KMG #2 14th Fret L00

[Oli K_]

Hello again!

I have just started my next KMG kit, and will be using the Mega Mold this time round. I'm going to be making a 14th fret L00. Spruce top and rosewood back & sides, and I will be shooting for a vintage gibson look - white plastic binding, simple bridge, and hopefully a hand rubbed sunburst. This guitar will be for my Dad, and he is having quite a bit of input as to how things look (as well as choosing an L00 in the first place!)

So far I have put the MM together (couldn't be more straightforward), trimmed the sides, attached both blocks, and am now gluing in the kerfing.

[Dave Bagwill]

I've helped students with a few kmg L-00 kits, all turned out very well. That particular guitar shape is very attractive.

[Oli K_]

Progress is a little slow - I am only working on this over the weekends.

I have cut out the soundhole and bound it with white plastic (no rosette for this guitar), glued on and shaped the braces, and hopefully next weekend will work towards getting the top and back stuck on.

I am tapering the braces for this one - much easier than scalloping and I will be interested to compare with my 000. The back braces are a bit uneven in height (and taller than on my 000) so I might take them down a bit more. Soundhole reinforcement still to glue on as well!









Also what kit do you guys use for tool sharpening? I use sandpaper on a flat piece of glass, then move on to a waterstone. My plane runs great and is really easy to work with, but I am struggling to get a decent edge on my chisels. Could be they are just cheap (they were cheap) or could be I am fudging it somehow. I am tempted to find a woodworking course just so I can have someone show me how to do it properly!

[Dave Bagwill]

That is some nice work, Oli!

Do you use a honing guide to keep your chisels at the correct angle?

[dave d]

It's great to see your progress Oli. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Regarding chisel sharpening, you can absolutely get a razor-sharp, armhair-shaving edges with nothing more than a glass plate and various grits of sandpaper (generally from 200 up to 2000 is sufficient) followed by stroping on a piece of leather that's been charged with honing compound. There are many videos on youtube to show sharpening techniques and this is one that I really like. Note that he uses diamond stones, which is great but for much less investment you can do a fine job with glass and sandpaper too:


As Dave mentions, a sharpening guide is a wonderful thing that guarantees consistency. However if you follow Paul Seller's technique of pushing the tool away from you to get a convex shape, you may not need the guide. The Veritas MarkII honing guide is my recommended tool, and may seem pricey at $69US but it delivers on its promises. Setting various chisel angles and a tiny secondary bevel is dead simple.

Your chisel may or may not be up to the task - they are definitely not all made the same. An old chisel could still be a good one; it really depends on the type of steel used, the angle of the blade, the length of the chisel,... I have an old marples chisel that looked like crap but works fine now that I've sharpened it up. If I was buying a new chisel, I would avoid anything sold by the big-box stores - just my personal bias when I know I'll be using it for various guitar-related tasks. You can get a great chisel for about $20 from LeeValley or other specialty woodworking stores, so buying something for $5 that I'd hate doesn't seem like a good idea in the long run.

Any questions about sharpening are welcome; feel free to start a new forum topic so we don't hijack your building blog.

[Oli K_]

Thanks guys :)

I think I might have to invest in a decent honing guide. Because the plane blade is so wide it is easy to keep at a consistent angle when sharpening, but with the narrower chisels I think I must be changing the angle too much in between strokes on the waterstone. I will check out the Veritas model.

Also the plane blade was made in Sheffield (its a stanley from the 80s) and the chisels (modern irwin marples) are almost certainly made further afield ...

Also a question re guitar building -

Last time round the only job I really didn't enjoy was trimming the excess top and back after gluing the box shut. I was using a low grit flapper wheel and it took forever and I kept slipping into the sides which produced a few gouges that took a while to sand out. So can anyone recommend another method? I know that it can be done with a router and flush cutting bits, but I don't really understand the technique/process of this. Can it be done with a spokeshave? Or is there a big risk of splitting the wood along the grain?

Thanks for any input !

[ken cierp]

#5089

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite ... .html#1749

A shear cut flush trim bit is the next choice -- with both follow the appropriate climb cut pattern/procedure.