Acoustic Guitar Construction

How did you folks feel, waiting for that "first" kit to arrive?

I paid for my KMG kit 2 weeks ago today. I have read through the "Assembly Kit" instructions, and am re-reading about putting the mold together, as I know this part of the assembly is crucial in itself. I study this forum, as I know there is a lot of information here, which can help in a successful build, and assist in the waiting period for the kit to arrive here..

I keep going downstairs, walk up to my work bench and just stare at it..

I feel like I am getting ready to attend basic training in the Army all over again! (Delayed Entry - lol)
My belly is "knots and butterflies" for sure!

I picture this kit already done, and I see myself sitting on my couch, picking a tune or two! LOL!

Can't wait - Can't wait - Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It IS worth the wait!! :-)

Hey Orison, I remember the anticipation.
You can spend some of your waiting time planning your SECOND guitar build.
I hope you share your experience with us when you get started.

Kevin

Oh yes, I remember the anticipation.

One thing to do with your time is build a check list off of the KMG instructions, and then check and double check it against the real deal.

It is so easy to have read the instructions, and then jump into building when the kit arrives - only to find you followed what you thought the kit said, or the order of the steps it said. With all the excitement its easy to jump ahead . Make sure you understand the goal of each step, and the exact order to do things.

And sharpen your tools, or learn to sharpen if you're not already proficient - plenty of ways to keep yourself busy until it arrives.

Ditto for Daniel's suggestion - getting your tools sharpened up is always time well-spent. A card scraper for example, is not only cheap to buy, but will come in handy for various tasks like scraping the bindings after they are glued in. But sharpening a scraper takes some practice, so you could work on that. Likewise for blockplanes and chisels.

You might be getting Ken's cam clamps just like I did, but while I was waiting for the kit I built a few extras. You can never have too many clamps, as they say.
There's plans available on the internet to make your own cam clamps . This is but one of them http://woodworkstuff.net/HoweClamp.html


Other things to do: If you'll be using titebond glue, get some now. I had to order it and it took a week to arrive. Do you have CA glue yet? How about rubber bands and clothespins? You can do some advance prep by getting these sorts of things now.

Just read Howe's presentation on making cam clamps. Made all kinds of sense to me until he said to 'mortise in' the slots in the clamps for the steel bar. And nothing else. He left out the trickiest part of making a cam clamp. I'm supposed to know what 'mortise in' means, and I don't. Can someone please suggest how this is done?

Thanks very much.

You could create the mortise in the jaws in a couple of ways:

1) Use a drill press with a forstner drill bit to make a series of holes in the jaw, and then chisel out the waste to square up the corners

2) cut your jaw in half lengthwise. Use a table saw with a dado saw blade (or regular saw blade with many passes) to cut a groove in half of the jaw. Repeat with the other half. Then glue the halves together with the grooves matched up, and you have a mortise.