Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Great explanation Trevor, thanks very much. When the Stumac bit arrives, I'll check the depth with the collar on (didnt know about the other brand). I hadn’t thought about the 'doughnut' Several folk have mentioned shellac. I have golden shellac flakes but I've used bullseye (I think) shellac on a h...

Nice set up. I've had a go at knocking one together this weekend. I've tried to paste a url below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/143232438@N05/28816582317/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/143232438@N05/42990475474/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/143232438@N05/4...

Great replies everyone - thanks! Its given me a lot more confidence. Currently building a GG type system. I'll post when i get it done. Also ordered a Stumac bit.

Thanks again

Richard

Hi Martin thanks for the tips - maybe cutting the purfling first is the way to go then. I've just ordered a Stumac bit so it better be good for the price!! I've also decided to make a modified version of the GG system in the end as I have found a track that slides up and down freely that I can attac...

I suppose, if you use a spacer to increase the gap between the cutter and bearing, that'd work but it is a very specific cutter. I guess the point of doing the binding first is there is possibly less possiblity of tearout of the soundboard...is that right?

Cheers
Richard

Hi again. I've been looking at options for routing the bindings but since I'm following the book religiously, figure I'll adopt the method described with the modification that I have an old linear track I can use as the raising and lowering bearing. One thing puzzles me though. The book indicates ro...

Ah, so many ways to skin a cat! Both those approaches look good. Yes, nicely built jig.

Cheers
Richard

Thanks again for the feedback. The overhead router approach looks similar to the Gilet Gore approach. If you use that with a bearing, doesn't that mean you have to do one pass to the bearing/cutter depth? So does that increae the chance of splitting bits out...how do you approach the process to mini...

Thanks guys. That is quite similar to the one I made for my makita laminate trimmer. As you say it doesn't have a soft start which is a bit scary. I found the whole process of holding the thing against the side of the guitar quite a nerve wracking experience so was hoping to find another approach le...

Hi Folks, I'm after a bit of advice as usual please...I'm at the point where I need to do the bindings on my J45. Last time I made a guitar, I made a hand-held jig which followed the side contour of the guitar, which was a rather stressful approach and didn't give perfect results. I'd like to make i...

Actually, I've answerd my own question and notched them both out. It's quite a challenge to get everything perfectly aligned, perfectly mating with the headblock and so-on. But I think I have achieved a reasonable fit so I'm going to bed happy. Hope it fits on as well once the back is glued on! Chee...

Just about to notch the side linings to take the upper transverse brace. I can't see it covered in the book, but on the J45, it appears that the upper cross brace is also notched into the linings, is that correct? They end up quite close and of a similar depth to the transverse brace notch so do you...

Kiwigeo, Yes, thanks. I wasn't intending to make a compensated nut on this one but intend to mount it on the thinned end of the fretboard as shown in the book. I'm not exactly sure how to do a compensated nut - need to look into that but thought at this early stage in my guitar building, just gettin...

Thanks Col, I'll bear the Stewmac calculator in mind. I have a pre-cut fretboard for this build so can use that as a guide for nut position etc. I just wondered if I had missed something as the book gives specifics for the 12 fret options but not the 14. Cheers
Richard

Hi again Trevor Before launching into cutting the neck , I was looking at fig 5-2 which gives the neck layout for a 12 fret build. For the J45, it'll need to be longer won't it. The calculation for the head side of the nut to body is explained but I can't see the basic dimensions required for a J45 ...

Thanks Guys

that all makes sense. I'll glue it in and all will be well - my sides are a few mm deeper than needed anyway. Getting more maple for the linings would be a pain so I'm glad I can use what I have.

Again, many thanks for your patience!

Cheers
Richard

Great, thanks for the correction. So, before gluing in the headblock, I could sand an approximate front to back angle, or I could just plane it when assembled in the mold. I guess I was wondering if there was a specific front to back angle on the top plate that we should be aiming for to be assured ...

Hi Trevor - this will also help me a lot when i get to that stage. I'm in the process of gluing the headblock, which I have pre-morticed. At the moment, the headblock is too long. However, I assume it will need to be 2 or 3 mm longer on the back to accomodate the curve of the back when sanding if we...

Many thanks Trevor and Col. That really helps. I'll remember about the bolt length or put a washer in to account for the slight difference. Yes, I got the order of making wrong - I thought I could borrow a bending iron but ended up buying one that took a while to arrive (but worth the wait). Hopeful...

Hi again I'm in the process of making the headblock and have been following the book, very slowly and to the letter - as much as I'm able. I keep running into questions, and being new at the game, I never really know which aspects are absolutely critical and which have some flexibility in their inte...

Hi Trevor Thanks for your reply, that helps -I'll just have to take over a room in the house for a bit! I'm somewhat out of sequence in this build unfortunately as I still haven't sorted out a bending iron. I'll do it differently next time. The back and front will have to just sit around for a bit u...

Hi - I've recently completed the soundboard, braced carefully at 45% RH (or a little below). It has been sitting at about 55% RH in the house for a day or two and has developed quite a convex curve (from the outside as shown in the book). I'm assuming that the rest of the glue-up will also need to b...

For the record, I contacted Titebond for info on the loss of strength likely when re-gluing. They very promptly replied with the following: "Testing being performed here shows when regluing joints, you could lose up to 15% of the strength, which is still very strong. When you have a glue in the 3500...

Well, there seems to be a consensus to re-do it so that is what I have done. Actually, I've manged to cut and plane it with the loss of about 1 mm in width so the rosette looks fairly intentional and I can't tell it isn't a perfect circle by eye. I used a lot of glue and ensured plenty of squeeze-ou...

Got home and tried an experiment. Cut off the top and bottom waste of the soundboard and bent the strips. The wood broke next to the join, not the glue line. The glue line is almost invisible but seems quite sound and a great deal stronger than the previous one that failed. Ive pushed and pummelled ...