Acoustic Guitar Construction

I've tried a number of jigs for sharpening and keep coming back to the Veritas® Mk.II Standard Honing Guide. Money well spent for me.
http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page. ... 43078&ap=1


Definitely follow Ken's advice on the 1/4" carbide down-cut spiral router bit - and follow the appropriate climb cut pattern/procedure.

Oli Kozlik wrote: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 !

Thanks for the link Ken. I am trying to find a similar product in the UK but struggling. I understand climb cutting - but would I just put this bit in my router and use the top / back of the guitar as the surface to rest the router on? And would I do the job in several light passes?

Thanks guys!

edit - found this one - http://www.wealdentool.com/acatalog/Onl ... l_907.html

I just put this bit in my router and use the top / back of the guitar as the surface to rest the router on

Yes but don't expect the edge to be perfect on the back side

Just cut the top flush with the sides using the router bit - worth every penny. Took less than 5 minutes and the end result is much neater than using the flapper wheel. Very pleased :). Should have the back on tonight ready to install the bindings tomorrow, and then start work on the neck. I have a week off work so making good progress!

Here is a picture of the L00 mocked up with masking tape holding things together -



-ebony headstock veneer
-rosewood bridge and fretboard
-white plastic binding with bwb purfling on the top
-standard fretboard dot inlays
-stew mac 3 on a plate reproduction vintage tuners

Left to do -

-clean up fretboard
-install frets
-clean up bindings
-glue fretboard to neck
-shape neck
-prep bridge

Then I will sand it and try to do a hand rubbed sunburst. I will be using a water based dye and will be doing plenty of practice runs before trying it on the guitar. Will also speak to the dye manufacturer to see if they think it will be compatible with tru oil. This one will have a pickguard too (probably standard L00 shape, with the tigerstripe colour).

Compared to my 000 this one sounds a lot bassier and louder when tapping the soundboard. Upper bout seems tighter and the back taps at a higher pitch ... who can say what the final product will sound like!? Good I hope ;)

The guitar is looking great. It is really coming along.

Hello!

Work has been slow since I have had a few busy weekends. Got a few days off now so hopefully will be ready to start tru oiling soon. The main thing delaying the project is the hand rubbed sunburst - it isn't that intuitive! I have tried a few different application materials/techniques/dye ratios to try and get a grasp of what will work best and am happy now to proceed on the actual guitar. The scrap wood I have been testing on has been low quality, but hopefully my spruce soundboard will react similarly (I tried it on the soundhole cut out and it seems fine).

The dye I am using is compatible with Tru Oil (I tested it to confirm) - here is the product: http://www.rothkoandfrost.com/water-based-wood-dye/
I bought 5 colours (black, wine red, red, amber, yellow). The wine red is too dark and purply for a traditional sunburst, and I can't see much of difference between the yellow and amber.

Materials I have used to apply the dye: old socks, kitchen roll, lint free cloth, blue kitchen cloth, sponge, lint-free kitchen roll, brush. Lint-free kitchen roll is the best, wrapped around a small block of sponge to make a pad. This is the same material I use - on Mr. Bagwill's recommendation - for applying the tru oil. Brushes are good but difficult to get the burst transitions seamless. Cloth was awful - it soaked up all the dye and I got about 2 strokes of dye out the thing before it would dry up. Sponge is good too but messier and tends to dump a lot of dye out on first contact with the wood.

I will write up as detailed guide as I can in the finishing forum once my top is complete (and assuming it isn't a total disaster!)

Here are some of my test pieces-









below ones have about 8 thin coats of tru oil: