Thread: Acoustic build no 1

Thanks for posting progress of this project. I am enjoying watching it!

Thankyou Firewalker

Great progress there Rob.

Time for me to get onto my first build now that other projects are sorted. Your pictures are definitely very motivating.

Thank's Steve, I Had a bit of a back log of photo's, the first shot's of sawing the soundboards were taken 9th june ,so it's been 3 months, mainly working on it after work hours , the last pictures of the kerfing and brace splitting were taken last Saturday, so the pictures are now up to date, It takes some time for no one , because for every step there is a jig or something to be made, it's been rewarding though,
cheers Rob

The first picture is the making of the go bar press, I used some MDF which had a bit of a bend in it and pressed the bend out while the glue set with this solid piece of oak taken from a tree a few weeks back, so its wet and really heavy.

Most of the burn marks came out with the help of this curved scraper then 120 grit paper , the mould is a great help for more than just holding a shape while it cools

Pegs straight out of the packet with rubber bands would not seat the kerfing well,best result was found by throwing the springs and putting in 12.5 mm dowel

Planing the sides with the side tapering jig then sanding

Getting the hide glue set up.
A great trick another cabinet maker showed me was to pour the glue in to a sauce bottle , before I put the glue in I melt the nozzle over shut with a lighter ,then with a hot pin make a small hole , keep it in a pot of hot water, it works well exept for when it is first tipped up , the air at the back of the bottle expands and squirts out a bit of glue back in to the glue pot then it's ready to go. much neater than a brush or knife.

cheers Rob

Rob, Great looking guitar you've got underway, can't wait to see it completed. I'd sure love to have your shop, can't help but drool over those fine hand tools I saw in the pics. Hope you'll have more pics of the guitar soon.Mike

Hi Mike good to hear from you,I used some nice tools doing the neck joint

First pic is sawing the head block for the bolt on neck,I clamped a piece of wood to the fence to stop any lifting of the block and made the push stick on the left, a nice long one, table saws kick like a horse

A sled jig that we cut big tennons with and little ones like this

The head block got its angles using this moore and wright bevel protractor , and the two miter planes behind plus a stanley low angle block plane

Trimming the tennon so the thin add on's can be glued

Neck fitted to head block, I hope it works well when it comes time to fitt up

cheers Rob

Your first photo and comment concerns me significantly Rob since I look at your workshop photos, the tools and surrounds and see great deal of experience. I then think to my shed and realise that I would have grabbed that head block and run it through the saw by hand, probably with my pissy little plastic push stick to hold it down, without a concern in the world. Certainly never even considering locking it down to the table with a block attached to the fence and a 3 foot long push stick to match.

I've only been using the table saw for about 18 months now and I have had a couple of very small offcuts catch on the saw blade when I forget the zero clearance insert, but they have always ended up inside the cabinet with a lot of noise.

Hopefully your photo has me sufficiently forewarned.

This is great seeing all the progress! cannot wait to watch you finish

Thanks tianakaesha and Steve,

Steve your last post here was good to read, the way I look at the table saw is not "If it ever kicks back" but the "the next time it kicks back" smaller blocks like this increase the risk, they can jam and explode back at you way to easy,
longer boards and sticks also, any one who gets into a habit of reaching over the line of the blade before above or especially after to pull timber out may as well look at the fingers on that hand as a temporary fixture.

I have a pull down guard installed above the blade ,but in the last two pictures on the table saw it could not be used, or would not have done the job on the neck block as good as the board and push stick, and then standing out of the line of fire as well.

look forward to seeing your bending

cheers Rob

First pic is a 67 peg, hide glue, glue up, each 150 mm strip of kerf was held over the glue pot,the glue bottle held to it ,the glue ran down till it dripped of the end, a wipe with the finger,then rubbed and pegged.

Next is the grind on the stanley 113 blade for the masonite dish

Four depth holes at 1.8 2.7 3 and 2.5 mm

The staley 113 compass plane doing what it does best. A tool not needed very often,but when I do use it ,oh I love it, and the masonite works like butter.

Pic five ,almost at the marks , in the front mark I went to deep with the router ,so had to fill it after.

Pic six , I made up templates like the book said to guide me,when close I added some 120 grit sand paper to finalize the curve

Pic seven, the split and machined back braces ready to curve and fitt

cheers Rob

Pic one and two are planing the curves on the
shooting board with a spiers wedged miter plane,
the green felt pad in the top of pic one is a pad
covered with felt with parafin oil soaked in,better
than a candle, good for wiping the cast iron top
of a machine too.

Pic three I held a bit of sand paper at the brace
location and stroked, it came up a bit closer,it
also showed well where the brace was out a little.

Pic four, the heater is going ,steam rising from
the glue pot, the first brace is glued in, Django Reindhardt
is going for his life on the radio accompanied with violin, ha ha

Next two pics I turned off the fluorescent lights
and turned on two incandescent bulbs, that
finished off Saturdays work,it will come out of
the press Monday morning,I'm now into the really interesting bits.

cheers Rob

Originally Posted by auscab

Pic one and two are planing the curves on the
shooting board with a spiers wedged miter plane,
the green felt pad in the top of pic one is a pad
covered with felt with parafin oil soaked in,better
than a candle, good for wiping the cast iron top
of a machine too.

Pic three I held a bit of sand paper at the brace
location and stroked, it came up a bit closer,it
also showed well where the brace was out a little.

Pic four, the heater is going ,steam rising from
the glue pot, the first brace is glued in, Django Reindhardt
is going for his life on the radio accompanied with violin, ha ha

Next two pics I turned off the fluorescent lights
and turned on two incandescent bulbs, that
finished off Saturdays work,it will come out of
the press Monday morning,I'm now into the really interesting bits.

cheers Rob

Rob,
great to see the build in detail with pictures...especially when the compass and infill planes get a work-out
Regards,
Peter

Hi Peter, what fun,its not very often I want to go back to work on a Sunday