Finished Pics! Dreadnought Acoustic Build - Black Limba

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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Resetting the neck angle (I'd got the predicted action too high) is a beggar once the fretboard is fitted.  It's taken me all day with chisels, razor-planes, sanding blocks and emery cloth strips to 'floss' the neck/body joint and countless times of unbolting it and bolting it back.


    My fear was that I would disturb the side to side alignment, but managed to keep that OK:



    And after the marathon session, the beam is where it should have been in the first place - in line with the top of the saddleless bridge:


    So time for a couple of mock-ups:



    As always, thanks for looking, folks :)
     
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127

    And so to the bit of a build I enjoy the most.  The neck carve

    This is my neck carve kit: 


    ...and of the above, the humble card scraper is the one I use the most.

    I had previously taken some profile measurements of Matt's favourite guitar and transferred those onto a plasticard template for the 1st, 7th and 10th frets.  I had also taken neck depth measurements and had thicknessed the neck to those dimensions.  I scribbled a pencil line down the spine of the neck to make sure I didn't cut into that depth at all.

    For shaping necks I prefer to hold the guitar or bass a bit like a back-to-front cello and draw the cutting tools up from the heel towards the nut.

    First to use was the spokeshave (strictly a two handed job but I was holding the cameral here!) 


    I use the templates to guide how close I'm getting : 


    Once I've taken the corners off, I quite quickly move to the card scraper (again, two-handed): 


    Getting there... 


    And quite quickly it's at the sanding to final fit stage  :)  : 




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  • normula1normula1 Frets: 639
    Lovely stuff Andy
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    normula1 said:
    Lovely stuff Andy
    Thanks!    :)


    I'm seeing Matt on Tuesday to give him a 'first fitting' of the neck profile and to firm up the amplification options. 

    Then I will be able to glue the back on  :) 

    Clearly, until that's on, I can't do the bottom binding and finish off the tailstock, so the walnut and two vertical binding strips here are loose. but gives a decent idea of where I'm heading.  The walnut centre-piece matches the rosette and headstock plate:

      

    The walnut isn't actually bookmatched - that's a pencil line you can see in the photo - but I was able to find some very symmetrical figuring in the sheet offcut.


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  • BigMonkaBigMonka Frets: 1763
    That tail stock detail is beautiful! Have you been sending Matt photos, or is this fitting session his first view?
    Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman, in which case always be Batman.
    My boss told me "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"... now I'm sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as Batman.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    BigMonka said:
    That tail stock detail is beautiful! Have you been sending Matt photos, or is this fitting session his first view?
    No.  He saw some of the early stages in real life but this is significantly further on.  I think he'll be pleased with what he sees.  (I also hope he will be happy with the neck profile - feels great to my old hands)  :)





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  • earwighoneyearwighoney Frets: 3490
    normula1 said:
    Lovely stuff Andy
    Thanks!    :)


    I'm seeing Matt on Tuesday to give him a 'first fitting' of the neck profile and to firm up the amplification options. 

    Then I will be able to glue the back on  :) 

    Clearly, until that's on, I can't do the bottom binding and finish off the tailstock, so the walnut and two vertical binding strips here are loose. but gives a decent idea of where I'm heading.  The walnut centre-piece matches the rosette and headstock plate:

      

    The walnut isn't actually bookmatched - that's a pencil line you can see in the photo - but I was able to find some very symmetrical figuring in the sheet offcut.


    Fine work there Andy. 

    I have a huge amount of respect for the precision guitar makers put into the purfling/binding, as can be seen in the picture.  As a player I feel a bit bad as when I have a guitar in my hands it's something I never appreciate (well that applies to guitars I enjoy playing if that makes sense)
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27344

      

    The walnut isn't actually bookmatched - that's a pencil line you can see in the photo - but I was able to find some very symmetrical figuring in the sheet offcut.

    You'll get bored of me saying this, but - and it's really the highest compliment I can give - that is incredible craftsmanship.

    Proper skills.

    Not setting up a machine to do something, but proper in-the-eye and in-the-hand craftsman skills.

    Beautiful work Andy.
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    I'm very flattered folks :)        Very much appreciated - it means a great deal.


    Little bit more sanding to do but the neck is pretty much ready for Matt's 'first fitting' on Tuesday:


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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    After Tuesday, when I will have been able to firm up Matts preferred pickup preferences, I will be able to put the back on, sort the back binding and start the finishing process.

    I'm a bit unconventional when it comes to finishing.  I don't use filler.  I don't use sanding sealer.  Instead, I do a version of @WezV 's Tru-oil slurry and buff method which seals, fills and shows up any missed sanding scores or glue smears.

    And, it tends to act as a barrier to sanding smears and minor dints while the thing is being moved around.

    The other advantage is that you get a much better idea of the final finished colour tones.

    So here's broadly what the back is going to look like:


    Shades of Mordor??


    And here is what the sides will start at:




    Both the sides and the top will be a bit darker once the varnish is on - but, over the first couple of years the top will darken more.  The dread on the right below was Chris's (band's vocalist) when brand new a couple of years ago.  The OM on the left is my first acoustic build about 2 years older.  Same wood.  Same finish.  Chris's dreadnought now is the same colour as the OM.





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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    It's an acoustic - so it needs yet another jig made ;)

    Fitting the bridge.  Always an area needing accuracy - but particularly with an acoustic where, basically, once it's on it's on.  Intonation adjustment is limited to the 1mm difference you can make filing the bone saddle angled towards the back or towards the front.  

    So it has to be right.

    I use the Stewmac fret calculator app to give me the nut to saddle distances for top E and bottom E, but a steel rule isn't really accurate enough to measure the distances AND get the sideways positioning right.


    So last night, while watching the box, I made this from some maple binding strip:




    This is eminently possible to get the measurements right with a long steel rule.  Then, the bottom cross-member hooks over the nut end of the fretboard and the top cross member fits into the bridge saddle-slot:



    I line the jig up to give an even distance between the fretboard edges bass and treble...


    ...and the bridge should now be in exactly the right position
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  • It's been a while!

    One of the great things about doing threads is that, when family stuff gets in the way of building, you can look back and see where you'd got to.  

    I triple-checked the measurements, re-fitted the saddle angle jig and then drilled two 4.5mm holes through the top E and bottom E pegholes to act as positioners.  I then squared up the outer shape of the bridge with a plane, leaving the saddle in the correct intonation position:

     

     

    Those who follow my builds know that I tend to go off-piste from time to time against the 'conventional' methods.  This is one of those times.  Generally, you would put the back on and apply the finish before attaching the bridge, but I want to leave the back off for the moment. 

    To attach it, first thing I did was put the 4.5mm drills through from the back, to use the shanks as my locators:

     

     

    Then put some masking tape on and scored round the bridge and removed the tape from area that was going to be glued.  Then scraped and sanded back to fresh wood for that area:

     

     

    Then applied the titebond glue and used my long-reach clamp and a small home-made jig designed to be able to apply clamping pressure to the two wings of the bridge:

     

     

    Finally, while the glue was still wet but with the bridge firmly clamped in position, removed the two locating peg drill bits with a pair of pliers:

     

     

    And that means that tomorrow, the electrics should be able to be fitted and the back glued on! :)

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  • Just as lovely in real life
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Abolutely stunning !
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • Just as lovely in real life
    Thanks, Dennis ;)  
    Good luck with your build

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  • Bridge now glued and checked (again) for position.  Happily it stayed where it was supposed to be.


    Next job - fitting the pickups.  Then the back :)


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  • I got distracted by a couple of small recon jobs but this weekend found a bit of time to make some more progress.

    First the installation of the pickups.  

    It's interesting - but just after coming to the conclusion that the most flexible solution for Matt's studio and live work was to have two outputs, I found out that his present Faith guitar has just that! 

    In my case, it whittled down to the L R Baggs Anthem mic/piezo and the K&K Pure Mini.

    Now you can probably see why I opted for the unconventional approach of leaving the back off at this stage!

     

    The two jacks will be unscrewed and taped to the inside while I do the back binding the finishing, but those are pretty easy to fix in place with arm through the soundhole.  With the other stuff, it's difficult to get everything in exactly the right place and securely glued when you can't reach and can't see!

    The battery fits in a pouch velcro'd to the back.  Also not forgetting the all important label! 


     

     

    And so, finally, after many dry-fit checks, the glue's on, the back's clamped and it's too late to change my mind ;)



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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited September 2019

    I know it looks a little bit Rowan Atkinson, but this is the mod I did to the Stewmac binding channel Dremel tool. 

     

    I 'invented' the mod on a previous build, then forgot all about it for the top binding of this one and then, having struggled for a couple of hours cleaning up the inaccurate channel, remembered that I had invented it so did it again for the back binding channel

    And yes, I know, it's just a couple of strips of maple super-glued to the jig.  Believe me, it transforms it from something fit for the bin to something that you can actually use. 

    You see, the problem with the jig is that, with a top heavy Dremel on top and such a teeny roller guide, it is almost impossible to keep the tool vertical - there simply is no datum.  And if it isn't vertical, the channel comes out either wrong dimensions, or out of square, or both.  All that these couple of sticks do is make it easier to see if the tool is vertical as you go round the dished top and back of the guitar.

    And then, like the top binding documented earlier, I ironed on the binding again.  And yes, that's a bit weird but, for me, it works.  Certainly - for both the top and back - this is the best binding job I've done on an acoustic so far: 


     

     

    And a bit more sanding to do, but the tail stock detail has now been able to be completed:

     

     

    And then, all of a sudden, it's time for final sanding and application of the finish

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  • The guitar's looking superb. 

    Been a delight to follow this thread, almost a shame it's coming to the end but I look forward to seeing the guitar in it's final stages. 
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  • The guitar's looking superb. 

    Been a delight to follow this thread, almost a shame it's coming to the end but I look forward to seeing the guitar in it's final stages. 
    You are very kind :)
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