New f-hole flattop

[Dave Bagwill]

Thanks John!

[Woodyok]

Very nice Dave, even I can understand your science.

[Dave Bagwill]

The back is finished and ready to glue on.
The top is what I worked on today - the A frame braces are 3/4" tall x 1/4" wide, and are let into the headblock about 1" or so. The ladder brace is notched tightly into the A braces, right behind the bridge plate.
The f-holes are clearly visible, I just have to remove the wood from them. :-)

[John Parchem]

Nice clean work. What re you going to use to cut out the f-holes?

[Dave Bagwill]

Coping saw, files should do it..I'll do a practice run on some scrap.

[Dave Bagwill]

Well allrighty then....not an easy job cutting f-holes, but since this is a prototype using some really inexpensive mahogany and red cedar, the fact that they are far from perfect is not a problem, and I have a good idea what to expect on the real deal.
There is still some detailing to be done, but the obvious flaws will still be apparent, though the look will be 'smoother.'
I ended up taping a blown-up photo of the f-holes (that was one problem - the photos were not hi-def, so the lines were not clear, and that led to not getting a mirror image), then drilling some holes (forstner bits, thanks Dan Perkins) using blue tape and a backboard to eliminate tear out (worked pretty well), then using an exacto knife to trace the outline (not so good), then a dremel to remove a lot of the materials, then just a whole bunch of filing and sanding.
You'll notice that the little horns on the insides of the end circles do not come to sharp, defined points; the cutaways in the middle are not sharp either, and the holes are not all exactly the same. I will definitely use a template and some sort of router set-up next time - most guys use a pin router, I don't have one but with care and a good template a very good result can be gotten.

[John Parchem]

Looks good to me. What I do when working with a blown up picture where I want an outline is to use photo shop to give me a line outline. I find it easier working to a line. I think your turned out fine.