Members meandi Posted July 28, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 fret spacing template is attached to this L shaped piece with double stick tape which is quite agressive in its hold. i've used it to hold router templates on solid bodies for routing pickup cavities, tremolo cavities etc. & never had it slip. this is flipped & sits on the main plate of the jig, where the spacing template engages the locater pin. the fret board to be cut is held against both the face of the main plate & the stop at the end... and pushed across the saw blade, which is positioned for desired depth of cut, for the fret slot. the process is began at the nut position & is moved to subsequent notches for the length of the fingerboard. the blade in the saw is a rough cut blade that was on the saw when i got it. as soon as the slotting blade arrives this job will be performed in a matter of minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Originally Posted by meandi ...as soon as the slotting blade arrives this job will be performed in a matter of minutes. Man you have nothing if not patience! As one who's had problems with this in the past (other non-guitar projects), check the end play and runout of that saw's blade arbor before cutting those slots. Based on what I have seen from you so far, I would guess you already have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 28, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Originally Posted by mjuenem Man you have nothing if not patience! As one who's had problems with this in the past (other non-guitar projects), check the end play and runout of that saw's blade arbor before cutting those slots. Based on what I have seen from you so far, I would guess you already have. thanks for the heads up...i had not thought to check end play & runout...i did set a square against the blade off the saws platform to verify that aspect. i have a dial indicator i can jig it up to check runout & end play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members reachjkh Posted July 28, 2008 Members Share Posted July 28, 2008 Do a piece of pine first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by reachjkh Do a piece of pine first. there ya go...reading my mind again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by meandi there ya go...reading my mind again. Good idea, a little runout could easily double the width of a narrow kerf by the time you get out to the end of the blade. Remember since you are cutting a groove instead of just cutting a board off, you get the whole error in your work instead of just half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by mjuenem Good idea, a little runout could easily double the width of a narrow kerf by the time you get out to the end of the blade. Remember since you are cutting a groove instead of just cutting a board off, you get the whole error in your work instead of just half. well you got me thinkin... i'm glad you brought this up. like i said, i had checked the blade to the table with a square & that looked good. here is what i have done so far. removed the blade & washers, started the motor & polished the shaft with a strip of 320 grit paper. clamped the dial indicator to the motor mount with the tip of the indicator centered on the highest point on the shaft/arbor & rotated the shaft. read runout of 1/2 of a thousand...or, i believe .0005", if i have writen that correctly. in fact, i repeated this test several times to get a broader pool of information, & the .0005 was consistantly my reading. the diameter of the blade to be used will affect the amount of runout at the cutting point, so my .0005 will be magnified proportionately. as far as end play...i tried pulling the shaft out of the motor, so to speak, & that is solid. even though the saw has been around for a while & is a bit crusty, i don't think it has seen much use. i reinstalled the construction blade that came with the saw (9" blade) & read it for runout just inside the base of the teeth....007". of course the slotting blade from stew mac ($60 +) should be of much finer manufacture than the blade i tested tonight... humm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by meandi well you got me thinkin... i'm glad you brought this up. like i said, i had checked the blade to the table with a square & that looked good. here is what i have done so far. removed the blade & washers, started the motor & polished the shaft with a strip of 320 grit paper. clamped the dial indicator to the motor mount with the tip of the indicator centered on the highest point on the shaft/arbor & rotated the shaft. read runout of 1/2 of a thousand...or, i believe .0005", if i have writen that correctly. in fact, i repeated this test several times to get a broader pool of information, & the .0005 was consistantly my reading. the diameter of the blade to be used will affect the amount of runout at the cutting point, so my .0005 will be magnified proportionately. as far as end play...i tried pulling the shaft out of the motor, so to speak, & that is solid. even though the saw has been around for a while & is a bit crusty, i don't think it has seen much use. i reinstalled the construction blade that came with the saw (9" blade) & read it for runout just inside the base of the teeth....007". of course the slotting blade from stew mac ($60 +) should be of much finer manufacture than the blade i tested tonight... humm... Depending on what you find with the new blade, you could always get the right thickness band saw blade (at the teeth) and then jig-up an X-Y table to feed