2 questions

[56nortondomy]

Hi all, i have 2 questions to ask.
1 Is Huon pine ok for a bridge? Thinking of laminating with it cf.
2 I'm starting an OM with African b/wood, is there anything tricky with it? ( gluing bending etc. ) It will also have a cutaway, any ideas for cutaway side thickness? ( technically that's 3 questions i think ) Thanks Wayne

[charangohabsburg]

I never have worked with either wood species you are mentioning, but have heard nothing good about workability of African Blackwood.
I hope that helps with two technical questions!

[56nortondomy]

Thanks Markus that makes everything clear now.
Wayne

[jeff crisp]

I'm not saying that no one has ever made a bridge out of a soft wood but all timber bridges I have seen have always been made from hard wood. Carbon fiber will no doubt help strengthen it but I would think you would still have some issues with it like wear and tear...but I could be wrong.

[woodrat]

Hi Wayne....I am in the process of finishing my first guitar with the BRW that I reclaimed from the table that I brought back from the UK earlier this year. I was terrified when it came to the bending of the cutaway as the only other two BRW guitars that I have built were non cutaway ones. I bent mine on my cutaway OM form and I thinned the cutaway area from just the head side of the waist down to about 1.4-1.5mm and heated it longer than I would have for any other timber...it was really hot. I also soaked it in a trough of hot water for a while and wrapped it in brown paper and soaked that well too before loading up the bender. The bend went perfectly I am happy to say....your ABW would be similar I would expect...

John

[Bruce McC]

Hi Wayne

I am pretty sure Bob O'Connor has done an all Huon Weissenborn, if you search Huon Pine under Instrument Builders Forum you should find the post. The oil content of Huon may possibly be an issue when glueing, perhaps Bob may like to comment on his experience with the Weissenborn.

[Bruce McC]

Oops I meant Bob Connor, not O'Connor, my apologies Bob.

[jeff crisp]

I'm not saying that no one has ever made a bridge out of a soft wood but all timber bridges I have seen have always been made from hard wood.

I stand corrected. Apologies to Bob.

[56nortondomy]

Thanks Jeff and Bruce, yes i did see Bob's huon bridge, but i wasn't really convinced it was a good idea that's why i've asked the question, the customer is a huon nut, most things are ok, armrest, headstock veneer,rosette that sort of thing, i think i'll try and talk him out of it. Thanks John, i was thinking of doing the cutaway section on a pipe, i'll thin it down as you suggest and hope for the best ( customer supplied this wood so i don't want to stuff it up.) Wayne

[jeff crisp]

Similar to woodrat the last cutaway I did I soaked that section in an old electric frying pan. I gave a small bend first so I could keep both ends dryer... Only done 2 cutaways to date so there may be better approaches...conditioner/supersoft?

[56nortondomy]

Thanks Jeff

[Bob Connor]

I actually built that Huon Pine Weissenborn as an objet d'art rather than an instrument that was going to get flogged day in and day out.

Turns out that a touring muso fell in love with it and he gigs with it almost daily.

I'm expecting that I'll be replacing that bridge at some stage. The sound of the instrument is fine but yeah, I don't think it's going to be that durable.

If it were going to someone who was playing it at home and changing the strings once a year it'd probably be OK.

That Weissy is actually not all Huon Pine - the bridge plate is Honduran Rosewood which should last for a while.

REgards

[56nortondomy]

Thanks Bob, that settles it no huon bridge, he can miss out on that one. Wayne

[56nortondomy]

Thanks again John and Jeff, i did as advised and thinned the side to 1.5mm from near the waist, i soaked the side in hot water with some fabric softener in it. I decided to do it on a form with the blanket instead of the pipe, everything went smoothly and i didn't hear any cracking, so it's all good. Thanks again Wayne