Acoustic Guitar Construction

I know not every one has a Mega Mold -- but if I ever get around to making a wedge shape body my plan is to use this side profile template process, tip the base along the length at the widest point 1/4" off perpendicular that gives the 1/2" overall variance bass to treble -- then proceed to make bass and treble side templates as described in the tutor.

http://kennethmichaelguitars.com/sidepr ... lates.html

My situation is that the sides came to me pre-bent, but not profiled, to the mm option is not open to me for this one.

My question is still - yeah I'm a pita - if I use a copy of the actual back, braced in the same dish I use for all my backs, place it in the rims at the heights I want, and trace that outline onto the rims, and trim the rims to that outline - how can that NOT work when it is time to glue on the back?

I'm having trouble visualizing why it would not work.

Thanks for all the help.

Card stock/paper templates taped to the rim halves?

The simple braced back does not have the lengthwise contour or the compound curvatures the profiled rim eventually imparts on the back assembly. At least that's what I see.

Thanks all. I'll stop stinking up the place now - though if you have any suggestions feel free to send a PM. :-)

I don't use a mega mould so am not sure if my advice will be any good, but couldn't you just 'jack up' one side of the rims and then use your radiused sanding beam to create the correct rim profile?

I use a solid mould and radius dish, so when I'm finalising the rim contour/back radius, the sides are totally out of perpendicular to the back, but still perpendicular to the top and my sanding is done upside down i.e. grit in the dish and the back of the rims facing downwards.

Bob do you have some pixs of the wedge shaped guitars you have constructed?

Seems like sanding the wedge profile in a dish rotating the rim by hand would take forever? How do you keep the rim on the proper tilted plane? Just not seeing how the rim can be rotated, centered and angle tilted by hand to create an accurate wedge shape?

Thanks

I would think the side to side wedge should not be dealt with much differently than the tail to neck taper. I am able to use a dish to get the proper taper. To maintain the plane of the radius dish I have a few marks on the rims in key locations marking the final height. While sanding I make sure I am approaching the marks evenly and adjust accordingly. If I am way off I might use a plane to get closer to save time.

To make profiling the rims even easier I would use one of a varieties of ways to get a profile of the back edge of the rim, use that curve to make two proper sized templates, transcribe the template to the rim and cut or plane close. I would clean it up with a radius sanding beam or a radius dish. I would draw out a two separate side profiles with the the ends square to the top and the height of the ends corresponding to the desired height of the blocks taking into account the slope of the wedge. I would then use the first mentioned back edge profile to draw close to the proper curve from end to end of the back edge of my templates. Once I cut or planed close to the profile it is not that much work to clean it up with a radius dish.

The ways I see to get that edge profile the curve is to use an existing profile for the size of the instrument and realize it is close. Use the radius sanding beam and measure every inch or place a mold in a radiused sanding dish and use a a pencil and a washer to draw the curve on to a card board strip,