#1
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Build 3 Spruce and Chechen and Some Things I've Learned
Well I'm well into build 3. This time it is a spruce top with Chechen back and sides. I also discovered the wood is called "black poison wood"! Which I wish I would have known earlier ha.
The rosette is bubinga which matches the Chechen very well w BWB purlfing on the inside and out. As of now the box is closed w the top being 25' rad and the back 15' done up on the dishes I purchased before the first build. The binding will be a cream coloured plastic w BWB purlfing on the back and top. Hopefully I'll be able to bind the fretboard and headstock w the same material Fingerboard is rosewood 16deg radius. Now... some things I've learned 1- don't make haste, and if I must.... then I make haste slowly. It's ok to sleep on a puzzle. 2- enjoy the process and realize there will be another time. Learn from mistakes and don't become paralyzed after making them. Fox as best I can and move on. 3- when I build ... even if I just have a few hours... be quiet. Some won't understand this, but after some real tragedy over the past 5 years I wake up calm after an evening of building. Hard to explain. 4- I don't have to have every gadget NOW. Wait and see what I really need. Learn to build jigs and have patience as the first 2 never work haha. 5- respect those who have been doing it a long while. Nothing irritates an expert more than a noob who has the answers already. And 6- keep moving. For me... I learn by doing. Some can read and go strait way and handle a task but that's not me. Finish a box and while it's being glued up start something else. Anyway.... I'll continue build pics here for this one Peace Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
#2
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Roughed out fingerboard... will need to cut to width if I bind. Last name is Snow thus the S at the termination
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#3
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Looks nice.
It would be nice to pick up the red in the end strip and incorporate it in the binding/purfling scheme. One of the nice things about using wood and making your own binding/purfling is the ability to do that sort of thing. |
#4
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I do agree. Actually though that end wedge is one of my "wish I had done it differently" things as it is end grain and I'm afraid it will split up if drilled for a pin. I DO have another strip of it though and I was considering using it in the headstock. I feel that if I don't use it elsewhere it will be sort of an orphaned design. I'm learning that 2 or 3 design elements is enough and a theme throughout is better than a dozen frills haha Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
#5
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Btw. Tonight I'll be working I using royal lac on some scrap sides to get the process down as much as possible I'm planning a wiped on / French polish w it for this one as I can easily work in the room my wife has donated haha
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#6
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Quote:
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I'd probably fill the surface of the end-grain end strip with CA glue or epoxy to fill the open pores, preparing it for a level finish. Flooding it with CA glue would probably also be extra insurance when drilling it for an end pin: it'll make the end grain harder/stronger. |
#7
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Thanks for the heads up! Will make it a point to do that. If you learn anything about the royal lac send me a message. A lot of people like it. I'm looking forward to using it
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#8
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Looking good.
I agree that keeping forward momentum is important. But so is watching the seasons and using the natural cycle to your advantage rather than fighting it. My constraint is humidity control in soupy South Carolina. Even with a dehumidifier - its too wet for bracing in the spring/summer. I have to wait till the heat is on/cold outside to really run the humidity down so I don't have cracks and sucked inside out plates. So for example - I can build rims, joint tops and backs, install rosettes, carve necks, make bridges, do final assembly, and finish guitars.... But I can't brace plates or close boxes unless its below 35% relative humidity.... |
#9
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I'm all good w humidity since I'm able to control a room where I store the wood and do glue up but yes I agree w watching seasons
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#10
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Also, this build's looking good so far!! David |
#11
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As you can see, I don't post much but I'm currently building my 2nd guitar and I get motivation from these builds and the other amateur builders on here - great work.
And that top has a lot of silking - what kind of spruce is it? |
#12
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Just a AA Sitka from stewmac: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
#13
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Excited !
Binding and purfling Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
#14
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"It's ok to sleep on a puzzle."
Those are words to live by as a guitar builder. Every time a situation comes up where the path forward is unclear or my first ideas for fixing a problem don't feel quite right, I walk away and let it roll around in the back of my mind, even until the next day if needed. Most every time, that results in looking at a problem in a different way or noticing something I had missed before that was the cause of a problem, which leads to a good solution. |
#15
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Binding and purfling scraped down to flat and flush.
The only issue I had was getting the top down view of the binding exactly uniform. I eventually figured out it was how I was holding my scraper, and that if I tilted it away from the middle of the guitar while scraping down the sides it made the top edge thinner and made the whole section look out of whack. I got it pretty close though lesson learned. Now.... how to go about rounding that front edge so it isn't a 90degree angle poking me in the ribs...? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |