Acoustic Guitar Construction

mike-p wrote:Surely I need to cut the tail wedge (block) down to 1/2" or so protruding, maybe I'm missing something but reading the instructions the excess is sanded away, would take me a while to do the 1 1/2- 2" I've got above the rim! I understand that the back of the guitar is curved/arched slightly, I have got the soundboard side down flat against the mould as I should.

There's a photo in the rim contouring instructions that shows the 1/2" of the tail block above the rim, so yes you can saw it down to get to that height, and then (when you get to that step) use a block plane to shave it down further to get within a "sandable" amount.

Yes it is perfectly OK to cut off the tail block excess, but as mention it is important to leave it proud of the side by .35” – I am hesitant to mention trimming the block in advance because there are those that will immediately take that giant leap and trim it flush. What needs to be understood is that the back is a dome so the projections going inboard must follow that contour.

You’ll be in good hands here at the AGCF – these guys know their stuff and are extremely helpful and friendly. Good observation regarding some of the other forums just keep in mind that “anyone can say anything (fact or fiction)” and some will do just that.

amused myself this evening making a bench hook as i saw in the J-45 thread when cutting the sides. Here is the warp, do I need to remedy this or just clamp it up and press on? Thanks all. Am getting my TINY work room organised and generally telling myself that I can do it! Err, with you guys' help. Oh, and a pic of the saw I was trying to use, I think it's basically the right one, I just hadn't got the hang of it. I managed to get a blade that fitted my ancient jigsaw which is good news though. Am also getting my clamps built now i have some IMPERIAL drill bits.

Yep cupping is not unusal. When using a back saw, razor saw. fret saw its alway best to have the material clampled firmly to the bench and also have a a sacrificial back up board. the clamp caul can and should be used as your cutting guide. This keeps the thin materail flat and give you a nice straight edge to slide the saw against as well as preventing the wood from sliding around. Now, one other thing these fine tooth saw blades sometimes only cut in one direction -- so detemine if yours is cutting when you push it forward or pull it back, this will give you a clue as when to apply the cutting pressure. Not doing anyone of the things mentioned can cause the saw to bind and you to say "discouraging words."

Thanks Ken, did a bit of work with a quite worn file and evened my cuts out a little bit, there is not a chink of light but no more. And block trimmed as you described. More pics of the joints,

That looks good. If you are going to put an end wedge treatment, you have plenty of leeway on that joint because you will be cutting it out anyway.

Kevin

When I use my razor saw or a pull saw to cut the sides to length, I always use a piece of wood clamped on the line as my guide. My razor saw no longer has a straight blade and the pull saws have flexible blades that can cause the cut to wander if you don't use a guide block. I do my best to get the sides to join perfectly at the neck block, but I don't get myself worked up about a lousy joint at the tail because I always use a tail wedge so I know any shoddy joinery will be covered and erased from the history books! However, as a matter of practice and habit, I try to get all of my joints as tight as possible. Your guitar is coming along nicely. I knew a guy who had two full kits and sides bent for a scratch build but he was so terrified of making a mistake, that he would not make a cut on any of the parts. Glad to see you have made some progress. You will see that it is not quite as difficult as you may have imagined. Take your time, ask questions, and short of cutting the neck in half, we can help you figure out how to resolve just about any problem, or fix any mistake. Actually, even cutting the neck in half could be fixed, but I would be extra gentle with it!