Thread: Kinkead guitar help please

I'm no expert at acoustic building having only built one, but I don't understand why there would be an angle on the soundboard side of the neck block. The soundboard should have a slight curve on it but that should only be in the middle, starting around the soundhole looking from the neck side. That's what I did with mine. My soundboard bracing dish is flat around the fretboard area.

Bear in mind that you'll probably need the cut the neck block at an angle to get the correct string height to the bridge. That may offset any curve there may be under the fretboard. I actually had an issue with mine where the string angle to the bridge was reasonably high which meant I needed to bend the fretboard downward onto the soundboard when I glued it on. It has "fall away" on the 15th fret and higher, meaning the fretboard curves downward compared to the strings. Maybe that's what your plans are compensating for?

I have made 7 so far so am not an “expert” but did startusing the same book. You should be finewith 100mm. Don’t forget to subtract thethickness of the top and back when you measure the width of the sides. You only need 100 width at the tailblock.

The top is domed to a radius of 15ft so the headblock andtailblock do have a small angle on them where the top glues on to fit theradius. The thing you should be mostconcerned about is the angle of the neck. The front part of the top needs to be angled to the headblock at thesame angle as the neck (1.5deg) so the fingerboard will be flat. I made up a curved piece of MDF with a 15ftradius to get the angles right. It goesthe whole length of the guitar. I makethe sides and blocks slightly oversize, glue them up and then plane the angleswith a block plane to fit the piece of MDF. You will need to arch all the braces to the 15ft radius. One again I made another arched piece of MDFto this radius and fit the braces to this arch. You can work out the dimensions with a bit of high schooltrigonometry. When you arch the crossbrace in front of the soundhole, leave the centre section that goes under thefingerboard flat. It might still beslightly arched when everything is glued up together, but you can flatten itwith a finely set blockplane and sandpaper.

I would forget about a dovetail neck joint. A bolt on but joint is the easiest and thereis nothing wrong with this sort of join. I glue an 8mm dowel vertically through the neck heel so the screw ininserts are not going into endgrain. Iuse the bolt on inserts supplied by LMI. I do use a dovetail neck join in my mandolins, but it is rare for amandolin neck to ever need to come off. Not so with guitars. With a bolt on neck itis a 10min job to unglue the fingerboard, undo the bolts and it is off. So, bolt on necks have a significantadvantage in guitars.

Route the truss rod slot before you attach the neck. If fact route it before you shape the neckso you are working with a rectangular piece of wood. It is then a piece of cake to do it on therouter table. You don’t have to doeverything the way he does it in the book. That is one glaring thing in the book that did not make any sense to me. Life was meant to easier than that.

Hope that helps.
Peter

Richard,

You say youre building a flat top but youre following Kinkead's book? Kinkead's book instructs on building an instrument with a domed top. This is why the top of the neck and butt blocks are beveled. If you're going flat top then the negative rake required on a steel string will mean that the fretboard is going to have a hump where the neck meets the body of the guitar. One way to reduce this would be to insert a wedge under the fretboard where it crosses the upper bout.

If this is your first build then I'd reccommend following Kinkead's book closely rather than incorporating building methods from different books...youre going to end up confused and frustrated.

Cheers Martin

Hi Folks

Thanks for the replies.

The Kinkead book gives the option of a flat or domed soundboard, at least in the text if not in the diagrams and plans - I figured when I started this that I'd opt for the simplest approach which I thought was a flat soundboard. As I haven't glued up the soundboard braces yet, that can still be changed (although I'll have to re-make the braces with a curve) and as it sounds like the slight dome will alter the intersect of the fingerboard, that might be best. It explains the angle on the top of the blocks anyway - thanks.

I haven't made a go-bar press and was hoping to avoid doing so by keeping the soundboard flat and clamping the back with cam clamps. That may be a false economy and perhaps spending a few hours making the press will save more hours in the long run - what do you think?

With regard to sticking to one book, I agree that would be ideal. On the other hand, the flexibility of a removable joint and the ability to make the neck separately seems to be a big advantage - If I stuff the neck up, I can have another go without wrecking the body.