the neck into the band saw blade at the right angle and distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 well, i just made a test run with the blade i have, which is an 1/8" chisel tooth.i squared a piece of walnut & pushed it over the blade, set for 1/8" deep cut, with my slotting fixture.it gave me a 1/8" deep cut that is exactly 1/8" wide & is square to the edge of the workpiece.so, at this point i feel ok about the saw.but i'm real glad this was brought up...always good to check potential problems before they become real problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by meandi well, i just made a test run with the blade i have, which is an 1/8" chisel tooth. i squared a piece of walnut & pushed it over the blade, set for 1/8" deep cut, with my slotting fixture. it gave me a 1/8" deep cut that is exactly 1/8" wide & is square to the edge of the workpiece. so, at this point i feel ok about the saw. but i'm real glad this was brought up...always good to check potential problems before they become real problems. That's good news. Good idea also using a hardwood for the test to mirror your expected result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by mjuenem That's good news. Good idea also using a hardwood for the test to mirror your expected result. i'm relieved with the results...this is about building a guitar, not chasing around solving equipment problems. however the equipment problems have to be addressed in order to properly build the guitar. would that qualify as a cach 22? you seem quite knowledgable in all this...are you in the woodworking business? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by meandi i'm relieved with the results...this is about building a guitar, not chasing around solving equipment problems. however the equipment problems have to be addressed in order to properly build the guitar. would that qualify as a cach 22? you seem quite knowledgable in all this...are you in the woodworking business? Oh, I make a lot of sawdust. I am probably a bit like you but without the guitar repair experience. I just fashioned my first bone saddle this week. I have worked with my hands all my life - grew up on a farm and do all my own repairs from welding/metalwork to woodworking, home repair, car work, electronics and wiring, computer server, network and communication service... I guess I just dislike having anyone do anything for me that I can do myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by mjuenem I guess I just dislike having anyone do anything for me that I can do myself. we are a lot alike, i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 i added a feature to this fixture. i had been making a few dry runs with the fingerboard...no blade. it became appearant that there was a good chance something could easily slip out of place, trying to hold both the slotting template & the fingerboard where they belong while also moving the fixture into the blade. so i added a couple of toggle clamps to hold the slotting template in place. now all i have to worry about is the fingerboard & i'm quite comfortable with that. also will be clamping a shelf for the off saw end of the fingerboard to rest on untill it reaches the deck of the saw...at which time i'll move the shelf to the other end of the jig. had to add a couple of more pieces of wood to give the clamps a platform. i think i'm ready for that saw blade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members reachjkh Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Back to the varience issue, don't forget that you're only cutting on top of the blade (directly over the armature) rather than a full, long cut using the leading and following teeth. That would make for even less error I would think. ???Nice mod with the clamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Etienne Rambert Posted July 29, 2008 Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 meandi: "thanks for the info.what amp/speaker combination are you playing through?great looking guits. b.t.w." I don't own a guitar amp. I don't perform out with the archtop. When I perform, I usually play keys. I record with the archtop though. But I don't record with it as much as I do my Guilds. If I need an electric guitar sound - I go to the archtop. If I need an acoustic/electric, I use the archtop. I like the Kent Armstrong humbucker sound better than the sound of the acoustic pickups. It's a great-sounding hollow body electric guitar. And it's a big-sounding archtop. My Saigon setup is a Cheap Mackie mixer, California Karaoke power amp with separate channel delays. JoeMeek pre-amp/compressor,JoeMeek stereo compressor, Lexicon MX110 reverb rack mount. I also take FX from a Yamaha MU90 synth module which I use exclusively for FX. I use a Yamaha MU100 and a Roland RS-50for synth sounds. I'll need to post a current pic of my setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by reachjkh Back to the varience issue, don't forget that you're only cutting on top of the blade (directly over the armature) rather than a full, long cut using the leading and following teeth. That would make for even less error I would think. ??? Nice mod with the clamps. that makes sense on the blade. but it cut clean & square when i tested it this morning...& thats good enough. the clamps really changed the feel of the thing...