Hello from Caulfield Composites

[KarenB]

How's it going, Simon? I went to your website, but it's under construction.

[Simon@Caulfield]

Hi Guys!

Apologies! I didn't get any notifications about your replies to the thread!

I have been incredibly busy this last few weeks, but am still making great progress. I've taken on some staff and have had some construction work ongoing in the workshop; plus a few other exciting projects.

My website is getting a complete overhaul from the back end; and will make it a lot easier for me to manage and update regularly. I have also been setting up product configurators for my acessories than im hoping I can also then utilise for the guitars.

Thanks for your patience. Rest assured, my number one priority is to get guitars made and out into the world!

Simon

[new2guitar_eh]

Sure would be nice to see an update!

[Simon@Caulfield]

Working on it. Lots of tiny improvements, and some drastic changes behind the scenes. Several Guitars in the final stages. Watch this space.

[Earl49]

Good to hear from you Simon. Many of us are waiting with bated breath, looking forward to your guitars hitting the market.

[new2guitar_eh]

How about a few more pics of the guitar you are working on? That red looks good on the headstock

[Simon@Caulfield]

Originally Posted by new2guitar_eh

How about a few more pics of the guitar you are working on? That red looks good on the headstock

Ok, a quick tease 😜

It's not finished, still needs a final buff + polish but I couldn't resist putting some strings on!

[Simon@Caulfield]

I've Posted some updates on my blog over on my site; you can check it out here:

https://caulfieldcomposites.com/blog...tar-sneak-peek

Make sure and subscribe to my newsletter to get updates first.

[Earl49]

Simon, the sneak peek was intriguing. I like how you used CF weave for the fretboard -- a very cool look.

[Simon@Caulfield]

Originally Posted by Earl49

Simon, the sneak peek was intriguing. I like how you used CF weave for the fretboard -- a very cool look.

Thanks 😊, I had a big re-think on the fretboards and am super happy with how they have come out. I think twill weave gives a nice contrast against the inlays, but I can also use different weave patterns.

[KarenB]

Originally Posted by Simon@Caulfield

Thanks 😊, I had a big re-think on the fretboards and am super happy with how they have come out. I think twill weave gives a nice contrast against the inlays, but I can also use different weave patterns.

Simon, is the twill leave the slanted lines on the fretboard?
Screen Shot 2023-10-03 at 9.02.50 AM.png

[Simon@Caulfield]

Originally Posted by KarenB

Simon, is the twill leave the slanted lines on the fretboard?
Attachment 98509

Exactly!

Carbon, can be woven in a lots of patterns. The most common, and what everyone associates with carbon fiber is a 2/2 twill.

If your interested:
This basically means that every bundle of fibers goes over 2, then under 2 perpendicular bundles. As you have the fibers running in two directions, 90 degrees apart, it gives the most strength and stiffness in these directions. Ill attach a diagram

It looks like diagonal lines as the individual bundles are offset from their neighbors; but when you look closely you'll see the fibers run straight, and in perpendicular directions.

Other weaves can be purely for decoration, or to optimize the strength in one or more directions. It can also be to optimise the fiber to resin ratio or to alter weight/thickness. Some weaves also conform better to complex shapes than others; so can make laying up a mould easier.

I can work with other weaves, but because of minimum order quantities; I'm not at a scale to make it viable at the moment (beyond small tests on samples that I managed to get my hands on :P )

You can even get logos and images woven into carbon; like you may see in linens or other textiles. Or, other materials woven in such as coloured strands. It's a massive area of research and development, and it can really change the properties of the overall material.

It's also a strange point where science meets tradition. You walk into a composite research lab with lots of very expensive test equipment, and in the corner there will be what looks like a loom from the victorian times where they can manually weave up some samples! Even the automated machines look very old-school :P

[KarenB]

Simon, is the weave just a visual thing, or does it feel different too? Thanks.

[Simon@Caulfield]

Originally Posted by KarenB

Simon, is the weave just a visual thing, or does it feel different too? Thanks.

Short answer:
It's more than a visual thing, so far as it can change the properties of the material, and layup as a whole. But, in terms of feel in the hand, it's exactly the same. It's a smooth polished surface with the weave entirely encapsulated.

Long answer:

Using a different weave on only the outer layer would minimise any impact to the overall properties. BUT, some can weigh a little more, or a little less. Some can have a higher resin to carbon ratio, some less.. I personally like to test everything.

I did some testing of materials a little while back, and one of the variables was the direction of fiber. Here are two samples of the same material, with the only variation being the direction of the fibers in the layup. This is an extreme case, but shows how the fiber direction and weave can impact the overall material if not carefully considered.

I could ramble all day about this kind of thing, I love it :P So if you have more questions, just let me know!

[new2guitar_eh]

Must be time for another update..............