.
So far, so good... I'm pleased with the (almost) finished product, but there's still a lot to go! :)

[kiwigeo]

Malibu,

Haven't seen any posts of late from you on the archtop. Whats the latest?

Cheers Martin

[Malibu]

Ahh, still plodding away on it :)
Doing the finish with the french polish at the moment... lots of hours spent on it, but not a great deal to show! The 'frustration factor' almost got to me and I even went as far as going to buy an air-brush to do the finish. At the last minute, standing at the counter with the airbrush in my hand, I had a lucid moment that said keep going with the FP'ing. So I did, and I'm starting to get the better of it :D
I spent a while trying to get a good tone/sustain from the top plate. Mostly, I'd string it, play a bit, take it all apart, sand a bit more, re-string it, etc etc... A lot of time gone into that, but I think I've got it now. There's a couple of notes around 10th/11th fret that sounded a little dull to me, but it might also just be my playing style (or lack of it!) so I'll play it for a while and make a judgement further down the track.
I also thought I heard a little fret buzz the other night so I'm in the process of designing a 'fret buzz meter' to see what the go is with that.
I'll post details if anyone is interested in it :2tsup:
At the moment, I'm waiting on some ebony for a scratch plate/finger rest and also a pre-made ebony bridge. I'm still not 100% happy with my home-made bridge, so I thought I'd try a new one, and they should arrive Thursday, or Friday...
The next project wandering around in my mind is a case to put it all in... early design ideas at the moment, and I might set that one for an Easter project :D

For now, I'm off for the french polish torment again!!

An interesting observation I've had on this guitar since it's been reasonably playable... I'd slackened off for a loooong time on my electric, and have now started playing more often and I enjoy playing more. The archtop feels more comfortable and it's very much 'player friendly' compared to the electric. Maybe it's a bit of bias, but it's great to play again! :D

I've been keeping an eye on the goings on in your workshop, Martin... You seem to have hit top speed and are getting mountain-loads of work done!
It's looking good too! :2tsup:

[Malibu]

Just a quick picture of the progress to date...
It's strung up, but there's still lots to go on the french polish part of the project. The ebony and the bridge arrived today so that'll be a weekend job to do the finger rest :)

So far, I like it... (But I'm biased! :wink: ) :2tsup:

[gratay]

Malibu...thats really scrubbing up a treat....and it sounds like your happy with the results which is something to be proud of.
I am interested in what the "fret buzz meter" actually is...? If their not those things stuck on the side of your head.

[Malibu]

The things on the side of my head I've learned are not to be completely trusted :-
The idea I've got is to use the strings that 'buzz' on the frets (if they do at all!) as a switch to trigger a pulse lengthening circuit. Basically, it will take a fast pulse (like something as short as a single touch of a string on a fret) and lengthen it to turn on a light for maybe half a second, so I can easily see that there's a fret problem.
I'm not even sure that I heard any fret buzz and it could be that I'm chasing a 'sour' note or something (maybe it's imagination)... this will at least confirm fret buzz or not :)
I'll drag out the old electronics bits and pieces over the weekend and see what I can rustle up. If it works, I'll post the details and it might help someone else :D

[contrebasse]

hey that's looking great - makes me want to pick it up and play!

You'll be a great french polisher after this. I'll be after some tips ...

[kiwigeo]

Malibu, if that guitar was a woman I'd marry it!! A very fine looking instrument indeed.

[kiwigeo]

So far, I like it... (But I'm biased! :wink: ) :2tsup:

The toughest critic of an instrument is the person who built it. If you love it then it must be an exceptional instrument.

[Malibu]

if that guitar was a woman I'd marry it!!

Crikes, I nearly fell of the chair when I saw that one!! Loved it! :D
(Sorry mate, but she's already spoken for... :wink: )
Thanks guys, it's all much appreciated :)

Gatay: I'd guess that we're all pretty proud (and rightly so, too) of our instruments... There's no exception from my view of mine either! :)

CB: I'm not sure about me teaching you guys about any french polishing... You 'lot' have steered me in it so far, there's probably not much more I can add to it all!
I do have one problem in the finishing of it though... I'm reluctant to take it all apart because I'm too busy playing it! :-
I'll reserve a couple of hours playing time if you make it down to my neck of the woods...

KG: It sounds like a bit of wisdom speaking there in that being the hardest critic is our own self. Absolutely right too!
Isn't that what drives us to make it 'better' next time? :)

[Malibu]

It's been a bit slow lately because of other things that take a priority, but with a week off over easter, I thought it's a good time to get the finish 'finished'...
Unfortunately, more french polish woes!
I bought some micro-mesh (Great stuff!!) and started the final finishing on the FP, but as I was sanding, I could see the shellac layers below coming through as the top layer sanded thin. It looked like a slightly rough blemish in the surface. From my understanding of FP, it's all becomes one layer as each new layer is amalgamated with the previous ones, so there shouldn't be anything to be seen of earlier layers. I couldn't get the layers to merge by sanding, so there was only one thing for it.. strip the back and start again!
I stripped the shellac with a good dose of meths and found that the u-beaut shellac had hardened so much that the meths had a dfficult in time melting it. From that, I think I must have left the FP sessions too long between coats and the 'new' layer didn't have enough bite to merge with the old layers... Good stuff that u-beaut shellac, just my inability to use it!
Anyway, it also gave me a chance to look deeper into the chemical grain filler I'd used previously. I set my old printers sight glass to check out the grain and found heaps left behind (there's a couple of dodgy pictures of it). With a combination of sanding, scrubbing with a toothbrush and lashings of meths/water, I got a lot more out. I'm happy to say that the Queensland maple figure is a lot more 'vibrant' now.
I'm now up to re-doing the FP, but this time, it'll be a daily job and should be ready for final finishing before I get back to work...
One more lesson learned! :2tsup: