Acoustic Guitar Construction

Dave I love that clamping caul. I think I will try your method for solid linings.

Today I removed the back from the vaccum bag, did a sanding both sides then glued on the back patch. Egg timer reminds me to clean up squeeze out after 5 minutes or so - works well for me.

Then I bent a waist curve in each of the 16 laminates for solid linings - they are only .060", so that waist bend goes very quickly - may be 15 minutes for the whole batch.

So, 4 at a time, I pulled them into the mold and drizzled thin CA, then using a pipette followed the Ca with accelerator. Turned over the caul and repeated. Maybe 3 minutes per piece of lining, and very little springback. Tomorrow I'll clean them up, put a radius on the lower edge of each, shellac and put aside. I did make them a little long and will trim them to the blocks when I get to that point.

Tomorrow, it's all about sides.

Great exercise Dave,
What veneer thickness for the sides do you use?
Herman

Outside .060", inside .040". The veneer as I got it was .060"

Put a radius on the linings using a 1/4" radius bit
The sides profiled, I then thinned the two inner lams to .040"
Then I put a very basic bend in each lam - not really necessary but it only takes a few minutes - as you can see, the bend is not critical, you just want a little something in about the right spot. The gluing process evens everything out, as the lams are thin and pliable up until then.
After lunch I will glue and clamp one side and let it cure probably for the rest of the day. Meanwhile I can cut some brace material and prepare the blocks.

All ready to glue. I always try to have a damp sponge and paper towels on hand when gluing up.
I am using the JSB method of clamping on this side, and will use the vacuum bag for the other side, just out of curiosity as to any visible difference. The clamping allows you to exert much more force than the bag, but the bag has the advantage in that every single portion of the sides are clamped equally.
That pile of cheap HF clamps has served me well for a long time, I think they are a good value for the money.

Off to a good start Dave. I hadn't thought about using my router table and round over bit on the solid linings. Should be a quick and consistent way to do it.