Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

When I got my Carruth scraper I tried it straight out of the box and it did nothing. But after you set them up they are great, and I now prefer it to a traditional card scraper. Martin has covered it above, but if you prefer pictures, Al's video on the Stew-Mac website walks you through the sharpeni...

Very nice Dave. The details really set it off - like the mitred purfling at the end graft. Can I ask where you got the plans? Is it based on a J-45? The headstock looks really striking - nice bookmatch! And the tuners look really smick. I am guessing cocobolo or snakewood or something, on 510s? Impr...

Trevor That comment produced a lightbulb moment for me. When I think back on my experience of hand bending bindings I have found some really easy - and now I think of it they were the ones with purfling strips attached. The only ones that I have ever snapped were "naked " ones. Sure, type of wood, f...

Have you considered making your own.

Beer, or truss rods?

Nice job Wayne. The neck looks especially awesome

Mark

If you can't keep your workshop humidity controlled all of the time, at least ensure that you do the two critical steps - bracing, and the closing of the box - at a time when the humidity is lower. 40-50% is probably the ideal for Melbourne and Sydney. And it needs to be stable at around that number...

I did three laminates, each about 1.7mm. I ended up with final brace dimensions of 5.4mm by 20mm, and they got glued with CF above and below. That is massively tall bracing. Was it the dimension before the brace was sawn in two? Whoops, yes, you are quite right Trevor! I did seem to forget to menti...

I think cursing definitely helps in the bending process. Yes, Bruce that is the maximum height and they taper towards the tail. After sanding they probably ended up a bit less than that maximum dimension anyway. I really should get more careful at recording exact measurements as I go along, and befo...

I did three laminates, each about 1.7mm. I ended up with final brace dimensions of 5.4mm by 20mm, and they got glued with CF above and below.

I am building a falcate neo-classical at the moment. It is my first try at this bracing style so I don't have a lot of expertise to contribute. However, I did them with Sitka, just because it was what I has to hand and I was only viewing it as an experiment. I didn't really expect that I would get a...

That will be something else interesting to look at through the soundhole. It does look very clean and tidy in there!

Thanks for sharing all the pain with us Martin! I am sure it is disappointing to take a few backward steps in a build that has been looking so great. But we are all on the learning journey with you! Can you rescue the rosette? It took quite a bit of effort!
Mark

Just lovely Allen. That is an extraordinary set of mahogany. I hope you have some more of that stashed on that shelf, or will this be a one off? Great execution, as always.
Mark

Yes, shameful ignorance of the traditions being displayed here! More research please.
If you need any pointers I could recommend a good book on the topic that you could take a look at. Oh, hang on........

Now, a compensated zero fret on the other hand... There's a pain.
Jeremy.

Mine are dead straight and simple!
So, Jeremy, have you had a go at a compensated zero fret? Any stories to tell?
I have seen this picture of one by Nigel Forster ]

I like Gilly Stephenson Orange Oil. You will probably find it at your local hardware store. A little bit on a soft cloth goes a long way.

OK, that is in line with my thoughts too. I have heard of people claiming that adding a lot of mass to the headstock - like a substantial steel G-clamp - will increase sustain. But also makes the guitar impossible to hold, and looks stupid. Even that might be a myth, and it is hard to imagine that s...

I have built my last few acoustic guitars using a zero fret, for various reasons. I quite like it for simplicity of setup, and the tuning seems smoother (less friction, no "sticking" of strings in the nut slots). You still need a nut, but it is reduced simply to being a string spacing device at the ...

Looks cool.
Those sort of tuners have a reasonable amount of tolerance for headstock thickness. As long as the "thin side" still has enough meat for the tuning posts to sit in I can't see that it would cause any sort of problem for tuner function.
Mark

I have had success with using a dremel or drill bit to score a groove across the broken screw so that you can get a screwdriver onto it.

Thanks Martin & Bob
I will follow Martin's plan of having 2 transducers in the centre, and will also get the pre-amp.
Cheers
mm

Looks very sweet Alan.
I am sure Ruby will help you will find those missing licks again in no time.
Mark

OK, thank you gentlemen. That is exactly the sort of information that I was after. I feel confident that I can manage the job of installing a K&K. I will measure out the space between my braces to check the room for the transducers. Does anyone happen to have one handy to measure the width of the tr...

I am building a neo-classical nylon string guitar. New territory for me, but it seems to be going well so far. I am generally following the Gore/Gillet method and using falcate bracing (my first try of this), and no bridge plate (is that a mistake?) . I have already closed the box and I am now consi...

Stunning back and sides Martin. How is Jarrah to work with and bend, and is it particularly heavy? Everything about that guitar just makes you want to pick it up and play it.
Nice one!
Mark