Build Thread: 000 Koru kahikatea/Heart Rimu.

[christian]

Hi Guys,

There seemed to be bit of interest from the good folk on here regarding a build thread I had posted on another forum
so I thought I would share it on here. It's nothing spectacular just a clean looking build utilising my beloved New Zealand natives. It features Kahikatea for the top which in my eyes is the Adirondack spruce of NZ.
Heart Rimu which is again botanically a softwood, but the heartwood is very dense and has a beautiful grain.
The soundhole design is a Koru which is used frequently in maori art, it symbolises a unfurling fern tree frond.
for more info you can read about it on this page. http://www.christiandruery.com/the-koru.php
enjoy!

Christian.

[Bruce McC]

Thank you Christian for sharing your build post.
Would be good to see how you do your mitred top/back/side joins.

[Kev3]

Thank you Christian for sharing your build post.
Would be good to see how you do your mitred top/back/side joins.

+1
(if you don't mind giving away some of the secrets to the clean lines of your signature look )
cheers

[kiwigeo]

Kahikatea was once turned into butter boxes. One good example of the shocking waste of native timbers that went on in NZ not that long ago. My parents old house built in Christchurch in 1967 has rimu framing throughout.

[Kamusur]

Nice one Christian, bring it on.

Steve

[DarwinStrings]

Deja vous, interesting bit of figure in that MDF Christian.

Jim

[Nick]

Kahikatea was once turned into butter boxes. One good example of the shocking waste of native timbers that went on in NZ not that long ago. My parents old house built in Christchurch in 1967 has rimu framing throughout.

When I was married we had an old house down in North Beach, heart rimu framing. Went to put an archway in ( back when they were fashionable!) so made a Pine arch frame and stood it in the opening, driving the 4 inch nails through the pine and into that stuff........might have had more luck driving them into concrete with a childs toy hammer! I had to pre drill pilot holes, soap and blunt the nails, they still bent unless I was extra careful and they played a nice tune as they were driven in!

[christian]

Yeah Jim this MDF is a strange one its chipboard with 2mm veneers of some kind of MDF, its cheap and works well for jigs.
@ Martin, Nick yip we certainly plundered out natives if only they had some foresight and saved it all just for guitars it would be one super asset!!!. If you ever get the chance to see Song of the Kauri its a brilliant doco on this very subject and features Laurie Williams.

This guitar is almost ready for spraying now, so i'll keep updating it with sets of photos as frequently as possible.

Cheers,

Christian.

[colburge]

Yeah Jim this MDF is a strange one its chipboard with 2mm veneers of some kind of MDF, its cheap and works well for jigs.
@ Martin, Nick yip we certainly plundered out natives if only they had some foresight and saved it all just for guitars it would be one super asset!!!. If you ever get the chance to see Song of the Kauri its a brilliant doco on this very subject and features Laurie Williams.

This guitar is almost ready for spraying now, so i'll keep updating it with sets of photos as frequently as possible.

Cheers,

Christian.

Is that a 45 degree chamfer bit is the trimmer Christian?

Cheers

Col

[christian]

yes a 45deg bit.

Christian.

[christian]

The next 10 pics are the sequence to cut out the koru soundhole and top bracing.
Cheers,

Christian

[christian]

After seeing Steve's build this guitar is looking positively ordinary.
Still we all have our own aesthetic and mine at the moment is this clean look.
The next set of photos are of the back being braced, and the sides machined and bent on the trusty side bender.

Cheers,

Christian.

[Stephen Kinnaird]

Now that is the most interesting soundhole I've ever seen.
How creative! How will you trim that...if indeed you do?

Steve

[christian]

Hi Steve,

Thanks, for the comments.
Indeed no trim on this one, pure form.

Cheers,

Christian.

[nnickusa]

Looks great Christian. How much difference is there in the size of your top and back profiles? Would have been a pain to sort that all out, I'd guess.

