Ready to bend..

I had planned to spend a couple of days at the workshop getting all the bits ready to start assembly but the weather has been too hot so I only managed to thickness the sides and mark them up ready for bending.

The experience of thicknessing the back plate and soundboard allowed me to quickly get both sides down to an even 2.1mm thickness for each rib without the previous dramas I encountered thicknessing the other plates e.g. tearout, plane not being sharp.

Before and after shots.

I still have to do the final shaping of the headstock and start the basic shaping of the spanish heel.

The large gap around the edge of the rosette is bugging me so Im trying to decide on the best solution. I have a few options:

1. Add 1 or 2 rings of black/white purfling to cover up the gap.
2. Remove the existing rosette and replace with larger diameter rosette.
3. Flip the soundboard over and inlay rosette on what is now the "back" and make it the front/outside face.
4. Plug the gap with left over spruce using epoxy.


I will probably have to spend a bit of time experimenting on scraps before I commit to anything. Im currently favouring option 3.

The weather is looking favourable over the weekend (not too hot) so I should be able to get the headstock and heel block ready for assembly, sides should get bent and probably start making some of the struts.

Bits 'n pieces

After recoving from Xmas celebrations I was able to spend most of today working on my guitar.

First job was to glue and shaped the back reinforcing strip. The strip is just length of spruce offcut (cross grain ) from the soundboard.

Next on the to-do-list was to inlay the rosette. I wasnt looking forward to hacking away at my 'perfectly' flat and clean soundboard but it had to be done.

I made myself a very basic circle cutter using a small piece of pine, 1/4 inch bolt and a sharp blade. The bolt acts as the center of the circle (pivot point), marked out the radius I wanted (4.5mm) from the center of the circle, made a small cut for the blade to fit into.  It was just a matter of steadying the blade and rotating the blade around the perimeter.

After etching the inner and outer circles for the rosette it was time to start chipping out the channel. I used a 6mm chisel. I took my time, slowly slicing the spruce out. . I lightly sanded the channel and I was ready to glue the rosette.

Errr... the rosette wasnt exactly round and didnt fit my perfectly carved channel.  Fortunately when I was testing the circle cutter I had cutout a few circles with the internal diameter of the rosette. To get the rosette circular again I placed it in some hot water for 1-2mins and placed it around the plywood circle I made earlier.. To keep the rosette in place I tacked a few nails around the outer edge (not in photo).

Once the rosette had dried out it was time to glue it down.

 (photo below - rosette glued in placed and sanded flush with the soundboard. Wedge to fill the gap is on the to-do-list)

Made 2 mistakes when gluing it in.. Well 1.5 mistakes. The major mistake was it was a tight fit getting the rosette into the channel, you can see in the bottom of the photo, 6 o'clock  (below) where I stupidly just grabbed the blade and screwed up outedge attempting to get the rosette to fit. Now I have a ugly gap down there.. There are a few small chips around the edge which I could live with but the hack job at 6 o'clock is disappointing.  The other minor mistake was the gap in the rosette was not suppose to be so off center but the glue became too sticky so I was unable to center it. Not to worry the fretboard will cover it up, but it could have been disasterous.

The last task I managed to get done was to roughly cutout the shape of the headstock using the scroll saw and drill the tuner holes.

Next time I hope to finish shaping the headstock, soundboard - make and glue struts and prepare side/ribs for bending.

Becoming smoother

After a few initial mistakes with the first neck and troubles getting the plates jointed everything has been progressing much smoother lately. Hopefully it will stay that way!!!

I spent a good chunk of time using the card/cabinet scraper to smooth out the tear out on the back plate and then used an orbital sander to get the final thickness of 2mm. I was surprise how flat the surface was, only a couple of minor "hills" which I flattened out.  The back is now ready for the back reinforcing strip and braces to be glued on.

The picture below is of the outside/display face which doesnt look too bad after all.. 

