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An OM for Danocoustic


Freeman Keller

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Reamed and slotted the pin holes, made a saddle

 

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Took it inside and played it. I think Dano will be happy.

 

He mentioned many pages ago in this thread that he though he would be playing Piedmont blues on it so I broke it in with a little Candy Man, Spike Driver, Deep River, Betty and Dupree, Freight Train.... Seems happy playing the Blues.

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Took it inside and played it. I think Dano will be happy.

 

He mentioned many pages ago in this thread that he though he would be playing Piedmont blues on it so I broke it in with a little Candy Man, Spike Driver, Deep River, Betty and Dupree, Freight Train.... Seems happy playing the Blues.

 

:thu:

 

 

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He couldn't control his impulses over in Political Party. 2 months for personal attacks. I've bumped heads with him a few times myself; it doesn't always take much. I just checked and he's still banned. :(

 

i once read “judge not lest ye be likewise judged”... probably nothing of much importance... i wouldnt worry about it too much.

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i once read “judge not lest ye be likewise judged”... probably nothing of much importance... i wouldnt worry about it too much.

The same guy who said that also called one of his closest friends "Satan" in a moment of anger so apparently it's appropriate to judge someone at times. And incidentally, somehow I manage to stay out of HCPP and I manage to keep from getting banned in spite of considerable provocation. Would that Dano could do the same. I also manage to keep from derailing other people's threads over personal vendettas so there's that too.

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The same guy who said that also called one of his closest friends "Satan" in a moment of anger so apparently it's appropriate to judge someone at times. And incidentally, somehow I manage to stay out of HCPP and I manage to keep from getting banned in spite of considerable provocation. Would that Dano could do the same. I also manage to keep from derailing other people's threads over personal vendettas so there's that too.

 

this thread isnt about you...

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Um ok, gitter question. First, awesome work Freeman. :thu:

Then question: Does gluing the bridge to the finish make any tonal difference?

 

nope, i guess if you glue the bridge on the finish it will not hold and go off over short time

i wondered why not glueing the bridge bevor finishing?

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Um ok, gitter question. First, awesome work Freeman. :thu:

Then question: Does gluing the bridge to the finish make any tonal difference?

 

 

nope, i guess if you glue the bridge on the finish it will not hold and go off over short time

i wondered why not glueing the bridge bevor finishing?

 

I really don't have any idea idea if gluing to the finish affects tone or not - probably not enough that anyone could tell. What it does affect is the quality and strength of the glue job. The bridge glue joint is the highest stressed joint in the guitar - it has 175 pounds or so of shear tension and significant rotational trying to rip the bridge off of the top. Our modern glues have adequate factor of safety in their strength to withstand it they are properly applied. That means good clean wood to wood interface, the right amount of glue and adequate clamping pressure. As long as the guitar doesn't get too hot the joint should last forever (sometimes the wood, particularly a soft wood like spruce or cedar will fail before the glue does).

 

However, it is amazing to me how many big reputable guitar companies do a downright crappy job with this joint. Detached bridges are the single most common failure that I see (not abuse like cracks or broken heads). Invariable when I take the bridge completely off (I won't reglue it until I've removed every bit of old glue and any finish) I see finish still on the top of the guitar. Here are just a few random bridges

 

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This is a classical (with about half the tension of a steel string) when the bridge failed the owner "fixed" it with some 5 minute epoxy. When that failed he brought it to me

 

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The last one is a real jewel. It is a brand new Fender 12 string that was hanging on the wall of a shop. Fender hadn't even tried to remove the bullet proof finish, just glued the bridge on over the top. When the shop called and asked about return under warranty Fender said no, "thats the way we build them". I couldn't get the finish off with chemical stripper, it took coarse sandpaper to get it to bare wood.

 

Anyway, the problem is how to remove finish, when to do it, when to glue the bridge on during the build. If you put it on before the finish it is in the way and has to be masked off (steel string bridges aren't finished, classical ones usually are). Besides, it has to be absolutely perfectly dead nuts on - Taylor can do that but I'm not that good.

 

If you try masking the top the tape is still in the way while sanding and polishing finish, plus the tape risks pulling up finish. Stripping as I do or even making very thin pass with a router are common. Or, as you can see above, just leave the finish on and hope for the best.

 

 

 

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nope, i guess if you glue the bridge on the finish it will not hold and go off over short time

i wondered why not glueing the bridge bevor finishing?

You'd either have to mask the bridge or apply finish to it. Back in the 70's my college roommate had a Toyota acoustic that had a finished bridge so that may have been such a case. The classical guitars I've paid attention to typically had finish applied to the bridge.

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Update in case anyone has been watching this. I've been dealing with a little flaw in the finish on the headstock - finally said the heck with it, pulled the tuners off, sanded back and reshot it. It will take a couple of days to cure before I can put it back together. So close...

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It's basically done. I hit a little bump during the final stages - I put it all together but wasn't totally happy with a bit of finish at the nut. I had a pretty good sag in the lacquer, tried to fix it but it was still a little soft - anyway, it bugged me so I pulled the tuners off, sanded it down and shot a couple of coats. Buffed it up and put it back together, then I noticed a couple of scratches in the head finish. That bugged me so I decided to pull it apart again and do some more buffing. When I popped the tuner bushings out (they press in) I chipped the finish so now I had to spray even more coats, let that cure and buff some more.

 

Got it done, I'm happy and I'm sure as heck not going to do any more to it. Made a label

 

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and strung it back up.

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Took some glamour photos for my records (Dano will get a thumb drive with all the pictures on it)

 

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It's absolutely beautiful Freeman. I know, and I'm sure you know, our friend is absolutely knocked out with the pics. I also know he's gonna be knocked out when he gets it in his hands. I've regaled him to post up some pics with it in the tiny forum we both frequent.

You are an artist Freeman. While I've enjoyed every single one of the build threads you've posted here, the personal connection I share with Dano has made this me so very special.....

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It's absolutely beautiful Freeman. I know, and I'm sure you know, our friend is absolutely knocked out with the pics. I also know he's gonna be knocked out when he gets it in his hands. I've regaled him to post up some pics with it in the tiny forum we both frequent.

You are an artist Freeman. While I've enjoyed every single one of the build threads you've posted here, the personal connection I share with Dano has made this me so very special.....

 

This is the third time that I have met someone thru this little community, got to know them, discussed their likes (and dislikes) in guitars and music, tried to get thru my head whether to build something or not, all of the communications back and forth as the process goes on - the trust (on both sides), my doubts and concerns. Its a fascinating and interesting experience and I have totally enjoyed the process.

 

For me a commission is someone putting a whole lot of trust and faith in a person they have never met - they front some money which lets me play at my hobby not knowing when they'll see their guitar (if they ever will) and whether it will be anything like what they have dreamed of. I take this very seriously.

 

I'm honestly not very good at the whole process. I worry about everything - will he like this, what will it sound like, have I made the braces too big or too little. What about the flaw that bothers me so much, when things aren't going well should I back off and refund the money.

 

I played Dano's guitar for an hour or more last night - put it thru my little repertoire trying to hear things that I didn't like - how does it sound in D or G, how about a little slide just in case Dano wants to try that. How is the action, how will it settle in with a little more time on it. I watched my wife's reaction. Today I want to take it by my music store and let a couple of friends play it - showing off, sure, but I'm more interesting in anything they think needs work before it goes in the brown truck.

 

Anyway, I just want to publicly say thank you to Dano, T_e_l_e and Grant for their trust and confidence and the friendships that have come out of it.

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