Build #3: sitka/black walnut 000

[Treenewt]

Nicely done Neil!

[viento]

Very nice and proper done! Makes me attemp another build... tho I don´t need one!

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Nicely done Neil!

Thank you, though I still see room for improvement!

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by viento

Very nice and proper done! Makes me attemp another build... tho I don´t need one!

Lol, that’s the crux of building isn’t it? My son asked me “how many guitars do you have now, Dad?” to which I answered “4” because those are the ones that were bought in a music store. I consider these to be “drafts” and “guitar shaped objects” because they’re not quite how I expect a guitar to behave and there’s usually something I consider “off” about them.

For instance, on my first two I made them with laminated necks and bolt on MT neck joints and there’s a little play with the neck angle and intonation. I’m thinking that I may need to add something to the hardware inside but otherwise I’m happy with how the bodies turned out though. This one will have a dovetail neck joint though which means that I will have to get that angle set right the first time the glue it down - or steam it apart and try again. That makes this build scarier to me!

I have plans to do 2 or 3 more before I finally acquiesce to a musician’s request to build him a guitar. So far there are actually three, but I’ve politely declined their repeated requests. This is an art that goes beyond mere woodworking.

As for the future builds, I’m actually about ready to embark on a fourth and have the tone wood acclimating in my workshop. I was hoping to start soon but feel like waiting until April is safer.

[Treenewt]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

Thank you, though I still see room for improvement!

I think that will always be the case. Continuously refining.

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

I think that will always be the case. Continuously refining.

Yes, I have the wood for #4 stickered in my basement. I'm hoping that 6 months is sufficient acclimation time so that I can start working on the next in May.

[Neil K Walk]

I am here to confess several mishaps of incrementally bad degrees:

1: I used a palm sander to try and even out the purfling and binding to be flush with the top. Unfortunately I sanded at an angle and sanded through the purfling.

2: instead of trying to replace the section I felt like since the binding was also too shallow I should just route off the entire section of purfling and binding on that side. In the process I dropped the body of the guitar on the concrete floor and there are now a couple of cracks 2" apart on the other side of the lower bout.

On the bright side I had the neck angle set. This was all just to fix a cosmetic issue. *facepalm*

[Treenewt]

Dang Neil I’m sorry. That sucks man.

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Dang Neil I’m sorry. That sucks man.

Thanks. I’m processing the grief right now but am still in the “negotiation” phase. I still need to check the bracing underneath but the affected area is only 2” on the lower bout. There are two cracks in the top but they are clean and could be cleated.

[Neil K Walk]

Here's the goriness. Thankfully the sides did not crack.

[Treenewt]

Ouch!!! Man, that stinks!!! At least you're not in the denial phase!

[Neil K Walk]

I'm in constant denial, but in this case I think I'm going to take the binding off the top in that area and see what the lining looks like in those ugly 2". I don't think there's a cracked brace in that area because that area is where there's a gap between the X brace lower legs and a tone bar. I'll have to take a closer look though after I take the binding off.

[misterg]

Ouch! I feel for you.

[Neil K Walk]

More pics. I removed the binding in the area to see what the structural situation was with the lining:



Here's the view from a medium distance away just inside the soundhole. The affected area is from the lower arm of the X brace to the first tone bar.