I had planned to focus on the neck after thicknessing the back plate but the humidity was all over the place (40-78%) as it was a stormy afternoon. So instead of gluing the heel block, I started work on the soundboard.

It took just under 2hrs to systematically work the thickness down to 2mm, taking every opportunity to tap the plate and listen to the tone changes as its mass was removed.

My approach was to bring the thickness down to 3mm using a sharp plane, the remaining 1mm was removed using a card scraper and orbital sander. . Im planning on recording the tone before the soundboard is attached so I have a reference to work from in the future.

Soundboard is now read for the rosette to be inlayed,soundhole to be cut out and the gluing of the braces.

The next day the humidy stabilised back to its normal range of approx. 50-55% so I glued to heel block to the neck. Whilst the heel block was drying I made up a headstock template based on the Loriente design as the Robert Bouchet design doesnt appeal to me.

I didnt have time to started shaping the headstock or heel, thats for next time. I did make a jig for drilling the tuner holes - correct spacing and depth. (sorry forgot to get a picture..)

The last task I managed to get done was to create the neck relief ramp on the solera. When I get a spare moment Ill varnish it ready for the assembly process.

Necks and thicknessing.

With my confidence restored, new neck blank in hand and lessons learnt I started out on the new neck.
Rather than using the handsaw to cut the scarf joint, this time I used the bandsaw to do the cut.

To give myself the best chance of getting a decent cut for the scarf joint this time around I made a small jig so I could clamp the neck to the mitre gauge. The final cut was very clean compared to the others, only a few rough spots which I easily smoothed out with sharp block plane.



Scarf joint complete and dual layer headstock veneers glued (ebony middle, rosewood top/display).











Made a start on thicknessing the back plate. The original thickness was 4.8mm and im currently at 3.3mm. The surface is pretty rough and will use the cabinet scraper and sanding to thickness to 2mm as I dont trust my planing skills. 



















Practiced/experimented with various tools and techniques which will be needed when I start on the good neck.  You can see in the picture on the right a chunk missing at the top of the string hole, that was cause by the power drill, used a hand drill for the others without any negative results.

 Plan for next build session in no particular order:

1. Attach heal block to neck.
2. Rough heal block shape.
3. Finish thicknessing back.
4. Start thicknessing soundboard
5. Inlay rosette
6. Varnish Solera.

A bending good time.

I had initially planned on building my own bending iron using metal pipe and heating source (propane touch or heating gun) to save a bit of $$. In the end I decided an professionally made electric bending iron would be "safer" as I was having visions of me knocking the propane torch over, burning the workshop to the ground.

(Ibex bending iron from LMI)

When I ordered the replace neck blank I also had some offcuts for bending practice sent as well.
I read and watched numerous youtube videos the bending process and I felt confident I would pick it up quickly.

A few side bending videos:
NK Forster Guitars Making a Guitar - bending sides
O'Brien Guitars - Luthier Tips du Jour - Side bending by hand
There are heaps more videos but after watching a few you get the general idea.

Heres my first attempt at bending (Tasmanian Blackwood).

I soaked the wood in hot water for around 15mins and preceeded to start bending.  After about 10mins of slowly moving/rocking the wood over the iron and keeping the wood wet by spraying warm water intermittently the end result was a nicely shaped bend with no burn marks.  The only flaw was a very small part of the grain/wood that lifted up on the outside of one of the bends which I sanded off. Im not sure if this was caused by the wood being too wet or that I bent that section too fast but it didnt appear to be a major issue.

Im very please with my first bending attempt.  I have a few other practice pieces (flamed maple, mahogany ..etc) to experiment with before I do the proper bends for the guitar.

4 becomes 2 - Plate jointing review

Englemann soundboard glued together- jointed seam is very good. I dont think I could have done any better.

Indian Rosewood back plate -  the joint is a little disappointing, a few uneven (raised) spots that I will have to plane/sand down during the thicknessing process. Next time I will have to using more pressure on the seam when glueing to get a flatter resulting seam/joint.

