Category: Lutherie

Binding Strips

• Removed masking tape holding b/w/b decoration strips
• Use flat file to remove excess glue round the binding channel
• Remove bindings from side-bender and prepare as for decoration strips
• Work on top first, glue bindings in place and hold with lots of masking tape
• Bottom the same, but leave one strip over-length to allow cutting in situ once mostly glued down

 Fret Board

• Removed excess sticky left from attaching template
• Cut off at first ‘fret’ marking point at nut using Tenon saw
• Mark centre line on back of fret board
• Align neck template to centre line and top on back of fret board and clamp in place
• Drill 2 x 1.5 mm holes in fret board through first and 12th frets into template
• Draw round template, remove and cut with bandsaw to roughly the right size (did a couple of practice runs first)
• Cut off excess frets from bottom of fret board while at bandsaw
• Re-attach template using drill bits and flush trim using fixed router

• Took bindings out of side bender – checked how they looked against body and decided a black/white/black strip was needed to break up the colouring.
• Cut 4 strips of b/w/b 2.5mm wide using marking gauge and knife.
• Had to plane the strip straight a couple of times
• Did an extra strip just in case
• Put strips into side bender for 15 minutes

• While strips in bender, used channel bit in router jig to cut out channel in sides & top to depth and width of strip using the same process as last week for cutting binding channel

• Took b/w/b strip out of side bender.

Removed body from mould. As for back, used edge trimmer to take off exess.

Cutting channel for bracing

• Put cutting tool into side bracing jig
• Adjust tool depth so that bracing is just proud of top
•  Change depth wheel so cuts to width of bracing
• Place body into holding jig. Adjust to is level top to bottom first, then side to side. Central line on body should align with centre of jig
• Test on widest part of top and adjust depth & height as required
• Once happy with depth, cut round top anti-clockwise (opposite way to tool rotation). Don’t cut too slow as the wood burns
• Once top channel is complete, removed from jig and repeat for bottom

Brace Bending

• Put braces into side bender
  • Same as for sides, except:
    • No need for alfoil
    • Tape side bracing together
    • Make sure orientation of top and bottom is correct
    • Not for as long as sides (thinner wood so will scorch easier)

Cutting Head to Shape

• Make head plate 90 degrees at nut using rebate plane
• Clamp template for head onto head, ensuring it is aligned with centre of head
• Pre-drill 2 holes in template to head then insert screws to hold to head
• Trace round template, remove and cut roughly to edge using band saw
• Replace template, attach with screws then cut to shape using fixed routing table
• Repeat process for neck template

Sound board

• Cut side braces 9mm wide from leftover spruce from top (using band saw)
• Cut to length to fit between kerfing at waist and hips
• Thin sliver of glue onto brace then clamp in place with a block either side of body
• Leave to dry for an hour
• Then sand top again using radius dish to level off
• Mark brace positions as per the back, cut out with handsaw and remove keffin to 3mm depth with knife

 Neck

• Plane one side with No. 6 plane so square and heel block is flush with neck
• Mark shape with template onto heel
• Cut shape with bandsaw
• Mark centre of neck and place into dovetail jig
  • Centre on line on jig with neck line and end
  • Clamp in place (adjust angle of base so flush with block)
• Remove from jig and cut bulk of wood off in band saw then replace in jig ready for routing dovetail

More body work

• Use edge trimmer in router to take excess of back while in mould. Trim to match the side
• Check rotation direction of router and follow that direction round the back in mould (e.g. anti-clockwise)
• Split mould to remove back and sides
• Tidy up any excess with chisel or sanding and insert back into mould with back down ready to do front
• Front the same as back – trim with block plane to get neck and base roughly the right height then sand with radius disc till you can see even deposits of wood dust round complete perimeter of body
• Glue in kerfing as per front and hold in with pegs

 Neck

• Plane neck block flat, use template to locate position on neck then glue and clamp in place with 2 ‘G’ clamps

Back preparation

• Removed sides from mould (had to use big chisel to get sides out of mould)
• Put blocks and dowels into holes in mould to raise the back sides above top of mould
• Use large chisel to take off material to top and bottom from waist, keeping the height at the waist
• Use block plane to taper down till sanding dish fits on with a rock at the hips
• Plane hips till block nearly flush
• Sand in clockwise direction until even layer of dust is produced round the circumference of the sides

 Kerfing

• Fit the kerfing dry and cut to size – slide into bends on sides to avoid breaking the kerfing
• Glue and hold down with pegs (with rubber bands fitted for extra pressure)

 Neck

• Planed neck and head together to get flush fit
• Glued neck and head together with blocks either side and 2 “G” clamps

Fitting neck and end blocks

• Plane blocks so that bottom is flush with bottom of jig
• Had to plane chamfers into sides of the neck block
• Had to plane down the contact edges so they are flush with the top and bottom of the sides
• Glued blocks into place and held with “G” clamps

Neck

• Started on the neck. Thickeness to 18mm then cut to jig dimensions on band saw ready to glue (did another crap cut on the bandsaw)
• Using scarf joint method instead of laminating (is stronger but not necessarily easier)

Moulding Sides

• Removed 2nd Side from bender (was a bit charred due to being heated too long)
• Same process as 1st side to put into mould:
  • Remove 1st side
  • Cut roughly to size with some overlap
  • Set centre line and mark with square
  • Cut using block and Tenon/dovetail saw
  • Place both sides into jig and tighten up block
  • Had to block plane edges to fit flush

Front braces

• Cut thin flat braces for front from left over top and bottom materials (not enough for bridge brace so had to modify the shape to suit available materials)
• Glued front braces, bridge and sound hole braces and placed into go-bar jig to dry