Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 bone nut.... clean up and polish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 French polish....I use pumice to fill the pores. I wanted that one piece mahogany back to show more. It got rid of the scratches. Some people cringe at the idea of refinishing a vintage guitar...I don't care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Time to jam...I have this plugged into a Roland AC60 acoustic guitar amp. To kind of demo the pickup. In the middle of the demo I turn off the pickup to hear the guitar alone. The tiny mic in the camera always makes the guitars sound brighter than they really are....but what are you gunna do?: [YOUTUBE]uBzhYoD1QCg[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Pretty rich sounding. Impressive job. I've got to go back and look at how you did the neck reset; I'm not sure I follow how you achieved the new neck angle. Thanks for posting all these pics, gets me motivated to want to try doing some stuff myself. I think I'm going to get a beater to experiment on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 The act of gluing the back on determines the neck angle. If you can imagine the situation where I had that "tongue" of back unglued....if you grab the neck at that point in time it will move a lot and the neck angle is determined by how you glue that part of the back to the neck block and adjacent kerfing. I've heard luthiers call this the "neckblock slip" technique. I like it a lot because it avoids the "hump" you get in the fretboard messing with the dovetail. It's also easier to control and more stable than all of that carving of the dovetail business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 The act of gluing the back on determines the neck angle. If you can imagine the situation where I had that "tongue" of back unglued....if you grab the neck at that point in time it will move a lot and the neck angle is determined by how you glue the back to the block and kerfing.I've heard luthiers call this the "tailblock slip technique.I like it a lot because it avoids the "hump" you get in the fretboard messing with the dovetail. It's also easier to control and more stable than all of that carving of the dovetail business. Ah, got it. I had an inkling that was it, but it seemed too simple compared to the technique I've seen of messing with the dovetail (the examples I've seen remove so little wood to create the new angle that I wonder how one can avoid accidentally going too far with it). Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members S~R~O Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 GC, Very nice indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitnoob Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Epic thread, GC. You refinished the back after you put it back on and added the new binding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kujozilla Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 ... now I understand some {censored}. (added to favorites) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The suicider Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Awesome work, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitmo Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Definately one of the best posts I've seen to date, although I haven't been around long. That answered a lot of questions I had about how easy it is to disassemble one. How about guitars that use other glues, do they come apart as clean? I was curious about the neck reset too, so you use the glue as filler? I didn't understand the elaborate clamping system for the brace either, why not a series of weights? Padding if necessary. Thanks for taking the time to document that. I like the refinish! WOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katopp Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Brill post,indeed.Reminds me to request a shed extension @ SWMBO to install a woodworking area.And the French Polish is so much nicer than the original laquer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Nice work, GC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 MAN U ARE A GUITAR BEAST!!! That thing is gonna HOWL!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LiFeStArTs@40 Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Sweet!!! Your inspiring work makes me want to start woodworking again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bfloyd6969 Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Never seen this done before. Thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Definately one of the best posts I've seen to date, although I haven't been around long. That answered a lot of questions I had about how easy it is to disassemble one. How about guitars that use other glues, do they come apart as clean? I was curious about the neck reset too, so you use the glue as filler? I didn't understand the elaborate clamping system for the brace either, why not a series of weights? Padding if necessary. Thanks for taking the time to document that. I like the refinish! WOW! Hide glue is definitely easier to separate than aliphatic resin glue. Harmony guitars use it a lot. Glues like epoxy and cyanoacrylate (Krazy glue)... forget about it.Hide glue is used often in violin making for that very reason. You just slip a knife in there and pop the top or back off. Hide glue sounds better too. It basically gets really crystaline like glass and when you slip the knife in it shatters right along the glue line without damaging the wood much. As for the neck reset, I've done them the traditional way...but alignment is very tedious and kind of like trying to get a table level by sawing the legs. Saw one too short, and now you have to mess with the other legs.Besides that, I find that a "fretboard hump" occurs more when doing a reset the traditional way. You have to plane the fretboard hump out more to get the fretboard level and then you've thinned the fretboard...etc. Since the gluing angle of the neck block is so critical, I find that it's better not to even mess with the dovetail joint once the back is off. The only reason I removed it al all was because the neck/body joint had gaps in it.I just steamed the neck out, waited for the swelling