Keep Driving the Bus

This week started out finishing up the rosette work. Using the drum sander I took it down so its flush with the top. It sure is pretty and is surprising how you can't feel where the spruce top ends and the rosette begins. This came out a lot better than I expected.

Next we started gluing on top braces. The particular braces glued on this week are done with the top flat. You can see I used the same Go-Bar system as the braces for the back. Next time we will glue the braces that have been arched with a 28' radius for the front. The braces will be hand cut to an exact length later.

Next came more shaping and sanding for the side where back glues on. I used the large 15' radius sanding dish. This was to sand down the kerfing installed last week and make sure its shaped correctly. This took a lot of time and I was a sweaty mess afterward. Had to take several breaks. All told about 45 minutes of working the disc back and forth like you were "driving the bus". 

After the sanding was complete I notched the back where the braces will fit. First, determine the notch locations by laying the back on the body and lining up the back center point with the top and bottom center points of the sides. The lightly clamp the back to the sides at the neck and tail blocks. The sides are still in the mold so now I can stand it up so I can see where the braces meet the back. Pencil mark the sides where the braces meet it and you have the locations. Using a very small fret saw I cut the depth on each side of the brace. Then I used an Exacto Knife like a chisel to carve out the notches. The goal here is to get deep enough so the back contacts the sides without any rocking. Carve the notches out very little at a time to avoid getting them too deep. This took the better part of 11/2 hours to do all 8 notches. Here is a pic of a completed notch. 

 

We had about 15 minutes left, so we decided to route out the body where the neck will join it. This is very easy job and hard to screw up. Just take your time. I used a small hand held router similar to this one. Here is what the rough cut looks like. It will get a final sanding finish. You can see the holes through the block. I decided on a bolt on neck. This makes it simple to remove the neck for a reset down the road sometime. Bolt on neck technology has advanced considerably thanks to people like Bob Taylor.

Next I cut out the tail trim piece. This will be used where the sides meet at the bottom. The sides were already cut close enough that I could have done without it, but Ken says the trim piece provides more stability because you cut it so the grain runs 90 degrees from the side grain.

Time was up, but we stayed a little longer discussing what types of finish we would put on the guitars. I am opting for a satin finish both because I like the look and it allows for more body vibration than a gloss lacquer. We also discussed electronics. Ken recommends the K&K Pure Mini Acoustic Guitar Pickup. because it takes up less space in the guitar and has no battery to leak and damage things. Steve, another guy taking the class has a friend who makes McIntyre pickups. I will check them out. I had been thinking about the LR Baggs Lyric Acoustic pickup. Its microphone based and gets lots of good reviews. I will check them all out before I decide.

See you next time.