Bending, Day 2

 

 

Saturday, July 5th, 2008:

Well, I'm excited. It's time to see how the bending went!!!

I'd say it went pretty well. I had no springback, no scorching, no cracks. I am pretty pleased with how it came out! (Even though rosewood is relatively easy to bend, I still get a bit nervous anytime I bend sides.)

 

INDEX:

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  1. A Little Detour....A Tour of My Workroom!!!
  2. Joining the Top
  3. Starting to Bend
  4. Bending, Day 2
  5. Bending, Day 3
  6. Neck Block, Center Strip, Cutaway!
  7. Bracing the Back, Gluing in the Blocks
  8. Shape Back Braces, Glue Neck Block, Make Spreaders
  9. Spreader, Rim, Kerfing
  10. Rim-Sanding, Brace-Shaping, Go-Bar Modification, & Obon!!!
  11. Side Strips & Rosette
  12. Beginning the Top Bracing
  13. Bracing, Continued...
  14. Gluing the Back
  15. Gluing the Top
  16. Trimming the Overhang
  17. Routing for Binding : Day 1
  18. Routing for Binding : Day 2
  19. Fitting & Gluing the Bindings
  20. The Soundbox is Done!!!
  21. Truss Rod Slot, Peghead Veneer
  22. Peghead, Start Heel
  23. Threaded Inserts, Neck Trimmed
  24. Fitting the Neck!!!
  25. Truss Rod Cavity, Heel Cap, Fingerboard Trimmed
  26. Finishing and Gluing the Fingerboard / Peghead Inlay
  27. Carving the Neck
  28. I Feel Good....The Basic Building is Done!!! (Now on to the Finishing....)
  29. Pore-Filling
  30. Sealing
  31. Finish Coats
  32. Finishing the Finish!!!
  33. Gluing the Bridge
  34. It's All Done!!!

 

When it came time to clamp the side into the mold, I realized I did not have my spreader blocks. (I have no idea where they disappeared to!!!)

 

 

So, I had to take a little break and make those. I'll finish them (drill the little cavity for the turnbuckle) later, after I've bent the cutaway side and make the spreader blocks for that side.

 

 

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After that was done, I set about bending the cutaway side.

The first step, as I mentioned earlier, was to use the regular bender to bend the lower bout, the waist, and the first half of the cutaway, up to the tip of the horn. I found I couldn't use the cutaway ram pictured here to do the entire cutaway, as this cutaway is much sharper than normal, and the side of the cutaway nearer the neck would not be held tightly to the form with the ram. I could make modifications to this bender, but it would be just as easy to use that other bending form I already had made for the cutaway.

 

 

 

So, I'm going to let this sit overnight (just as I did yesterday's side), and tomorrow I will use the other bending form to finish up the bending of the cutaway portion.

While I'm waiting on this, I think I'll start making my neck and tail blocks, and start cutting braces.....

MANY, MANY HOURS LATER. . . . . .

I can't believe how long it took me to produce what you see in the photo below!!! It was back-and-forth from my little power tool shed (way at the back of my lot) to my older shed, where my thickness sander is, over and over again! That's one of the disadvantages of having my guitarmaking areas in three different spots; it means a lot of traveling back-and-forth!!! Well, it's good exercise, anyway....

But I did it --- now I have all my top and back braces cut and ready to go! I only need to sand the radiuses (radii?) on those braces that need it. But that will come later....