It's DeWalt's fault.

[PhilHill]

(While this doesn't have Warmoth parts in it, as they don't make acoustic parts, I felt that it was worth posting for the educational value. Assuming it has educational value........... :dontknow

Greeting's Folks. Got me a new toy that started it up again.

. This is a lot better than my old one. It's actually made to cut hardwood, not just soft pine and it can reduce a piece to 1/8 thick. The old one could only go down to 1/2 inch.

. Soo, being me, I decided to test it out. I have some white limba lying around and an LMI mold for a parlour guitar body. Once I thinned down some 3" wide sides I broke out the medieval torture device.

. Then I set it aside for a bit to cure. Meanwhile preparing some blocks for the head and tail which I then glued in place.

. Once that was done I started adding kerfed lining, which gives you more gluing surface for the top and back.

. More to come shortly.................... :turtle:

 

[stratamania]

Nice work Phil...

 

[PhilHill]

Nice work Phil...

Thank you. It's been a long time since I built an acoustic so I decided to see how far my abilities have deteriorated due to my slow slide into senility............. :help: :turtle:

 

[PhilHill]

  Ok, most folks put the back on last but I decided to do the opposite and put it on first. Then I began putting in ladder bracing on the back. the blocks, kerfing and bracing are all made with cutoffs from some allegedly Honduran mahogany that I've had around for years.

.Once the braces were cured, I started putting in reinforcing strips on the sides. These are put in to help stop any future side-cracks that might start, as their grain runs perpendicular to the side grain.

. Then I set all that aside to cure and started preparing some Sitka spruce for the top. I decided to use a modified version of Taylor's V-Class pattern. We'll see how it goes.......... :icon_thumright:

 

[PhilHill]

Ohh, if your wondering why I didn't use black Limba there's two reasons. I got this stuff for a great price, and white Limba comes from the same tree's as Black. The folks who procure hardwood say the Black is the heartwood and the White is the sapwood. pretty much same acoustic qualities in both.
Anyway, got the bracing done on the top with a piece of Bubinga for the bridge plate.

. Added some reinforcement and a sound-hole. Ive always found round sound-holes to be boring.

. Then it all went together and I added a decorative stip at the bottom to cover the side joint.

. A long time ago I was given an Alvarez acoustic that had a badly smashed body. So I cut off the neck and am now preparing it to be a bolt-on.
I'm not really trying to create something to be super pretty, just really an experiment to prove certain concepts and to see if I can still do it.

. As soon as I can get the neck to fit properly I'll be back with some more............ :turtle:

 

[DangerousR6]

Nicely done, I like the amoeba sound hole... :kewlpics:

 

[PhilHill]

Thanks much. The only thing about not making it round is that it would be crazy to try to put a rosette on. So that's why I put as much reinforcement behind it as I could. So the rosette wouldn't be needed to mitigate any cracks or distortion that might start in the future.

 

[mayfly]

Phil!  You are quite the artist.  Where'd ya get that side forming jig?

 

[PhilHill]

Phil!  You are quite the artist.  Where'd ya get that side forming jig?

Much Thanks. I got the mold from here.......www.lmii.com/61-templates-molds

It's Mold 8, a copy of Martin's old Parlour Guitar.

 

[DangerousR6]

Thanks much. The only thing about not making it round is that it would be crazy to try to put a rosette on. So that's why I put as much reinforcement behind it as I could. So the rosette wouldn't be needed to mitigate any cracks or distortion that might start in the future.

That would be very challenging to put the rosette around....But would beg some serious bragging right... :icon_biggrin:

 

[PhilHill]

Thanks much. The only thing about not making it round is that it would be crazy to try to put a rosette on. So that's why I put as much reinforcement behind it as I could. So the rosette wouldn't be needed to mitigate any cracks or distortion that might start in the future.

That would be very challenging to put the rosette around....But would beg some serious bragging right... :icon_biggrin:

I agree, that's why I sitting here trying to figure out how to do a rosette for it. Hopefully, I'll get over it soon. Or, come up with a way to do it............. :icon_thumright:

 

[ragamuffin]

Nice work Phil!

 

[mayfly]

Thanks much. The only thing about not making it round is that it would be crazy to try to put a rosette on. So that's why I put as much reinforcement behind it as I could. So the rosette wouldn't be needed to mitigate any cracks or distortion that might start in the future.

That would be very challenging to put the rosette around....But would beg some serious bragging right... :icon_biggrin:

You could do a round rosette then cut it with a router to match....

ah - no.  that would be a dumb idea .  Embrace the back-bracing!

I agree, that's why I sitting here trying to figure out how to do a rosette for it. Hopefully, I'll get over it soon. Or, come up with a way to do it............. :icon_thumright:

 

[TBurst Std]

Awesome project.  If I won the lottery, I’d appreciate under someone then start build acoustic guitars. It’s an art.

 

[PhilHill]

Awesome project.  If I won the lottery, I’d appreciate under someone then start build acoustic guitars. It’s an art.

Thanks. Back when I got started I was lucky to find a couple of old guys who were very glad to pass on their knowledge.

 

[mayfly]

Awesome project.  If I won the lottery, I’d appreciate under someone then start build acoustic guitars. It’s an art.

If I won the lottery I'd just buy Phill's guitars!

 

[DangerousR6]

Awesome project.  If I won the lottery, I’d appreciate under someone then start build acoustic guitars. It’s an art.

If I won the lottery I'd just buy Phill's guitars!

:headbang:

 

[War_in_D]

That's pretty amazing.. Lightyears beyond what I would even try! LOL

Great work!

 

[PhilHill]

Well, after several days of frustration, I have decided that the Alvarez neck is a no-go. I'm amazed that it played at all before it was smashed. As can be seen in my picture of it, the truss rod was installed off-center and has gradually caused the neck to twist out of true. Someone drilled out the tuner holes straight through with too large a drill, so they would have to be plugged,re-drilled and reamed to proper fit. In short, it would be easier to make one from scratch or get a precarved one from LMI or StewMac than to try to fix this one. I am pondering that decision now.
Oh well, that's life. I shall persevere and conquer one way or the other............. :headbang:

 

[mayfly]

Never look a gift neck in the mouth.  Strike that - go ahead and look that gift neck in the mouth because it could be full of cavities!!