I'd be keen to try the technique, but don't know if I can pull it off.

[christian]

Hi Nick,

I'm not sure what you mean by the difference in the profiles?. The top and back are radiused as per a normal build. the side,back and top templates are exactly the shape of the finished guitar. I start at 3mm thick for both the top and back, after mitring I thickness according to stiffness.
hope that makes sense.

Christian.

[colburge]

Hi Nick,

I'm not sure what you mean by the difference in the profiles?. The top and back are radiused as per a normal build. the side,back and top templates are exactly the shape of the finished guitar. I start at 3mm thick for both the top and back, after mitring I thickness according to stiffness.
hope that makes sense.

Christian.

I think Nick was referring to the radii as you've mentioned. I was thinking the same thing as Nick, as in if the top and back were radiussed they wouldn't meet the sides at 90 degrees anymore. It is obviously doesnt matter as it must only be out by an insignificant amount.

Col

[christian]

Hi Col,

Gotcha, yip the the amount is insignificant.

Cheers,

Christian.

[nnickusa]

Not really. I was thinking more that the top has flat sides to land on, while the back, assuming it's got a taper, would result in an incrementally, but noticeably, different outline.

Maybe I used the wrong word. Do you get what I mean now? Ie: my OM back goes from 100mm at the tail to 105-110 at the centre of the lower bout and tapers down to 95+/- at the neck.

This ought to give a difference of a few mm's at the least, and would also require that the sides are all perfect(not there yet, myself) and square, etc.....

I don't use a radius dish, as I have seen too many guitars with a bulge at the tail. I want mine to be straight across, so I make a top and bottom dish for each style guitar I want to make, ala' Kinkade.....

Does any of this make sense to you? Christian. I'm sure that I'm not using the proper terminology.....too new to the game....

[christian]

I think you are talking about the side profile. I took a finished guitar and traced the side profile on some thin card, noting the the waist curve as a reference point. Then copied that to a piece of MDF and accurately made a template for it. So once the side is bent it should line up with the back and top profile.
I hope that helps.
maybe the next set of photos will make things more clear.
will post tomorrow.
Cheers,

Christian.

[christian]

It might help if I actually attached the next pics!!
here they are.

Cheers,

Christian.

[nnickusa]

Two questions, Christian.

1. Do you add linings to the top and back? seems a really small glue area to hold a vibrating top....

2. Is your side bender using light bulbs? And, if so, how many. I've got 4 outdoor spots at 150watts, that get hot as blazes, and I'm not using for anything. I'd have a go at a side bender if you thought that much would do the trick, tho I do love bending on a hot pipe......that may have sounded wrong. I meant a bending pipe.....

Cheers,
Nick

[colburge]

Two questions, Christian.

1. Do you add linings to the top and back? seems a really small glue area to hold a vibrating top....

2. Is your side bender using light bulbs? And, if so, how many. I've got 4 outdoor spots at 150watts, that get hot as blazes, and I'm not using for anything. I'd have a go at a side bender if you thought that much would do the trick, tho I do love bending on a hot pipe......that may have sounded wrong. I meant a bending pipe.....

Cheers,
Nick

Christian, it is interesting having no kerfed linings - It looks like it would go together easily but I suspect it isn't the case. Nick, I just made a small LB bender for Ukuleles and I used 540 watts, it gets damn hot and worked well to my surprise, so I think 600w will do the trick.

Col

[christian]

Hey Nick and Col,

I do add pre bent linings they are very thin only 2.5mmx 10mm
you will find you don't really need much in the way of a lining if you don't have binding or purfling to worry about.

yip my bender has light bulbs three 150W. I found by lining the area with tin foil it heats up my steel slat super hot really quick. I only use the bender because I'm lazy, if you are competent on a hot pipe just stick with that.

Cheers,

Christian.

[christian]

The next few pics are the shortened sequence of the Rimu neck construction and fitting.

Cheers,

Christian.