Florentine Cutaway

[Herman]

Never payed much attention to walnut, but now I'm working with it, I really like it.

The neckblock has a satisfying fitting to the cutawayside.



Not very interesting, but now you see I put the lining in like almost everyone else.



I'm going to make some soundports to the upper bout. To have some reinforcement I put a thin veneer on the inside. Since the veneer is not very strong I soaked it with epoxy for some extra toughness.

[Lonnie B]

Looking good Herman

[TonyinNYC]

Looks great and great job on the cut-away! I love walnut. It is easy to work, and it smells nice while you are working it. Mahogany is also great to smell, but walnut...mmmmm.

[Kevin in California]

Such nice clean work Herman. I'm enjoying the pictures.

[Herman]

Also not very cutaway-oriented, but here is the Cedar top braced with Sitka. Quite Martin-like. Kevin sold me the Somogyibook. He likes the tonebars evenly spreaded over the lower bout. Thats what I did. Also he thinks the soundhole is a floppy area. Therefore he says to make small and hi bracings around it. That is what happened.
The braces are a bit rough and still need a bit of finesanding. But hey, here work has to be done, no windowdressing.

[Dave Bagwill]

Looking very nice, Herman.
Do you use a cap on your x-joint?
How do you cut the top shape now that the braces are glued?
What is your internal brace in the lower bout - I notice you did not use a turnbuckle there?

Thanks

[Herman]

Hey Davy,
-Yep a cap
-I cut the shape with a bandsaw, and leave 1/2 an inch to the side. After gluing to the rim, I cut that off with a chisel.
-You lost me on the internal brace of the lower bout. What do you mean my friend?