What's happening in your shed?

[DarwinStrings]

Funny you should mention "Stella" Alan as I am working on a bit of a Oscar Schmidt tribute parlour at the moment my self.

Jim

[ozziebluesman]

I would like to see some pictures Jim. This one is for a friend and is not a true Stella with the ladder bracing. This young fella is a working muso so we decided to go with an x brace design. He hits pretty hard too so I have built it to take a pounding.

By the way I didn't have enough ebony off cuts for the chess board but Tim in WA sent me some Pacific Blackwood and that will look fantastic with the maple and the Queensland Maple table. Thank you Tim!

Cheers

Alan

[DarwinStrings]

My intention is more Oscar Schmidt on the outside Alan, inlays and dyed woods rather than the construction. Will post pics for sure.

Jim

[DarwinStrings]

A repair job. I have seen this many times but this time decided to post. Other than this it seems like a nice guitar made by Tanglewood, nice wood and Maple bindings. The glue felt like CA but not sure and there was at least 4mm of finish right around the edge that was not scraped away.

Jim

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[soulman]

That makes my potters wheel with a radius dish in it look positively anaemic Rob. But I'm not sure I could devote that much space to your beast.

Milling machines are just so much fun to have in the shop. I'm amazed at what they can do that you just wouldn't have thought of before you had one. For instance did you know that you can thickness the hardest of hardwoods that just take forever on the drum sander by using a face mill with cutters designed to machine aluminium? Cuts wood like it was cheese and leaves a polished surface. And no burning of sandpaper.

You also start to get a different perspective on how close is close enough when you can accurately machine something down to 0.001mm.

Mills are fantastic. I`ve done a lot of machining of aluminium. We used a mitsubishi tip. Razor sharp.With speed and feed correct I could take 12mm off diameter in one cut. (should see the swarf coming off) I`m sure you have something similar. would be fantastic on wood with a great finish. Just remember to have all the axis on your mill dialed in for trueness.

[Allen]

I've got a 63mm head with the MItsubishi Aluminium cutter tips. It's a sight to behold to see feathery light chips flying off.

Had the first real go at using the DRO today when making up a couple of bridges. It's really amazing how much backlash there are in the screws. You notice right away because the DRO doesn't register a movement until that backlash has been taken up and the table start to move.

[martintaylor]

Funny the things you get asked. I had a good friend bring around his wooden body board (a Surfie made by Tom Wegener). It was split in two. Ended up coming together really well.



nasty split.



The trick was finding the right glue. The timber is Paulownoia which is light and actually likes being in salt water. The glue I used is Purbond. It is a waterproof glue used in wooden boat building and surfboard making.

I taped up near the join to help with clean up.



I used the same method I use for joining my soundboards, just on a slightly bigger scale.



Came together really well.



Now, back to guitars!

[auscab]

I just Googled the board , I was about to say " its a skate board isn't it ? " It looks so small .
I was keeping an eye out for your Norris there on your workbench as well Martin.

[soulman]

I've got a 63mm head with the MItsubishi Aluminium cutter tips. It's a sight to behold to see feathery light chips flying off.

Had the first real go at using the DRO today when making up a couple of bridges. It's really amazing how much backlash there are in the screws. You notice right away because the DRO doesn't register a movement until that backlash has been taken up and the table start to move.

You Maybe able to adjust some of the backlash out. Depends on the machine and how they made lead screw nuts. On the lathes they had a split nut and I could adjust a lot of the backlash out. You won`t get rid of it totally but it is good to minimise it. You will get used to it though.

[kiwigeo]

Not a huge amount going on in my workshop of late due to a heavy work schedule. Nearing completion is a falcate braced Blackwood/Engleman classical...built using Spanish method. Latest addition to the workshop is a chisel mortiser....still in the process of being commissioned.

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[liam_fnq]

In amongst house renovations and website building I'm biting off more than I can chew and starting a new pair of tenor resonators.

There's an all Tassie Blackwood with rope bindings one as well as this Milo reso. I got this very nice milo from Brett at curlykoatonewoods.com. Apparently it's a bit rare in its Hawaiian homeland. So rare that there wasn't enough to do the top of the reso as well so I whipped out a nice bit western red cedar for the top

[DarwinStrings]

My newest tool, just finished. I goes from 55mm to 155mm diametre and the adjuster has a 1mm pitch thread so one full turn equals 1mm of adjustment. To take out any backlash i used nylon washers and also filled the thread in the brass bit with epoxy so all up there is bugga all discernible backlash.

Jim

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[n~dl]

Dang, I'd love to see any pics of your mill setup, Allen. Sounds like I'd use that thing non-stop!

(Grain of salt: I'm jealous of anyone with a work bench at this point.)

[Allen]

Well, here is a picture of milling the saddle slot in some Snakewood. 9 degree tilt back and cut in one pass full depth.