Also, if I had my time over again i would have jointed the 2 outside edges (straighter grain) leaving the curvy grain on the outer which would be removed when cutting the shape of the back plate. The side visible in the photo will likely been inside the guitar as the grain on the underside has slightly been symmetry and better definition.

(those marks on the lefthand side of the back plate are from the excess glue oozing between the timbre and the wax paper. again then will plane off very easily).

Some hand tools

Japanese Handsaw (new), cabinet scaper(new) and burnisher and hone guide.

 
 
3 planes that im currently using. The 2 black planes were my grandfathers not the greatest planes around but they do the job. The digital calipers are a recent purchase for this project and are very handy.










 You can never have enough claps. A small selection of claps that i have.

Straight Edges solved..

In my first attempts at jointing the plates I mentioned I used the "Shooting" method and straight edge sanding stick without success.

Guess what, both methods do work.

The problem I was having with the sanding techniques was not that I wasnt using a straight edge, rather the sanding stick was too short i.e. shorter than the length of the plates. This made it difficult to keep even pressure across the sanding stick which I believe to be the cause of the tiny gaps in the seam.

After watching the DVD again I picked up that he was using a level approx. 4ft/1m long.  So another visit to my local hardware shop to pickup a 1m level. With the extra length of the level, allowing more even spread of pressure I was able to get straight edge to joint the backplates using this very straightforward sanding method.

Whilst the back plates were gluing I moved onto jointing the soundboard.
During the week I had been searching the Net for methods of jointing and discovered that there is actually a specific plane for jointing - extra long base to track long the surface (im a novice woodworker so forgive my ignorance). I didnt have a jointing plane but I did have a fairly long plane (technical term ...hahaha) which looked similar that might just do the job.

Given my confidence had just been given a huge boost I decided to give the "Shooting" method another go this time using my "jointing" plane. Within a few minutes of careful planing as per the instructions in the book I had another acceptable joint!!!

A big lesson has been learned - I need to make sure I use the correct tools for the job or I will get unacceptable results.

A step in the right direction...

..FINALLY!!

After all the dramas and frustration with trying to find and effective method to create a straight edge to glue the soundboard and back, they are finally together! (phew )





Different angle of the soundboard being glued so you can get a view of the workshop and some of the tools I have available.

More frustration - Jointing back plates

With my practice neck complete and a new neck blank on order I moved on to jointing the back plates together.

How hard can it be to create 2 straight edges and glue two piece of wood together? If you are ME then its extremely difficult. (hahaha).

I started by using the "shooting" method outlined in the Cumpiano & Natelson book. I was able to get to a point when it would appear that I had a straight edge, but upon candling the joint was dissappointed to see gaps all along the seam.

Next, I tried a simplier approach, sanding, fool proof. (according to the DVD it is). Just take a straight edged piece of wood, attach sandpaper across its length and slide the sandpaper across the edges.  This failed too!! It definitely gave better results than the "shooting" method but still not perfect - a few smallish gaps.

I spent a few hours trying both methods with no improvement in the resulting joint. With frustration levels very high at this point especially after what happened last week with the neck it was time to drive home and plan the next angle of attack...

(Im starting to thinking about throwing the in towel and selling all the guitar building stuff on ebay and just stick to playing)

Construction begins - Neck

After measuring and marking the neck ready for the 14 degree scarf joint cut and checking and triple checking my measurements I was ready to make my first cut into a nice New Guinea rosewood neck blank.

Weapon of choice for the first cut was a Japanese handsaw as it produces fine smooth cut line  (0.5mm wide).

I began cutting slowly and deliberately keeping the cut adjacent the pencil line. Approximately 50% through the cut  I could cut no further - failed to note the ridge across the top of the saw blade (attaches the blade to the saw handle). I was kicking myself for forgetting that detail so I continued the cut from the otherside.
The cut was a mess as they didnt meet up exactly so a bit of smoothing was required..

