Contemplating a sound port or two on my classical

[Scallywag]

Originally Posted by fitness1

The single port in my C9 is more than enough - I play with the neck up in a "very close to classical" position (footstool) and it works great on the cure of the upper bass bout.

Interesting thing is it took some of the boominess out of the "out front" voice and made it easier to record with.


Here's what it looks like and how I did it, in case you haven't seen some of my previous threads....

I've got this 10" long, 3/4" diameter steel rod that is an accessory for one of my fitness machines. I wrapped it and taped it with fine grade sandpaper, taped off the side of the upper bout (leaving a "slot" open as a guide for where I wanted the port so it was perfectly centered) and started sanding, using the bar the long way. Because of the arc of the upper bout, it would leave a perfect, oblong port (which is what I had in mind all along....reasoning that long and narrow, top to bottom, would disperse sound to both ears more than a more round port.

I waited until I got through the wood, checking every so often to make sure I was still "straight" and hadn't gone off line, then I used an Xacto nife to get some more of the rosewood removed and started using needle files and sandpaper to get it the rest of the way.

By doing it this way, it left an oval in the finish and I just used that as a place to sand and file to. Still have a tiny bit of work to do, but it will have to be another day. Not too worried about cracking because the wood wasn't traumatized by power tools.

Such a clever solution... I'll try this method the next time I put in a soundport. Hats off to ingenuity!

[redir]

Wow that is very clever ScallyWag. Well executed and it really has a natural look to it. I would still recommend adding some reinforcement on the inside and definitely you want to finish the end grain if you had not.

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by redir

Wow that is very clever ScallyWag. Well executed and it really has a natural look to it. I would still recommend adding some reinforcement on the inside and definitely you want to finish the end grain if you had not.

That was actually my doing, and yes, I simply use some Lizard spit fingerboard conditioner to keep the exposed wood moist and supple.
I'm also religious about humidifying.

[redir]

Originally Posted by fitness1

That was actually my doing, and yes, I simply use some Lizard spit fingerboard conditioner to keep the exposed wood moist and supple.
I'm also religious about humidifying.

Oh right got the posts mixed up. But anyway, yes the end grain is where all the moisture will get into the wood so it's good to protect it.

[k_russell]

Originally Posted by fitness1

I've been known to just roll up a sock and stuff them in mine - the difference is pretty incredible

I should have thought of that!