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Then I had to do a batch of bridges for the upcoming uke class, so had a play with learning the line hole function on the DRO. Made a tedious job quite enjoyable. And those string holes are within 0.005mm.

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[Bruce McC]

Its getting too cold in Canberra at the moment to spend much time in my shed (tin garage).
I have just finished making a binding router jig, using a heavy duty runner off a TV swivel stand
for the sliding mechanism. Will try the jig out on my current build, a classical guitar with red cedar top
(ex Tim Spittle) and New Guinea rosewood back / sides (ex Woodrat). I am also playing around
with a $30 cheapy that I picked up in an op shop in Brisbane. Have stripped back the finish and
will now thin out the top around the edges to see what affect that has. Then if I am not happy
with the outcome I will replace the top.

[Allen]

I had a bit of a score yesterday by acquiring a Swiss made Schaublin 70 toolroom lathe. These lathes have been built since the 1920's and are coveted by watch and instrument makers for their deadly accuracy and fine build. And still being made today. Says something about the design. But if you have to ask how much for a new one, you most likely can't afford it.

It's a small lathe ideally suited to the space and tasks I have in mind for it. Came with a huge selection of extras including 2 tail stocks, lever actuated double cutoff cross slide, collets from 12mm down to something that looks like it could hold a hair.

I knocked up a sturdy stand on good locking casters yesterday and placed the lathe in place next to the milling machine.

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[matthew]

I have a new workshop ...



... however in my usual shed I'm clearing out after a long run to finish this bass viewtopic.php?f=25&t=5502, vacuum all the crap out, tidy my tools and resume the restoration of the old french bass before starting a new build in a couple of months time.

[Gerry Coon]

A little bit of fun with some Huon Pine. Brings back memories of a vintage L5 I once fondled. Wish I could have handed this one to Floyd Jones when I last saw him. Any one out there do time travel? Fretboard is Belah sourced from forum member "Curly". Thanks again Pete. Soundboard is King William Pine, Tuned GDg.

[Parlourman]

I've really enjoyed this thread. Great to see what everyone is up to.

Due to a recent op and subsequent recovery time, I've been able to start work on two guitars. Which will be number one and two for me. The first is a stewmac dreadnought kit, a prezzie given to me about a year or so ago. Part of me wishes that my first guitar wasn't from a kit - but its actually been great to get my head round the processes/tools needed and i'm jigging up as I go along.

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I made the go-bar deck about a year ago - but recently made the bars themselves. I used strips of "strand woven" bamboo flooring, after a mate laid it in his house. Its really good. The bars flex amazingly, and because they are woven, there is no grain direction - took them down to 4mm.

The second guitar is a parlour. Blackwood sides and back, king billy top and queensland maple neck. I machined the blackwood and the kingbilly about a year ago and since then it's been sitting in my shed winking at me.

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I spent last night bending the sides for the parlour and I take my hat off to everyone of you!! It went well, in the end!! - but it took FOREVER. I'd steam and bend a section, only to unbend it - the second side took about a quarter of the time!

Otherwise, I went to a gig the other day and saw a bloke playing a stomp box - i knew they existed, but had never heard one - so i thought i'd try and make one, I had a small piezo salvaged from a junked guitar. Sounds Ok. A bit of a one trick pony in my hands (or feet!) but fun nonetheless.

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Have routed the bindings tonight on the dreddie and am celebrating with liberal amounts of ale.

Steve

[Taffy Evans]

Hi all, it's good to see what you are all up to. Just found some time to contribute to this thread. I could spend every waking moment in the workshops to get though what I've gotta do, wanna do, gonna do, and finish whats already started. You know what I'm talking about, your probably in the same situation. And then one needs time to pursue other activities out side of shavings, dust and glue.

Here are some pics of whats on my, under my, over my benches..................

Two solid lap slide guitars and a wood top banjo

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1 x Rosewood '000' 1 x NGR '000' 2 x NGR Parlor guitars

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Timber ready for a Mahogany Dred and an African Walnut '000'

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Some restorations: Two Maton's 1 x 6 and 1 x 12 string 1 x "Evans" 12 string 1979 and 1 x Yarai Nylon and Regal parlor guitar.

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These two awaiting delivery: 1 x CBG and I x Hollow Neck Lap Steel [when I first planned this post they were in the workshop]

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And why such a back log.......a mans gotta have some social life [maybe too much though.

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[DarwinStrings]

Looks like you don't feed that bike enough Taffy.

Jim

[Nick]

A trials bike! I've never ridden a motorcycle but if there's one I love watching, it is the skills, control and balance you guys have and could watch trials riding all day long.

[DaveW]

I think Martin needs to clear his shelves of some of that wood !
so he is the hoarder everyone alludes to ?
Dave