This level of confidence is scary

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Peto
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This level of confidence is scary

Post by Peto » Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:01 pm

Just in case someone never saw this youtube video, please check it out.
I am sure that if you give this luthier an axe and a log he could build you a classical guitar overnight.

https://youtu.be/biWk-QLWY7U

Btw, can someone tell me where to buy coloured veneer and just normal veneer too? I was building a vacuum box to dye it myself but I couldn't be bothered and abandoned it.

Thanks in advance,

Ric

yakka
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by yakka » Sun Feb 14, 2021 4:18 pm


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joel
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by joel » Sun Feb 21, 2021 8:47 pm

That bandsaw...
- If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs. - David Daye.

- The mouth of a happy man is filled with beer. -

BradHall
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by BradHall » Mon Feb 22, 2021 5:17 am

Yes, the bandsaw could certainly take the entire arm. Who else cuts a piece of wood on the top of a guitar with a chisel? Didn’t see any thicknessing of the plates, but assume he did it with a fingernail file. ;-)

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Zandit75
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by Zandit75 » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:11 pm

Wow, I lost count how many times I said WTF??!!
His technique with the chisels was making me very nervous!!

Peto
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by Peto » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:22 pm

thanks, I bought some, I wish they werent so expensive :(

Ric

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kiwigeo
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by kiwigeo » Mon Feb 22, 2021 1:39 pm

Low tech is sometimes best. Time is money when you're building for a living. The chisels....they look like a set of Marples benchies you'd get from Bunnings but the guy puts them to work.
Martin

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Bob_H
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by Bob_H » Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:10 pm

I found the whole thing fascinating - these videos don't often grab me, but this one did. The control of the hand tools is just freaky and they must be sharp. The use of machinery is also so casual - gluing your fretboard down and then running it through the jointer to surface it! However, I also found a lot that was fascinating and potentially helpful - the back bracing techniques, the clamping, the use of the building platform, the neck carving (in part!) and the use of rope binding were all very interesting.

I did have some questions though:
  • what is the glue he is using?
  • what is the binding he is using that is so flexible?
  • did he skip grain filling?
  • is that just a well tuned scraper he is using for cleaning up the bindings / glue / filler?
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seeaxe
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by seeaxe » Wed Feb 24, 2021 7:17 pm

I would have my heart in my mouth a few times if I did what he did, but then he's probably been doing it that way for many years.
Using the tools he does is probably much quicker than faffing around setting up machines to avoid a pucker factor or two.
I would have said that's just normal white glue
I started with stewmac kits and they give you a great big rubber band in the kit to wrap around the box when you are binding and putting the fret board on the neck. Works well and much more clamping force than rope. I've used those ever since.
I wonder if he has wrecked any cedar tops by leaving all those chips and shaving on the bench when he has it face down.. hes probably got good at steaming out dings.
Once you get the bindings close to the top and sides then a scraper is the killer tool. Keeps everything nice and square and the one time in three or four that I actually manage to sharpen and set one properly, its very quick

Anyhoo, I'd say many on this forum (myself very definitely excluded) would have similar levels of skill and some much more, judging by what we see posted and the end results we see.
Richard

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lamanoditrento
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by lamanoditrento » Thu Feb 25, 2021 3:27 am

Bob_H wrote:
Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:10 pm

I did have some questions though:
  • what is the glue he is using?
  • what is the binding he is using that is so flexible?
  • did he skip grain filling?
  • is that just a well tuned scraper he is using for cleaning up the bindings / glue / filler?
I was left with a similar list of question! Those binding seem very flexible.
Trent

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Steve.Toscano
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by Steve.Toscano » Thu Feb 25, 2021 9:49 pm

He's building in the traditional spanish style. His methods and techniques aren't too different to mine (and a lot of other traditional makers), only i'd say he's done it a lot more and for longer then I :) .
The big exceptions that go outside the mold i notice - are the jointer and slotting the fingerboard post being glued on.
However levelling the fingerboard after its glued on is fairly standard practise for tradtional methods - just not with a jointer. Normally a fine tuned handplane.

