What's on your bench? - October 2009

Clancy · Post by **Clancy** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:26 am

Joe, the frame saw idea came from this site

http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php3

Got the Bahco blade from Bunnings for $8.50. It's for a garden Bow Saw (I call them Bush Saws).
Took it home & hammered the teeth flat to narrow the kerf.
I used scrap blackwood for the frame which ended up being too narrow & bendy under tension. Rock maple would have been better.
The 2 inner beams running beside the blade are a modification.
They are not fixed, just held in place under compression. Can be moved to any width for different boards.
These enabled me to get enough tension that the blade sings like a guitar string when plucked.

Paul,
I didn't find the workout that bad, but Tassie Myrtle sure isnt Jarrah.
And the guitar widow could cope with $8.50. If I got the 18" bandsaw it would have to come with a bed and a lawyer.

Taffy Evans · Post by **Taffy Evans** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:10 pm

I've got 5 guitars on the bench, or rather one on top and 4 underneath, an I try to move from one to the other over time.

Most recently my time has be spent on this parlor guitar whilst waiting for parts for a solid body commission.

The parts have arrived so it's back to the electric guitar, and the parlor goes into its storage container for a few weeks.

But I've also got to get these repairs out of the way too this week.

All part of the fun.

seeaxe · Post by **seeaxe** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 4:55 pm

Nothing on my bench but dust at the moment but I am loving this thread!
Fantastic stuff people, thanks for taking the time to show what you are up to.

Richard

HiString · Post by **HiString** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 8:27 pm

"The bench" (in my case) is 3/4 finished............being built specifically for woodwork/instruments, designed to hold my vacuum system, etc., underneath. Running parallel to that, the top plate wedges for my archtop are glued together and "living" in the studio (RH approx., 45%) and my thickness gauge is approx., 60% finished. Bit by bit things will fall into place.

matthew · Post by **matthew** » Tue Oct 20, 2009 8:48 pm

Here you go. Such a small thing, a back shrinking, but it promises to be my most difficult repair yet.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 5:19 am

Those halves are going to take some shooting Matthew!

Localele · Post by **Localele** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:53 am

New binding jig and a OOO that has been lurking around all year is almost done.

Pete Brown · Post by **Pete Brown** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:58 pm

The OM has had a first coat of epoxy pore fill. In the interests of my health, I tried egg white, but even mixing in some silica thickener it wasn't very successful. I'm sure the slurry method would have worked, but I was worried about contamination of the koa bindings with rosewood sanding dust.

The F5 is based on a design made popular by John Monteleone some years ago. It has a King Billy top which may or may not stand up to the string tension. I used unfigured rock maple which, given its bland appearance and the significant investment of time required by mandolin construction, was a bad decision - as was the choice of top wood for that matter. In hindsight, I should have saved for something more suitable, but when I began this project around eight years ago (!), money was short!

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:15 pm

Nick O wrote:Those halves are going to take some shooting Matthew!

Id be shooting it with both barrels of a Remmington to put it out of its misery

jeffhigh · Post by **jeffhigh** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:07 pm

Couldn't you have just used some duct tape on that centre seam Matthew?

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:39 pm

kiwigeo wrote:Id be shooting it with both barrels of a Remmington to put it out of its misery

brian64 · Post by **brian64** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 9:50 am

Here's what I've been up to.

This is a guitar that I started over 4 years ago and I can see the end in sight. Tomorrow I'm starting another guitar (I have a week off work and intend to get most of it done in that time - luckily I'll have Melbourne Cup day as well).

seeaxe · Post by **seeaxe** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:30 pm

Hi Brian

Thats my kind of work bench!
What are the woods you have used on the body and fretboard??

Cheers
Richard

brian64 · Post by **brian64** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 8:19 pm

Hi Richard,

The body core and centre of the back are African Walnut, the rest of the body and the neck are Goncalo Alves. The fretboard is Madagascar rosewood bound with Goncalo Alves.

Brian.

Stu · Post by **Stu** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:02 pm

G'day Brian,
This one's looking a treat so far, and good to hear you're getting a little extra time in the new workshop.
The shape reminds me a little of a Tokai Talbo body shape, although
they were aluminium.

Cheers, Stu

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:52 pm

Hey, I always seem to be working on lots of projects but I have made enough progress on each that its probably worth putting up some pics.

First my Mac ebony L-00 with back on.

I had the top on this one already but somehow it twisted during glue up and the body was not quite square. I couldn't do this to this lovely piece of wood so I removed the top and have started making a new one. Here is the rosette with bound soundhole.

Next is a zebra wood L-00 for me-Julie. I have bent some tiger myrtle binding to go with it to keep with the safari theme. They were actually the best visual fit by far from the range I had. The ebony bindings in the pic are for my Mac ebony L-00.

Also, my archtop has its body ready for assembly. The neck is also started. The top needs F holes (I havenâ€™t decided what I want yet) and the back needs a final sand and clean up then I can glue it together.

Iâ€™ve also got a couple of RG electrics with maple drop tops and Aust red cedar bodies. They are routed for Floyd Rose trems and I am going to put the new EMG-X series active pickups in them(81-x/60-x). The red cedar is really resonant and light but I thought I should reinforce the neck bolts so I routed in a bit of the top off-cut. Weâ€™ll see how they turn out.

Cheers
Dom

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:04 pm

Gawd, that cedar looks beautiful Dom. It's great to see it put to good service like that.

You've been a busy little beaver haven't you.

seeaxe · Post by **seeaxe** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:07 pm

Dom, they all look great, I'm struggling to decide which I like best!!.
The Macassar Ebony looks stunning, I remember you posting pics of the two backs a while ago.
The zebrawood also. L00 is not my favourite guitar shape but I can see they are going to look fantastic.
The archtop is all class and I really like the way the grain on the cedar folds over the carving on the eleckertrickal.

Inspiring stuff - I'm off to the shed!

Cheers
Richard

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:18 pm

Thanks for the comments guys. Wood sure can amaze with its beauty.
Off to Spain tomorrow so no more work for a bit.
Cheers
Dom

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What's on your bench? - October 2009

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