non warmoth build 1st acoustic

[Patrick]

chow

waaaay ahead of ya bud

 

[Nando Vallart]

Looking good!! Seems like it will be a pretty good guitar!

 

[Cagey]

Fascinating. I look forward to more.

 

[big bob]

7/15/10 radius sanded the top kerfing strips to 1 1/2 deg. Then started bracing the top.. should have all the top braces on tonight.... I hope..

 

[big bob]

7/16/10 midday report. finished the top bracing, needs to be trimmed, fitted and scalloped. I also installed a rosewood end pin strip with w/b purfering... 

 

[Nando Vallart]

Very very cool!!!

 

[Cagey]

This little baby's moving right along! Excellent shots. How did you do the cut for the purfling? Is that routed?

 

[big bob]

This little baby's moving right along! Excellent shots. How did you do the cut for the purfling? Is that routed?

Back saw and a chisel.. It was actually quite fun and did not take that much time...

 

[Cagey]

Pretty ballsy. Chisels are handy tools, but they sure make it easy to make a mess of things in a hurry. You must have the patience of a saint <grin>

 

[big bob]

7/17/10
Last update for a little while as I'm taking the kids to the beach for a few days.

I got up early today and glued the top down. Everything lined up real smooth. Now the hard part...waiting for the glue to dry!!

until next time
cheers

 

[Nando Vallart]

Nice! Enjoy the beach!  :glasses9:

 

[jay4321]

Not something I ever see myself doing but that's cool as hell, good luck with it

 

[Cagey]

I've always wanted to build an acoustic, and I'm a good woodworker with a lot of talent, tools and stringed instrument knowledge, but it's a tooling thing setting me back. You have to be able to amortize tools in order to make them worthwhile, and if you're only going to build one or two of something, it's tough to do that. In the case of an acoustic, you need a boatload of specialized clamps and fixtures (among other things) that if you don't use to build another acoustic, you'll never use them for anything else. So, that makes the instrument expensive to the point where you may as well just buy a professionally built unit. Relatively speaking, electrics are a walk in the park. Couple screwdrivers, a soldering iron and a couple/few wrenches will take you nearly anywhere you want to go. You can be all tooled up for electrics for less than $50-$75, as long as you don't mess with fretting, which is a specially designed nightmare all its own, tool-wise.

 

[rapfohl09]

Man this thing looks awesome. I love DIY builds, and this one looks amazing.

 

[exaN]

Wow you're getting the job done quick :icon_thumright:

Keep the pictures coming ccasion14:

 

[OzziePete]

Not something I ever see myself doing but that's cool as hell, good luck with it

+1, but interesting to watch unfold..

 

[big bob]

I've always wanted to build an acoustic, and I'm a good woodworker with a lot of talent, tools and stringed instrument knowledge, but it's a tooling thing setting me back. You have to be able to amortize tools in order to make them worthwhile, and if you're only going to build one or two of something, it's tough to do that. In the case of an acoustic, you need a boatload of specialized clamps and fixtures (among other things) that if you don't use to build another acoustic, you'll never use them for anything else. So, that makes the instrument expensive to the point where you may as well just buy a professionally built unit. Relatively speaking, electrics are a walk in the park. Couple screwdrivers, a soldering iron and a couple/few wrenches will take you nearly anywhere you want to go. You can be all tooled up for electrics for less than $50-$75, as long as you don't mess with fretting, which is a specially designed nightmare all its own, tool-wise.

I'm a tool guy. most of the tools I've used for this build I have fabricated myself. I made 25 spool clamps for 28 bucks, stewmac wanted 20 + shipping for 6..
I think the fret tools will be the most expensive, but I've always wanted a set so why not.  I can't believe how much labor goes into such a simple thing.. I have no idea how a company can make these and not charge a fortune... the wonders of modern machines I guess.
any way I'm back from the beach and hitting the ground running. today I removed the clamps to find the top seated really well. I removed the waist clamp and the inside body mold. Flush routed the top at the waist so I can re attach the waist clamp when I seat the back. I put on 20 cloth backed birch side braces, they are to retard the spread of any cracks or splits should they ever form on the rail. In the old days cloth was used but I went for cloth covered birch. Tomorrow I start on scalloping the top braces to remove tone sucking extra weight. I will also start joining and bracing the back...

anyway on to the pics..

 

[bbl4ck]

Man, you are drivin' me crazy with these pics...
I am so jealous of all your available equipment and ability to take on such a project.
I really, really want to try one of these.
Anyway, good luck and thanks for all the updates.  A very coooooool project!
:kewlpics: :rock-on:

 

[Cagey]

Nice work. Moving right along, eh?

I keep fighting buying a load of fret working tools myself. Damned things aren't cheap. But, it would be nice to be able to make little adjustments here and there as needed for myself and friends. Thing is, living in a major metropolitan area there's no shortage of talented guys who'll do it very reasonably, so it's tough to justify.

 

[Return of Guitlouie]

I am in awe, sir.