Acoustic Guitar Construction

Hi guys thought I'd check back in. My sander is sitting in my shop just like I left it. Without a dust hood or a way to adjust it. As you know my wife was wounded and I've been caring for her. Well she had a little setback. Getting ready to go to a neighboring town to the Dairy Queen. I was getting the car ready for her when I looked thru the kitchen window to see her pleading with me to help her. Seems she had lost her balance and heard a big pop in her knee. Of course the pain was unbearable. I got her calmed down and asked what happened. Well I told her your knee is screwed and wired in place and I don't see it coming loose. She called her workmans comp case worker who is an RN. She agreed with what I'd said and told her it probably just some scar tissue breaking lose. But off to the Dr we go to make sure. X-rays showed no movement he told her it was in fact just scar tissue tearing loose. Seems that if it doesn't tear loose they have to get it loose one way or another. Wish they had told us that to start with. Scared my wife terribly. I wasn't scared as I had seen the X-rays and knew that sucker wasn't coming loose. If she had fallen again she may have broken it somewhere else but those are stainless screws and wire. That stuff is holding. Anyway it came after a day of physical therapy. I think all that loosed it up. Anyway she's still very scared. Honestly I don't blame her. I have been following all the threads. Ken I saw that new heater. Cool Beans. Kevin I like yours also. Me? I'm staying in my recliner being a good boy and doing everything I'm told to do:0). I hope y'all are enjoying your holiday season

Well Lonnie I'm glad that what happened was not a bad thing. Hopefully she will continue to heal and get better. You need to finish that sander.
I am so glad I have mine, makes getting those backs, sides, tops, braces, etc, etc, etc, the right thickness!
Enjoy your time in the recliner too. That is where I spend every evening I can.

Thanks Kevin. Yes I do want to get back to my sander. But I did make the larger drum. Putting the bracket on to hold the adjusting mechanism will require a little bit of glue to dry. So I'll have to make it and assemble it inside the house. But I have physical therapy this pm. That is going to come first of course. That's a good enough reason not to go out to the shop. Oh well this leg is going to heal and things will get back to normal. I agree and am looking forward to finishing my sander. I realize how important it is to the quality of my work.

A very Merry, glad all is ok...HURTING and being scared is no fun at all...great looking sander! :>)

Thanks Ray. Sorry to report the sander not making progress. But really don't have much left to do. Just build the dust cover. However I am very pleased that my wife Carol is doing great getting stronger by the day. Today in physical therapy she was able to bend her knee 74 degrees. Her Dr wants 90 degrees by January 6th when she goes back to see him. I'm sure she will make that as she works hard. It's been freezing out in my shop well a couple of days I could have worked buuuut I'll wait. I'm in no hurry. When I get in a hurry I mess things up. Thanks again you have a merry Christmas.

Kevin in California wrote:Now you're talking cowboy!
It's looking like a drum sander. Don't know where Hundley has been lately, but he built one that I think works pretty well for him.

Kevin

Hundley started a new job a bit over a year ago, and has been travelling 3-4 days a week. It's going 10 times better than ever could have expected, but there are plenty of days I would rather be building guitars. These days, when I find myself with enough time to try to make progress on the 3-4 in process or work on some new ones I have in mind, I walk out to the garage, see what's happened to it in my absence, then decide to either crack a beer open or go to the dojo and lose a pound or two. The days I actually choose to work on an instrument, I spend an hour and a half fixing leaks, moving my wife's or my kids crap, and cleaning the rust off my tools and get about 5 minutes of work done. Then its another 2 months before I get out there again.

Hey Lonnie:

Sorry to hear about your wife's knee troubles. My wife runs a physical terrorist company.....believe me, do what the docs and the others say, she'll come out of it just great.

As far as your sander is concerned, looks like you are headed in the right direction. I have a 3/4 hp motor on mine, which is (I think) 21" across. I would be happy with 2 hp today. I can take off about .010" per pass, and sometimes need 2 passes (opposite direction) to get a good even thickness....especially if I was inconsistent in my push. If you stop for whatever reason (shift your grip or stall the roller) you will get a divot across the plate....constant feed NO MATTER WHAT is the key to a good flat plate. On one of these home-made jobs, as you get close to your final thickness, 2-3 passes per adjustment, flipping end for end (not per side) gives you the best consistency you could ask for.

I use a regular shop vac for dust collection. NOt great, but it gets all the airborne stuff. You get a pile underneath the sander, and quite a bit that stays under the roller, but it is heavy, and simply falls to the ground. If you want to get it ALL, use a dust collector. Otherwise, a shop vac hooked up to your guard should do well enough.

You can see what I did here:

http://www.nocturnalguitars.com/Nocturn ... Sander.php

I use mine 3-4 times per year (when I am building, that is). It is not often, but then I will also make 3-4 guitars worth of sides, backs, and tops. SO I spend a few hours running it, then it sits......doesn't seem to harm it a bit. Going to make a few cutting boards over the holidays this week (cause I need em and finally convinced my wife plastic sucks), but have enough guitar wood sanded for the next couple years (or the next 7, at the rate I am going these days). my two younger sons, however, decided they wanted to build a guitar this summer, like their older brother did when he was 8. I'm all for it. Maybe I can start building ribs for my boat while we're all at it.

Anyway, Ken is correct, half the rotation rate than the motor is a good beginning. Every homemade sander is different and can take different stresses. Once everything is plumb and level, start with small bites, and see what the sander/wood can handle. Looking good so far. Happy Holidays to all of you and your families!

Heyyyyyyyyy Ken! Merry Christmas.
Glad to hear you are doing okay, sorry to hear you are not having time to build. But I understand!
Participate when you have time my friend, your contributions are always appreciated and enjoyed!!!!
(I know not to ask about the Maca guitar!! :>) )

Kevin