Build #3 - Martin-inspired 14 fret 000 Black Walnut

[kwakatak]

It’s times like this that I wish I’d dropped the $200 for two radius dishes and sandpaper to do the next step: “driving the bus.”

Actually, I made my own alternative; a sanding stick with the arch cut into it with a bandsaw and cleaned up with a spindle sander and 100 grit sandpaper. It’s much cheaper but there’s lots of “wiggle room” that’s hard on the back. It’s mounted to the top of my gobar deck with a threaded rod and nuts and washers but I need to rethink how to mount it because the threaded rod literally wiggles, causing “play” in the height of the sanding action. A second locking washer and bolt on top of the deck would probably fix that.

Meanwhile on top I have a wingnut that allows me to limit the rise of the sanding stick so that I can focus on the high point la on the circumference, allowing to simulate the action of a sanding dish. A dish would just be mounted on a pipe nipple which would be simpler, but IMO that’s not worth $200. Stewmac pricing can be ridiculous like that - again in IMO. 

As for the reason of all of this, the back plate has to have a structural arch in it that makes it resistant to changes in humidity and act as a means of focusing the sound waves out of the sound hole. Putting the arch on the rims ensures that there is 100% contact for the glue joint - including on the underside of the neck block, which is where (in addition to the saddle) the string tension will come to bear.

I check this all by using chalk during the sanding process. It will show me where the remaining “high points” are. 
 

Next up: inlaying the rosette, cutting out the soundhole and bracing the soundboard. 

[daddymack]

On 4/27/2023 at 1:50 PM, kwakatak said:

Sorry, I did yard work today. My wife demands silence when working from home. FWIW I did fit the two parts together.

 

Yeah, I'm sure all that cursing and swearing from the basement is quite the disturbance....😉

[kwakatak]

On 4/30/2023 at 10:05 AM, daddymack said:

Yeah, I'm sure all that cursing and swearing from the basement is quite the disturbance....😉

I’m glad she’s not home today then. I installed the rosette today, then when it was 99% done and thus far flawless I gave it that extra 5% - and f***ed it up. 

TLDR I sanded through it in several places  

 

[daddymack]

7 hours ago, kwakatak said:

I’m glad she’s not home today then. I installed the rosette today, then when it was 99% done and thus far flawless I gave it that extra 5% - and f***ed it up. 

TLDR I sanded through it in several places  

 

OWWWW!

Just photocopy another section and glue it in, no one will notice....

[kwakatak]

6 hours ago, daddymack said:

OWWWW!

Just photocopy another section and glue it in, no one will notice....

It's less than 1/16" thick. Since I cut out the sound hole I need to find a way to center the jig and route it out deeper. Then I have to drop another $17 for another rosette, and I'll likely get two or three for the next 2-3 spec-type builds (I'm planning on a Martin 00 and HD dreadnought.)

Unfortunately, I've already dropped another $100 to StewMac this week and my wife grumbles about every nickle and dime - even though she's similarly gung ho about her "hobby." 

On the bright side ordering from Stew Mac is pretty much next day (they're in eastern OH, I'm in western PA) and the outer rings of the rosette are perfect; it's just the herringbone middle ring.

[kwakatak]

Here’s a pic of the boo boo. Fortunately I’m still set up to do it over. I just have to order another rosette. I just need the middle ring though; the outer rings are perfect as is. 
 

 

[DeepEnd]

I admire your inventiveness, not to mention dedication.  As for the rosette, I suppose it's too much to hope the flaw might be covered by the fretboard?

[kwakatak]

15 hours ago, DeepEnd said:

I admire your inventiveness, not to mention dedication.  As for the rosette, I suppose it's too much to hope the flaw might be covered by the fretboard?

Nope. It was on the opposite side of the body. I’ve fixed it. Here’s a video of the entire process:

If you don’t want to sit through that, here’s just a pic of the new rosette:

 

 

[kwakatak]

PS: my local Martin dealer has several Martin 000s in stock, including several 000-28 1937 Custom Shops which have the same neck profile and scale length as this will have. I also sampled a 000-18 Modern Deluxe (mahogany/sitka) which was a damn fine guitar. I only hope that this guitar plays as easily for me; I’ve made the body about a 1/4” deeper. 

[kwakatak]

I cut a rough outline of the soundboard so that I could use clamps  on the braces. If I were better set up I’d be able to use my gobar deck but I couldn’t justify the cost of radius dishes. This will work though because the X braces already have a radius on their undersides which will give the top a slight dome. 
 

 

[kwakatak]

I figure that this is partly like a kit so I can rely on the benefits of using serviced parts. Apart from the X bracing though, the rest don't appear to have an arced underside. That, the number of remaining braces, the lesser number of clamps than are required to glue them up and my lack of patience have motivated me to use my home made go bar deck.

I made it from MDF, a piece of bead board and various fittings from the hardware and plumbing sections of my local Home Depot. It cost less than $100 to make. The go bars themselves are actually fiberglass rods for running AV wires behind drywall. I find that the metal ends are better suited than previous experiences I've had with actual go bar rods with rubber end caps; they are less likely to slip. I trimmed of the male ends and place the trimmed ends in holes in the bead board to eliminate the risk of them slipping on that end.

