Third Flamenco Guitar - Traditional Build Style

[John Parchem]

To drill the holes I taped on a template that I cut from my Paco Chorobo plans for an 18 hole bridge.



I double checked that it was on straight and used a punch to mark out the holes.







I have this handy vice that I do not use much. I was about to go out to my table saw to cut a 4° angle on a block as a guide for my main string holes when I remembered this vice. It was handy in a couple a ways I was able to set the 4°, but it also had a lot of mass making it easy to set the holes right under the bit I drill in the right spot. THe 6 main lower holes are drilled at the 4° angle the two high holes are drilled straight though.



The drill press was nice as I could set a stop. As mentioned above. I will cut these holes in the blanks before carving next time to avoid blowing out when the drill exits between the tie and saddle blocks.

It all went well though. Here are a couple of pictures showing a tied string in the 18 hole bridge





I placed the bridge, Drilled a couple of 1/8" index holes and scribe the sealer so that I can start with the bridge area clean.







I used a straight edge razor to clean the shellac under the bridge and cut out a mask to protect the area when I french polish the top.







I am ready to French polish the top. I will give the Royal Lac a day or two more to cure first. Then the occasional drip of shellac will be safe.

[Kenny Wiebusch]

I've never seen an 18 hole bridge. I like it. You really are a fine craftsman.

[John Parchem]

I've never seen an 18 hole bridge. I like it. You really are a fine craftsman.

Thanks! It was my first 18 hole bridge.

I have finished the guitar, but I thought I would still go through the final steps to complete the guitar before I show it off.

I waited a week after spraying the post cat Royal Lac on the sides and back to allow it to cure before doing a traditional French polish on the top. When French polishing I have a terrible habit of catching an edge with the pad and allowing a drop of shellac to run down the side. On a guitar completely French Polish this is bad if not caught as the alcohol in the FP will dissolve the finish. Fixable but a real pain to fix. The royal lac once cured is safe from a drop of alcohol so at worst is I need to scrape of the drop of shellac.
Here is a picture after completing the French polis getting ready to glue on the bridge.





I use a vacuum clamp to glue on the bridge. I always radius the bottom of the bridge; on some of the classical guitars there is not enough cross bracing to keep the dome, so I use the bridge as a brace to hold the dome in the cross direction. The vacuum will not quickly pull the top into the radius of the bridge and can suck the glue out from under the center of the bridge. So I use a hybrid technique of of both a cam clamp to assure that the top is pulled up into the radius and a vacuum clamp for even pressure on the rest of the bridge. Under the membrane I have a caul that fits on my bridge that is shaped to the blocks and the wings. I got tired of bridges popping loose.



With a bridge it really looked like a guitar



I used the handy stewmac tool to set the height of bottom of the slots. I set them right above the zero fret height and then work them the rest of the way once strung up. The tool also has a string spacing ruler that fits in. I used that tool to mark out the slots. note that I totally protect the peg head.



I strung it up and spent a bunch of days playing with the setup but here it is finished.