That level of handtool use isn't too uncommon either and appears to be close to what i do eg entire neck/heel/nearly all the headstock/ all the braces carving etc.. With the exception of rosette and binding channels.
Bob_H wrote:
Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:10 pm
I did have some questions though:
  • what is the glue he is using?
  • what is the binding he is using that is so flexible?
  • did he skip grain filling?
  • is that just a well tuned scraper he is using for cleaning up the bindings / glue / filler?
Glue - i'd say just a white glue.
Binding - this would be indian rosewood at around 1mm thick (or thinner), if you look closely the purfling strips are the same height as the binding. So its just 1 channel with thin binding and thin purfling at equal hieghts, both very flexible at those thicknesses. This is fairly standard for spanish style construction. A lot of the earlier guitars and even some current ones coming out of europe i have examined had bindings under 1mm thick.
Grain filling - yep, he skipped quite a few steps not just this one.
Scraper - Yep, just a card scraper, by far the quickest and easiest way to clean up bindings (and practically everything else).

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Bob_H
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by Bob_H » Fri Feb 26, 2021 1:25 pm

seeaxe wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 7:17 pm
Anyhoo, I'd say many on this forum (myself very definitely excluded) would have similar levels of skill and some much more, judging by what we see posted and the end results we see.
I have no doubt you are correct - I would love more opportunity to see our friends at work - there are some great videos posted to the forum from some of our senior members, and I greatly appreciate their contributions. The capability that can be built through a life time of experience is always impressive to witness.

I also think that the compression of a couple of months work (as they say on their website) into a short video heightens the sense that the builder is working at a breakneck pace - the steps missed out are many and not insignificant. Still, I will likely watch again!

Clearly, need to work on my scraper technique - both sharpening and use - the shavings just fly!
Bob Holbert
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simonm
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by simonm » Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:01 am

As far as I know that company is mainly known for entry level/lower end guitars. The $500 category.

A now deceased German maker (60+ years experience when I met him) said that a guitar retailing in the 800-1000 area (incl tax) could not have more than 5 hours worth of labour in it if the factory was to make any profit. So guys like this have to really do stuff fast to get to the price points they offer.

I saw a video a good while back showing a guy bending and fitting sides. The machine had a steam system and was hydraulic as far as I remember. He popped in 4 sides, closed the top down slowly (a bit like a fox bender), the left it to cook for a few mins. In the meantime trimmed the previous four sides and fitted them very exactly into moulds. As soon as he finished that, the cooked sides came out and another 4 went in. Rinse and repeat. I think the turnaround time was about 4-5 mins for 2 sets of sides. I think the same video showed how neck joints were done. Again basically a minute or two in a large machine but manipulated by hand.

At a whole sale music trade far back about 8 years I saw a guitar making firm from Valencia offering low end Spanish made guitars in the 80-150 range (pre-tax etc). I was impressed that they could actually produce anything at all at that price. My wife was less impressed. Her immediately judgement was that they were all crap. The "most expensive" one being a bit less crappy than the rest. I don't remember who they were. However, that kind of hole price probably translated to 300-500 in the European retail market. (sales tax os 20%).

simonm
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Re: This level of confidence is scary

Post by simonm » Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:17 am

simonm wrote:
Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:01 am
...
I saw a video a good while back showing a guy bending and fitting sides. The machine had a steam system and was hydraulic as far as I remember. He popped in 4 sides, closed the top down slowly (a bit like a fox bender), the left it to cook for a few mins. ...
Well I got that wrong. I searched and I found what is likely to be the one I was thinking about. Sorry, just two sides at a time. The same people also have a machine for cutting the fret slots when the guitar is assembled. Under 30 seconds to do the job and slotting the headstock for a classical guitar is under 20secs. Not going to claim that these are high quality instruments but the methods are interesting.

Side bender:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVgNhqhuOrw

Fretboard:
Most of the video is setting up the machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgCREU3VOeM

Headslots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKZvttu4KZ0

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