PS: I also placed it on a carousel so that I can rotate the entire assembly while installing the go bars.

Edited May 17, 2023 by kwakatak

[DeepEnd]

On 5/10/2023 at 1:17 PM, kwakatak said:

Nope. It was on the opposite side of the body.

Rats. Of course not  Sounds like your luck is similar to mine. 🙁 Looks like you had good luck with the repair though.

[kwakatak]

10 hours ago, DeepEnd said:

Rats. Of course not  Sounds like your luck is similar to mine. 🙁 Looks like you had good luck with the repair though.

Thanks!

Yeah, I'm beginning to think I make my own bad luck though and need to not rush things and keep it simple and step by step.

Next up is sharpening chisels and whittling away at those braces. I want to be able to voice the top, notch the rims on the other side and close the box soon. After that is the really stressful step: cutting into the body to add binding.

[daddymack]

43 minutes ago, kwakatak said:

Thanks!

Yeah, I'm beginning to think I make my own bad luck though and need to not rush things and keep it simple and step by step.

Next up is sharpening chisels and whittling away at those braces. I want to be able to voice the top, notch the rims on the other side and close the box soon. After that is the really stressful step: cutting into the body to add binding.

And that is it in a nutshell...about anything worthwhile.  Particularly for you preparing the 'make or break' steps for the body binding,

Do you use carborundum or a grinding wheel to sharpen your chisels?

[kwakatak]

5 hours ago, daddymack said:

And that is it in a nutshell...about anything worthwhile.  Particularly for you preparing the 'make or break' steps for the body binding,

Do you use carborundum or a grinding wheel to sharpen your chisels?

Nope. I'm cheap. I'm using a piece of granite that was supposed to be the backsplash for a bathroom vanity that I installed myself a couple of years ago along with various grades of wet/dry sandpaper a la "scary sharp." The only thing I didn't cheap out on were the blue Marple chisels and a Bosch laminate trimmer for the binding cutting jig,

[kwakatak]

I'm working on finishing the sides. Today I installed the end wedge. Both sides are partly notched for the top and back but I need to sand the kerfing a little more. Hopefully I can close the box next week.

Edited May 24, 2023 by kwakatak

[kwakatak]

It’s getting close to the time to close the box, but I was tempted to rout out the dovetail mortise (actually the block was pre routed but I still needed to cut away the sides around the area) and did a quick fit of the neck. This gives me an overall idea of how the shorter scale length will look. It also sort of helps to center the plates - especially to see how much the fingerboard overlaps the rosette. 

[daddymack]

lookin' good...at first glance I thought maybe you decided to go true hollow body...like the Yamaha 'silent'

[kwakatak]

Lol. Nope, I’m just playing with the pieces. 

I could never understand those “silent” guitars. I prefer to just play my Strat with headphones on. 

PS: I made the judgement call to do herringbone purfling around the top. Stewmac sells it already bent for 14 fret OM/000 bodies. They send it in way too big of a box IMO.

[daddymack]

1 hour ago, kwakatak said:

Lol. Nope, I’m just playing with the pieces. 

I could never understand those “silent” guitars. I prefer to just play my Strat with headphones on. 

PS: I made the judgement call to do herringbone purfling around the top. Stewmac sells it already bent for 14 fret OM/000 bodies. They send it in way too big of a box IMO.

that should save you a couple of day's work!

[kwakatak]

The bridge plate and soundhole braces are in and I’m fitting the top. This involved thinning the ends of the X braces to a uniform height and matching them with the depth of the notches in the sides. I still need to arc the kerfing and set the angle on the upper bout. 

[DeepEnd]

On 5/26/2023 at 3:38 PM, kwakatak said:

. . . They send it in way too big of a box IMO.

Lots of things are in too big boxes. I guess it's psychological to make you think you're getting more than you are. I'm old enough to remember buying computer programs that had a disk or two and a skinny instruction pamphlet in a box the size of a hardback dictionary. 🙄

[kwakatak]

The geometry of the back was throwing me for a loop so I went and ordered a radius dish from Blues Creek Guitars a couple of weeks ago. Now I've got it all situated but I going to wait to scallop the braces and voice the top first. That involves sharpening my chisels. I think the top side of the rim should be OK too, but will check to see if I took the necessary step to avoid the 14th fret hump. 

Meanwhile, I've been thinking ahead and tooling up for the next build - whenever that day may come. Here's a picture of the mold I made using the very first guitar I ever played. It's a Kay that is unrepairable (think the lowest of low grade laminates and a cracked neck) that is roughly about a Martin 00 size. I have said plans from Stewmac but made this mold out of a tracing of the guitar. I actually have fun making jigs.

Edited September 1, 2023 by kwakatak

[daddymack]

yes, but while you are making jigs and enjoying yourself, we are in here, waiting for the saga to continue....

[kwakatak]

Ok. I just gotta sharpen my chisels and scallop the braces on the top.