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  #16  
Old 04-14-2014, 11:36 AM
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IndianHillMike IndianHillMike is offline
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Originally Posted by Hierophant View Post
Your cutaway-neck-joint is great!
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This is looking sooo great Mike!
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I love the look of the cutaway.
Thanks guys! It's taken a bit of work to get it this far, but I'm really happy with how it's turning out.

I spent the end of last week bracing and tuning the top. In order to be consistent with how I brace and tune my non-cutaway tops, I decided to brace this one fully and then adjust for the cutaway section after. Here are some of the initial braces going on...



As you can see those two angled braces have some pretty big scooped out sections. I could split the brace and leave that section out, but I really like the idea of having all of the braces tied together. I feel like it gives better pathways for the vibration to be distributed.

Once the top is braced it's time to make and glue in the label -- much easier to do before the top is on! Years ago I made a stamp by cutting up a pencil eraser. Works great!



And here's the top fully braced/tuned and ready to be glued on...



Time to bind!

Mike
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  #17  
Old 04-17-2014, 11:34 AM
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I've started in on the binding process for this guitar. Due to the cutaway, it's going to take a good bit more work than normal. One of the first jobs I did was the bind the point of the cutaway -- this starts with using knives and chisels to cut out a space for the binding using a ruler as a guide...





I decided to keep the grain oriented the same direction as the binding to help give the impression that the maple is inset into the cocobolo...



And gluing up the binding strips...



The cocobolo end graft...



Since the cutaway section is not square, I'll have to cut most of the binding and purfling by hand. To do that, I'll have to wait for my fancy new purfling cutter to arrive -- should be here in the next day or two!

Mike
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  #18  
Old 04-17-2014, 12:19 PM
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Mike--this is really looking amazing. Love the binding on the point of the cutaway and how the cutaway flows into the neck joint. Can't wait to see the finished product--great stuff!
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  #19  
Old 04-23-2014, 08:28 AM
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Mike--this is really looking amazing. Love the binding on the point of the cutaway and how the cutaway flows into the neck joint. Can't wait to see the finished product--great stuff!
Thanks! Despite making it a little bit more challenging, I really wanted to get the binding on the point to flow with the rest of the binding. It's been a lot of work but I'm finally getting close to being fully bound!

As I mentioned in my last post, the general un-squareness of the cutaway section makes cutting binding channels with a router unfeasible. So, time to cut them by hand (after a bunch of tool sharpening)...



Next I glued in the cutaway purfling strips before cutting out the slot for the main binding strip...



And then the cutaway binding strip...



This last shot shows what I mean about having the binding on the point flow with the rest of the binding. Just a little bit more work and it will be fully bound!

Mike
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  #20  
Old 04-26-2014, 07:28 AM
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I was finally able to finish up the binding on this guitar -- it took a long time but I'm quite happy with how it turned out!











Time to get started on the neck. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll be ready to start french polishing.

Mike
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  #21  
Old 04-26-2014, 08:00 AM
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That is just beautifully done. It is the subtle details like this that I admire most about these build threads. I cannot wait to see this one under finish. Great work.
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  #22  
Old 04-30-2014, 08:10 AM
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That is just beautifully done. It is the subtle details like this that I admire most about these build threads. I cannot wait to see this one under finish. Great work.
Thanks -- I definitely appreciate and strive for subtlety over bling.

As I was getting started on the fingerboard, I realized I had run out of my 12th fret inlays. Here's how I go about making them...

I start by laminating 3 strips of ebony and mahogany to make a 3mm x 3mm block. Each individual strip is 1 mm thick...



A mahogany strip to make the cross section of the "H"...



Add some extra ebony that will mostly be routed away...



More mahogany glued on with the ebony routed...



Almost there...



And done!



The final dimension is 9mm x 11mm -- pretty small! I'll cut ~2mm thick tiles from this every time I need to make a fingerboard. Luckily this is a job I only have to do every couple of years!

Mike
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  #23  
Old 04-30-2014, 09:39 AM
kirkham13 kirkham13 is offline
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I really like your bracing, as well as your reinforcing of the sound hole. Very nice. Do you use elements of classical guitar fan bracing techniques? I'm trying to understand form a non luthier standpoint.
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  #24  
Old 04-30-2014, 03:40 PM
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HA! Love the photo sequence showing the developement of your 12th fret inlay ... beautiful Mike!
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  #25  
Old 05-01-2014, 10:25 AM
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I really like your bracing, as well as your reinforcing of the sound hole. Very nice. Do you use elements of classical guitar fan bracing techniques? I'm trying to understand form a non luthier standpoint.
The idea behind this bracing really just comes sitting down with some paper and pencils and attempting to draw a pattern that makes intuitive sense. Some of the key elements I consider are an even distribution of support, a unified/connected bracing centered around the bridge, and of course balancing out the forces exerted on the top by the string tension. I think there are many ways to do this -- this just happens to be the one I came up with and have been experimenting with recently!

Mike
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  #26  
Old 05-03-2014, 12:54 PM
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Moving right along with the neck for this guitar. Here's one of the logo tiles inlaid on the 12th fret...



Gluing up the top head veneer...



And the fingerboard being glued to the neck...



Here's the neck all prepped for carving...



And roughly carved out...



Now is when I have to take great care in shaping the heel and make sure it matches up with the shape of the sides. Definitely one of the most satisfying points of this build finally getting to see the neck joint.

Final sanding of the neck/body this afternoon and then on to french polishing!

Mike
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  #27  
Old 05-03-2014, 03:37 PM
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Beautiful work. I especially like your cutaway cap.

Steve
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  #28  
Old 05-10-2014, 11:30 AM
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Beautiful work. I especially like your cutaway cap.

Steve
Thanks Steve -- that cap was a bit of a pain but I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Not too much of an update, mostly just french polishing these past few days...



A few more days of polishing before I let it sit for a week or so. If everything stays on track I should have it strung up in a couple of weeks!

Mike
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  #29  
Old 05-11-2014, 01:55 AM
RotemarGuitars RotemarGuitars is offline
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Originally Posted by IndianHillMike View Post
Thanks Steve -- that cap was a bit of a pain but I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Not too much of an update, mostly just french polishing these past few days...



A few more days of polishing before I let it sit for a week or so. If everything stays on track I should have it strung up in a couple of weeks!

Mike
Wow!
I´ve just read through this thread now, and I´m really impressed with your work, Mike! Everything from the bracing-system to the beautiful binding work is top-class.

I especially like the "bolt-on"-way of laminating the sides. I´ve never seen that technique before, but its brilliant. I know everybody who´s laminating sides are doing it for extra stability, but do you have any other reasons for doing that?

Really looking forward to hearing this guitar later on!

/Niklas
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  #30  
Old 05-12-2014, 01:49 AM
Trevor M Trevor M is offline
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Its looking fantastic Mike. I can't wait to get my hands on it.
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