Mega Mold and Kmg Kit

[Jon Heimbruch]

I orderd and received my first KMG kit. Wowsa its fabulous. This will be my second build. The first kit was not a KMG kit though I wish it would have been. Fortunately I discovered this forum early on in the first build or I would have been in trouble. Anywhooo I went ahead and ordered the Mega Mold as I know i will be building different model guitars in the future.I know I am going to have questions about properly using the Mega Mold. I have read about it and after I put it together some things may become apparent. Everything I know about guitar building has been with the help of this forum. Did i mention that most of you have forgotten more about building than what I know? I am really excited to build this kit.( its a Modern D) Cant wait to get the Mega Mold.

[Dave Bagwill]

That's exciting, Jon!!

[Kevin in California]

Sweet, can't wait to see you start building!

[Tim Benware]

You are really going to like that mold.

[John Link]

I completely second Tim. The Mega Mold is the experimenter's dream. No matter which type of instrument appeals to you at the moment, it can be adapted without the hassle and expense of constructing a new outside mold. The hinge feature for setting neck angles is profoundly useful for this extremely critical task, even if you are using a dedicated outside mold.

If you are interested, as I am, in the "as-is" vintage project that requires massive remodeling, its versatility is even more useful. Right now I am working on a Harmony H166 and a Guild F-312. It adapts to either instrument in a few minutes. I am making a new top for the H166 and will use the Mega to set the neck angle (by adjusting the angle of the lower bout) and for gluing the new top. The F-312 is even more of a basket case. It also needs a new top and neck angle adjustment, among many tasks. The back is off and needs massive work repairing a split and replacing braces that are too large to take advantage of the sonic contribution of Brazilian Rosewood.

Thanks to the Mega, neither of these interesting old instruments will be stuck with the geometric mistakes originally built into them.

Sometimes I wonder if there is any interest in asking Ken to start a "Repair and Restoration" pictorial topic, similar to the construction logs. Anyone who makes guitars soon finds R&R jobs directed towards them that present a set of challenges similar to making, but also different and typically more involved. It is somewhat more complicated to replace a bridge than it is to attach one during the initial build, for instance. I bet many of my fellow forum members do this type of work on occasion, and seeing how they do it would be of interest to me. I would be happy to contribute the first thread, rebuilding my 1965 Brazilian Guild F-312 12-string, which is well underway.

[Dave Bagwill]

It's up to Ken, of course, but I would find it interesting.

[ken cierp]

Done