No matter how hard I tried I could not get the scarf joint to sit flush. After using a block plane, handheld sanding block and a flat sanding board nothing was working. So to "solve" the problem I decided to take to the edges with the bandsaw to get a straighter edge for joining. The result was better but not perfect or even close to acceptable but I glued the scarf joint resigned to the fact that the neck was going to be a disaster.

Failed scarf joint - both sides.

In using the bandsaw to "smooth" the edges I had inadventantly shortened the length of the headstock to the point where I could just fit the tuners and no room for the top of the headstock. If the neck wasnt a write-off before it certainly was now - crappy joint and a headstock that would have to be left flat/square, no room for a nice scrolling headstock pattern.

I was soooooo frustrated it was time for a beer. What a difference a beer makes, everything became clearer. I decided this disaster of a neck was going to be my practice neck. I made a few measurements to calculate how much extra wood was required (+ extra for further mistakes) to increase the headstock to its correct size and glued on the "missing" length.

"Practice" neck complete. This neck will be used as a dry run for drilling tuner holes, carving headstock shape and string cutouts..etc.

The reason I failed miserably getting the joint smoothed was due to a few factors:
1. Block plane was not sharp enough - occassionally dug into the wood.
2. Hand held sanding block isnt a great idea with such a small surface area - difficult to keep even pressure and you run of the sides of the joint rounding them.
3. Sanding board failed as you need even pressure and must maintain the angle. I failed in both areas causing the thin ends to become rounded, so when place together to form the joint it created a 1mm gap.

EDIT: Ive since realised that all that is required to smooth the scarf joint is A SHARP block plane.

My order arrived

On Tuesday (17/11) I took delivery of the materials that will (hopefully) become a guitar.


(Ebony fretboard, Englemann spruce (AAA) soundboard, Indian rosewood (AAA) back 'n sides, New Guinea rosewood neck, Indian rosewood bridge and headstock veneer and misc items (kerfing, purflings, glue, nut/saddle..etc)).

During the week I also picked up some Gotoh tuners on ebay for $40 (new) + postage and a rosette from LMI.

Started Solera..

aving ordered the inventory for the guitar I made a start on the solera.

Before getting started on the construction made a trip to Officeworks to photocopy and enlarge the 1/2 scale plantila plan (Courtnall). I was surprise that the plans when increased to scale dont fit on A3 so I ended up having to stick to "halves" together to get a complete plan.

A trip to Bunnings (local hardware chain) was in order as I required timbre for the solera.

Materials/tools purchased:

1 - MDF (600mm X 900mm x 16mm) - for the solera

1 - 120 grit sandpaper (roll) - sanding out the 2mm dome for the soundboard

4 - Pine 700m x 65mm x 40mm - 1-2 for the rib blocks and soundhole clamp , the other 2 were for sanding block or practicing cutting of the neck scaf joint.

1 - 1000mm Steel ruler - straight edge and to create curves for sanding blocks...etc

Cutting a 2mm dome in MDF is bloody hard work!!!

 

I found that for the initial roughing of the dome that a spoke shave worked best. I tried various rasps, files and a block plane with very limited success.

Using a combination of the spoke shave, a homemade 2mm curved sanding block and a straight edge (steel rule) , after what seemed like 2-3hrs (actually just under 45mins) the dome was complete.

 
(Solera Design from Courtnall - The image obtained from a Delcamp.net thread)

Time to use the bandsaw. I needed to cut out the shape of the solera which obviously requires curves. Id only previously used the bandsaw to do straight cuts and was unsure how I would go cutting curves.
I was reasonably pleased with the results, a couple of uneven spots due to the neck section hitting the side of the bandsaw (lack of awareness on my part) but was able to sand most of them out.



I still need to plane the neck relief ramp and seal the solera with some varnish and it will be ready for use.

Materials Ordered

I took what I consider the first real step to starting the guitar today by placing my order for the woods and various odds and ends.

