Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Nice demo Allen.

Hi Ric I learned this lesson the same way you did, and not until my third guitar. I was just lucky with the first two as I paid absolutely no attention to humidity issues during those builds. But number 3 developed serious problems after I had closed the box. I build when I can find the time. A good...

Oh dear! I just checked the BOM observations for Melbourne over recent days. On Saturday the RH was in the 70-80% range (was that when you glued the bracing?) and then on Sunday it was in the mid 20s. That kind of drying out will result in this potato chip phenomenon. Most of us have been here befor...

Nice one Peter. That is just how a OM should look in my opinion. And I will take your word for it that the sound is right on. Are you doing bolt on neck joints, or dovetail?

I use the StewMac string spacing ruler at both ends, which works on equal gap spacing. And the general rule about string spacing at the saddle is that the span between the 1st and 6th strings is equal to the width of the neck at the 12th fret. If you go wider than that at the saddle the outside stri...

Yes, this is the common syndrome seen in cheap old 12-strings. All of that string tension pulls the bridge up, and also usually deforms the top as Richard described in his point #5, and also gradually pulls the neck angle forward. Eventually those things cause the string action to rise, and that mak...

OK. I hope you find one that suits. I do fingerboards with bicycle inner tubes.

Ahhhh!
I take it that we are talking about laminated guitar sides? Or are you branching out into manufacture of water skis (alpine skiing not being too popular on the Gold Coast)?

I am trying to work out how a fire hose becomes a clamp. Haven’t worked out the answer yet.

I agree with the replies you have got so far. You want the bridge plate to extend in front to the bridge, to counter the rotation of the bridge forwards - but yours is OK in that direction. You need the pin holes to pass through it to reinforce the top against the ball ends of the strings - but that...

I agree, the cleats are much heavier than they need to be. They could be part of the problem and youcould reach inside with a sanding block and take them down to half their current thickness to see if the resonance of the top changes. The bracing looks OK, but looks can be deceptive. Probe along the...

Yes, that is an interesting (crazy?) idea - really well executed. The case is very impressive too.

If the sound changed after being exposed to heat it might be because glue failure has resulted in some of the braces being loose, or the bridge unglued and poorly coupled to the top. Those issues would be fixable, so check carefully inside with a mirror and feeler gauges. I doubt that the refinishin...

Yep, like Martin said, the trusty half-a-pencil - and mirror image one side to get the other. If the pickup control box is in the way just leave a gap for that bit and I am sure you will be able to fill it in later.

I think the problem that you had here is down to the grain orientation of the timber, more than the temperature. The way that it cracked in that rounded pattern suggests to me that it is mainly flat sawn, rather than quartered, and has delaminated between two growth plates which are oblique to the p...

Rod, the build quality looks great, but the colouring and finish are simply sensational. Congratulations!

Yes, waiting for the right day to do the next step in your build is very frustrating. If your building is part-time and fit-it-in-when-you-can (as mine is) then it tends to be rainy days that you have spare moments - but that is exactly the time that you can’t do the critical steps. It sounds like y...

There are two critical stages of your build where high RH can really ruin your job. These are: (1) the bracing of the soundboard and back, and (2) the point at which you close the box by gluing the top and back to the rims. If your wood is swollen by high water content as you perform these steps - a...

stevemc32 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 10, 2020 7:10 pm

So it's all done and sounding great.

Now time to finish reading the books and get the shed cleaned up for the next project. Cheers!

Happy times!

Hi Seth, and welcome to the forum. Your pair of teles look great, and I bet your Dad was thrilled with that gift. It is really mice that you had locally sourced timber, and then photograph them in the same vicinity. What sort of finish did you put on those? It has highlighted the colours in the camp...

Sitar buzzing sound typically comes from the saddle or the nut having a flat spot, rather than a peak. If it goes away when the string is fretted then I think you probably have correctly located it to the nut. If you play the string open (so it is buzzing) and then press your finger on the string di...

Wow, that is a beautiful guitar! The bearclaw figure in the spruce is almost as lively as the curl in the maple, so they complement each other perfectly. As others have said, the inlays are very nicely done. I particularly like the headstock shape. Just a top notch job overall.

kiwigeo wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 03, 2020 2:19 pm

Nice work mate. I fixed up that photo that was on it's side....makes it easier to see that nice stash of wood behind the guitar

Yes, there are clearly going to be some more nice instruments coming out of that workshop......

The whole thing looks really great! The sheoak is beautiful under finish, and the whole design really came together well. I hope you are thrilled with the outcome. The saddle looks managable, especially if you can take it down a bit from where it is in that photo. Things like mitred purflings are de...

Since your bridge is already glued on, I suggest you now only need to concentrate on where the saddle needs to go. The calculations that you make will indicate the position of the front (soundhole side) of the saddle slot. This calculation is as mentioned before. The books give a method of calculati...