from humidity to come down, cleaned up the glue and finish in the joint...and glued it back together.All of the wood inside that joint had conformed itself to a perfect match over the years...I didn't want to mess with it. The brace clamping system is called a "go bar" system. It's great at getting lots of pressure concentrated at the braces. C clamps don't work well because the sides are in the way. Weights strong enough to provide the pressure needed can easily crack the soundboard and sides swinging around inside the body. Gluing braces in with hide glue requires some speed before the glue cools and the go bars can all be put in place in about 60 seconds. As for finish filler, I've tried different types but lately I'm most happy with powdered pumice, which I rub into the pores with shellac. Then I sand the surface smooth and French polish over. It seems to do the best job at maintaining even color under finish, and it's easier than some fillers to level.I've heard of using hide glue as a filler mixed with wood dust...but I'm a little nervous about having something so water soluble under finish. I've never tried it because I was afraid of stability and the pumice is pretty easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Ah, got it. I had an inkling that was it, but it seemed too simple compared to the technique I've seen of messing with the dovetail (the examples I've seen remove so little wood to create the new angle that I wonder how one can avoid accidentally going too far with it). Thanks again! It is amazing how little you can move the neck when it is loose like that. The sides of the upper bout act like a spring. Just a small touch can mean the difference between a saddle that's outrageously tall and ridiculous looking to get the guitar playable... and no saddle at all/back where you started needing a reset. Basically what I'm going for is to get the saddle as tall as possible without the thing looking silly because that insures decades before the guitar will need another reset. I'm of the opinion that all acoustic guitars eventually need a reset due to the stresses the guitar goes under and a tall saddle just buys you more decades of time. It's really tricky because the soundboard itself will rise up under string tension and you have to factor that in when gluing the back on. The most critical part of this whole bit is gluing that back on to the neck block and getting the new neck angle in a nice spot. You only have one shot at it and the wood moves in ways that are a little unpredictable. You notice when i do it, I usually put an actual string on the guitar and use it as a straight edge to give me an idea how the thing is remaining aligned while I'm clamping it all together. I find it works better than a straight edge because I can watch the string height off the fretboard while clamping instead of measuring with a straight edge after things are clamped. It's no fun to know you're out of alignment one minute AFTER it's clamped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tbry Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 This should last a hundred years then! Couldn't afford or justify a reset so the luthier added bone...a lot of bone...surprisingly it has pretty good action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gitmo Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Since the gluing angle of the neck block is so critical, I find that it's better not to even mess with the dovetail joint once the back is off. The only reason I removed it al all was because the neck/body joint had gaps in it.I just steamed the neck out, waited for the swelling from humidity to come down, cleaned up the glue and finish in the joint...and glued it back together.All of the wood inside that joint had conformed itself to a perfect match over the years...I didn't want to mess with it. So even though the joint is a relatively tight fit there is obviously some play to allow for the reset. Not to belabor the question but do you pay attention to get glue in between the neck dovetail and block to act as a support shim bracing against the tremendous pull of the strings? I would be concerned if there was a gap in there that the pull from the strings might compromise the joint. My thought is the traditional reset keeps the dovetail right up against the block, your reset should require some type of shim or filler between the necks dovetail and the receiving block to hold it off at the top of the joint to produce the downward angle. I confess to being eager to see you walk the walk, I'm impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Great post man! Thanks for sharing. The guitar sounds great in your demo..I think it's acoustic sound is better than amped.. Just my opinion though. Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Great post man! Thanks for sharing. The guitar sounds great in your demo..I think it's acoustic sound is better than amped.. Just my opinion though. Well done! The amp was about 10 feet away but it still seemed to reverb from the room space. Amplifying an acoustic is always a challenge. What I was trying to demo was how an internal mic/ soundboard transducer sounds more like the guitar's natural sound amplified compared to piezo UST pickups. It has a mic line jack too so you can plug right into a PA and get a really nice sound too. No need for a box preamp with this pickup system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted February 9, 2010 Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 Great post. Thanks for sharing. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 9, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2010 This should last a hundred years then! Couldn't afford or justify a reset so the luthier added bone...a lot of bone...surprisingly it has pretty good action. Yea that's huge. I've been there on a guitar or two. It's kind of frustrating looking down at it but if the guitar plays nice, you just can wait it out....eventually you'll need to shorten the saddle and it will look better. At least that's what happened to me after a few years with guitars I've experienced like that....And you can always string those suckers up with mediums without fear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.