Acoustic Guitar Construction

Ken, I measured the thickness of the top and I have lots of room to sand down the rosette area. It's pretty difficult to measure the thickness accurately around the sound hole since the inside purfling ring is in the way. However the top measures .115" on the treble side perimeter and .109" on the bass perimeter. So, all should be well in the end.

Yeah I try and keep dims within .005" ---- our 37" dual drum is a challenge to keep perfect. That said I've determined over the years it's best to leave the plates a little thick and do the the tweaking with a RO or by hand

Looks like a fun project.

Here's Dave rounding the bottom of his rim.

Dennis' top braces nearing completion:

Our projects are coming along nicely. Dave's box is ready to rout for binding/purfling channels and he has his neck finish sanded. My top is now trial fitted to the rim. I discovered a very accurate way to mark the rim notches and I'll post this in the binding section later. My top braces just dropped right into the notches perfectly. However we ran into a problem with two H.F. routers throwing the trimmer bit. IMHO, the quality control for these routers leaves a lot to be desired, so buyer beware. The problem essentially lies in not being able to tighten the collet securely. I "fixed" one router by placing a small aircraft washer on top of the collet, which allowed a more secure connection. However, I just don't trust it enough to risk cutting channels. So I ordered a new Bosch Colt router, which should be here in a few days.

I'm taking a break from fishing to get back to work on my guitar. It's coming along quite nicely. I amazed myself with how well the routing and binding task went.