I guess its like anything, the first one takes a bit of working out. The second (if there is a second, I was only really intending to make 1 for my daughter, but you never know) will be a lot more straightforard! Its a lot easier to be shown that to work it out from a book too. And I thought a harp was tricky!!

Mandoman, what do you glue the fingerboard to the soundboard with so it is removable? Hide glue?

Thanks for the help, it'll save me wasting a lot of expensive wood.

Cheers
Richard

I would strongly recommend you use a domed top and back. The dome is there to prevent splitting. When the humidity drops the dome flattens outand it does not split. If completelyflat, it has nowhere to go but to split. I glue on the fingerboard with Titebond. Heat the fingerboard, get a knifeunder and it comes off easy. Just don’tuse gobs of Titebond, a light coat is sufficient.

Originally Posted by mandoman

I would strongly recommend you use a domed top and back. The dome is there to prevent splitting. When the humidity drops the dome flattens outand it does not split. If completelyflat, it has nowhere to go but to split. I glue on the fingerboard with Titebond. Heat the fingerboard, get a knifeunder and it comes off easy. Just don’tuse gobs of Titebond, a light coat is sufficient.

That is a good point I hadn't thought of. Looks like a domed soundboard is essential then. Drat. I'll have to get some more spruce for the braces. Not so easy in NZ!

I have been using Titebond 3, I probably should get some Titebond 1 as I think 3 is a bit harder to shift with heat and it's waterproof.

Have you tried making a domed top/bottom without a go-bar set-up?

Cheers
Richard

Originally Posted by RichardL

That is a good point I hadn't thought of. Looks like a domed soundboard is essential then. Drat. I'll have to get some more spruce for the braces. Not so easy in NZ!

I have been using Titebond 3, I probably should get some Titebond 1 as I think 3 is a bit harder to shift with heat and it's waterproof.

Have you tried making a domed top/bottom without a go-bar set-up?

Cheers
Richard

A go bar deck isn't essential for building a domed top acoustic. What makes the job alot easier is a radiused dish. They can be used for gluing in braces as well as sanding the bottom of the braces and the sides of the guitar prior to gluing on the top/back. Its possible to use cam clamps that have deep enough throats on a radiused dish but for gluing in braces the go bar deck is alot more convenient. For gluing on backs/tops I tend to use the radiused dish as a caul and clamp using cam clamps. The alternative to raduised dishes is radiused bars. They work but theyre never going to be as convenient as dishes.

Re glues. Titebond I is your best bet. Like you say it's harder to undo a joint done with Titebond III and a water proof joint isn't really a priority unless you intend going sailing in your guitar. I use either Titebond I, LMI white glue or hide glue on my classicals and steel strings.

Cheers Martin

Yep, use original Titebond, not Titebond III and not Titebond II. LMI white glue and hide glue are also good. Titebond II is however, useful for gluing up purphlings before you glue them to the guitar. It won't let go under heat and moisture so you can heat up wooden bindings without the purphlins delaminating.

A go bar deck is easy to make. Some people go to a lot of trouble making a go bar deck, but all you really need are two pieces of 12mm plywood for the top and bottom and 4 pieces of wood to hold it together. I bit of bracing on the top and bottom is a good idea. The bars can be made from strips of wood or dowel. That is all I have and I knocked it up in around 1/2 hr. It is so useful it is well worth the effort.

Hi All

OK, I'll get some Titebond 1.

I have seen sanding sticks and clamping cauls. Maybe thats another approach I could take rather than a radiused dish I'll possibly only use once. I'll have a think about it!

I just planed my Queensland maple neck. It turns out it has a mix of sap wood and heart. I'm told that the density and stability is similar for sap and heart so I'll just end up with a 2-tone neck.

Thanks

Richard

Just to finish my own thread from some time ago, I did make the guitar and would like to make another. It turned out ok, sounds good (IMHO) although there are plenty of mistakes I could improve on. Main learning from the exercise...make decent jigs up-front as it saves a lot of heartache later on!! Thanks to lots of folk who helped me out with advice.
Cheers
RichardL