& they're quick to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 29, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 29, 2008 Originally Posted by marcellis meandi: I don't own a guitar amp. I don't perform out with the archtop. When I perform, I usually play keys. I record with the archtop though. But I don't record with it as much as I do my Guilds. If I need an electric guitar sound - I go to the archtop. If I need an acoustic/electric, I use the archtop. I like the Kent Armstrong humbucker sound better than the sound of the acoustic pickups. It's a great-sounding hollow body electric guitar. And it's a big- sounding archtop. My Saigon setup is a Cheap Mackie mixer, California Karaoke power amp with separate channel delays. JoeMeek pre-amp/compressor, JoeMeek stereo compressor, Lexicon MX110 reverb rack mount. I also take FX from a Yamaha MU90 synth module which I use exclusively for FX. I use a Yamaha MU100 and a Roland RS-50 for synth sounds. I'll need to post a current pic of my setup. i'd like to see your rig. i recall the thread where you had your name placed on the headstock, who is the builder of the archtop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 well my fret slot blade isn't here yet & i've got a coat of marine varnish drying on my body side mold. what to do, what to do? took my band saw apart & cleaned & re-set all the components on it. also took the 3 neck blanks from the 50 yr. old maple that i used on some of the fixtures & glued up another neck early this morning. in the afternoon i flattened & squared it on the belt sander & the face of the headstock cut to 14 degrees to the neck top. i'm going to build one of these for my son...don't know if it'll get this neck or use it on another one later. had a nice slab of purpleheart left from my neck-thru & cut a couple of accent strips for the neck, as well as a fingerboard blank. got the heel cleaned & squared & the 4 1/2 deg. angle marked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samilyn Posted July 30, 2008 Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 It takes me forever to load all the pics on my stone-age dial-up connection, but this thread is well worth the wait!! Simply awesome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 30, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2008 Originally Posted by Samilyn It takes me forever to load all the pics on my stone-age dial-up connection, but this thread is well worth the wait!! Simply awesome!! thank you. i struggled with dial-up for years & just went to a hi speed connection a couple of months ago...felt like i'd gone to interweb heaven! before, kinda like, i could hit the up-load button on some pictures & then go mow the lawn or something while the transfer took place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brokepick Posted July 31, 2008 Members Share Posted July 31, 2008 I guess you already know it, but you have quite an audience now. I must say it takes some patience to stop and take good pictures of everything you're doing, and then to post and explain them. I wait almost daily for new pictures of the progress. Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted July 31, 2008 Author Members Share Posted July 31, 2008 Originally Posted by strang I guess you already know it, but you have quite an audience now. I must say it takes some patience to stop and take good pictures of everything you're doing, and then to post and explain them. I wait almost daily for new pictures of the progress. Great work! i certainly hope everyone is enjoying it...cause, this is pure fun for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 1, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2008 while browsing around online looking for ideas, i found this. chain saw teeth held in a disc, mounted on a 4" angle head grinder for carving/roughing in wood. read a guys page that builds mandolins...says he can rough in the arch on a plate in around 10 minutes. that'll save me a lot of hours on that procedure. grinder turns at 11,000 r.p.m., tried it out on a scrap of wood...it's wicked. there was a dialogue earlier in this thread about using ebony for nuts/saddles, specifically the wear factor, that got me thinking. i like the general profile of benedettos bridge/saddle, & got to thinking about how i could incorporate a bone saddle yet retain the classic look of his design. came up with an idea...see how it works. i laid out the templates on a single block of wood with double stick tape. reason for one piece of material at this point is to simplify the alignment of the threaded post that raises the saddle for string height. this post must incorporate both the bridge piece as well as the saddle. the line through the writing on the bridge is the depth the post will sit in the bridge. took it to the drill press, set the depth stop to that line & drilled 1/8" pilot holes. piece of maple laying on the bone saddle blank will be used as the saddle while prototyping. laid the maple on the saddle template, claculated it's position & drew a line. back on the drill press, i set the depth stop to that line & drilled a series of 1/8" holes from one end of the layout lines for the saddle to the other. will clamp it to the bench & finish cutting it with a 1/8" chisel. the deeper i get into this the more i feel i really could utilize a small bench top milling machine with a feed table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members meandi Posted August 1, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 1, 2008 clamped it up with a strip of maple as a guide. saddle in place. opened up on the spindle sander. still kinda boxy looking, but still quite a bit oversized dimensionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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