Items purchased:

Titebond Glue
Soundboard Blanks - Engleman Spruce AAA Grade
AAA grade East Indian Rosewood
Acoustic Guitar neck Blank-New Guinea Rosewood
2 x Purflings - WoodMulticoloured Colour Brown/White/Yellow
2 x Bracewood Blanks Spruce
5 x Kerfed Lining
1 x Bridge BlankEast Indian Rosewood
1 x Bone Nut Blank for Acoustic
1 x 1/8" Wide Bone Saddle Blank
1 x Fret Wire (HW-F)

I didnt like the rosettes available and im unsure about the bindings so ill ordered them later.. Im sure I will need other materials and tools as i progress. I should receive the consignment early next week and if all goes well I will start building later in the week.

Going Traditional...

After getting some informative replies from the members of Delcamp.net I have decided to build with traditional tonewoods. There are enough variables as it is just using traditional woods without introducting the complexities of  different woods.

Im planning on ordering the following materials in the next few days from Guitarwoods.com.au :

Englemann Spruce - Soundboard
Indian Rosewood  - Back and Sides
New Guinea Rosewood - Neck
Ebony - Fretboard
Rosewood - Headstock veneer
Misc - (Fretwire, glue, bindings, Purflings,Rosette ...etc).

I had initially penciled in Sitka Spruce for the soundboard (not sure why) but again was informed that Sitka was not a good idea for first guitar as it has some dampening properties which other spruces dont have - (Delcamp.net ). So on that advice I changed to Englemann spruce. German spruce was another option that was recommended but due to the cost decided on Englemann spruce.

Australian Tonewoods

Ive started to think about the woods I will use for my first guitar. I wanting to use Australian tonewoods e.g. Tasmanian Blackwood (Back 'n sides), King William Pine (Soundboard), Queensland Maple (neck) and Gidgee (fretboard/bridge)..

I know Blackwood/Koa has been used in classical guitars before but I have not heard on King William Pine being used. I know King William Pine has been used for other instruments and steel string guitars but not the classical guitar.

I did a bit of searching on the Net and found a few reference to King William Pine and classical guitars. Basically according to the experts King William Pine doesnt have the cross grain strength required for classical guitar - Spruce and Cedar are superior. I do remember reading one article (cant find the link) which suggested King William Pine could be used for a classical guitar if the top was left thicker than normal and additional bracing was used.

So Im starting to wonder if using Australian woods is the best option for my first guitar.  Time to get some input from the generous members of Delcamp.net...

Information overload...

Initially I had planned to do a guitar making course but due to the cost decided to try and do it myself. After spending a few days reading the books I started to think that I should purchase the DVD set which the local guitar making school produced so I can see the techniques at work rather that a bunch or words and a handfull of pictures.

So Ive ordered:


Its a 10 DVD set (13hrs) which takes you through the entire process of making an acoustic guitar (dreadnaught). Its a shame its not a classical guitar project but many of the techniques are the same and will still learn heaps.

Should arrive in the next few days...

Books ordered

November 7th

After much search and reading of Delcamp.net about the numerous guitar building publications available I finally purchased 2 books (online).

Delcamp.net

Before I get to far into this blog and the guitar build i must mention a fantastic website I stumbled across when i was researching classical guitars - Delcamp.net. One of the best run forums ive ever used, great users and an amazing collection of sheet music and mp3s.

During this blog you will likely come across references to Delcamp or quotes/links from information gained from the forum and its members. If you have an interest in classical/flamenco guitar I highly recommend you spend 5-10mins checking out delcamp.net. Im sure you will like what you see (read)!

Introduction

After researching handmade classical guitars and discovering about the various construction techniques and the variety of beautiful tonewoods I suddenly found myself with this idea that I wanted to try building my own guitar.

I initially looked at doing a guitar building course but decided that I couldnt justifiy the $3250(AUD) price tag. I decided instead to purchase a few books, tools and build 3-4 guitars for the price of doing one course.