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I got my little bridge pin reamer yesterday, and reamed the holes today, and strung the outside E's on to see where the neck has to go. The reamer? Etsy $15 or something. I saw the price on SM and balked. The reamer works, but is the SM 6 times better? I never liked my violin reamed either, but I balked at the spiral omes. We used spiral dreamers in the shop, and straight ones were still left in the drawer from years ago. No comparison.

The belly hasn't seemed to move any yet. The notes sound WAY deeper than the archtop. I have to play them together to tell that they are the same!

The neck angle is too high. 5mm at the twelfth. I wanted around 3mm. Needing 4 at the nut, I need 1 or so off the neck at the heel. I'll do that first, and then string up and check again. The 13th fret is high too. How did that happen? I'll work that down while the strings aren't in the way. I could even do more, and shim if I need to.

Hah! The high e is an octave low! How does it still work there? Sounds more normal now.

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Why be normal?

I have it finished! But is it ever finished? I could probably tweak the setup more. The action is about 2-3mm. It doesn't buzz. The strings are quite light, so they move a lot. The sound is pretty good. It is fairly loud, and it is pretty clear; you can pick out notes in a chord. The belly only rose about a mm at tension. And that is even with me cutting the bracing way down from the plan. They are lower, thinner, and go down to nothing at the edge with a curve like a bass bar; but more peaky.

It seems that I could have made them even weaker, but what would it do for the sound?

It is:
Sitka top, an actual guitar top blank!
curly Padauk back and sides
Spanish Cedar neck I'd probably use something with more dent resistance.
half of a 12 string tuner set, modified
Ambra 800 strings, with a gut e of the same gage. The e hits at a resonance of the guitar, and is penetrating.
620mm scale. The saddle is 312 down from the 12th, and straight. Compensation is flat.
It's about 11.5" at the LB, 9.5" UB. 6 3/4" CB(6 7/8" on the back) and 17+ long.

I tapped it in Audacity, and it has a dark hole around A. How do you fill that in? The A doesn't sound like it is in a black hole.

I think I'll find a case for it. It is small enough to take around. There should be something it would fit in.

edit OH, I forgot. It is finished with Satin Osmo Polyx Oil.
And another thing. It has a hole at 200, but a peak at 400. A hole at 300, and a peak at 150. So they are sort of filled in?

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Why be normal?

Great looking little guitar!
Very nice! Do you have a picture of the back plate?
Good commercially made cases are less common, but a period correct case can be knocked together in a few hours at relatively low cost. I have made a few of them from scrounged 1X pine boards milled down to 1/2 inch thickness and thin (3mm) underlayment plywood. It makes a relatively strong light weight case suitable for day to day transport (but not air travel) and suits the instrument pretty nicely.

Very nice Ken! Happy to see a fine little instrument like that be finished up. Really wish I could hear it in person.

Great project, stunning results.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Looks great, congrats!

Any recordings? Love the bridge and the heel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Looks good Ken. Like the vintage vibe.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I've tried to get garage band to work, it doesn't. Records on audacity and quick time, but no way to move them or compress them. Recordings sound deeper than I hear it. Weird. Still clear and rich, but deeper. My ears are plugged up every morning, and they pop. My voice sounds weird in recordings. Who is that guy, never heard him before.

I'll still try for a case, even to just have someone play it in the store who plays better than me! Also to get some feedback. When I showed violins at the MVA, (still no in person meetings) they would tell me thinks I didn't even notice.

I have to make 16 pegs now. Two violins need pegs, (they've been hanging there for a year?) and an 8 sting Uke/baroque is in the works. 2 end pins too.

I am quite surprised that in cutting the braces down so much, it still seem stiff. The baroque uses a stiff, reflective back, to support the belly. I did a violin like that, and it plays very easily. Would the same thing happen on a guitar? I don't know. I like finding stuff out, and making something new, not doing things over and over.

Thank you guys for all the help, and putting up with many questions.

I do have more.

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Why be normal?

Very cool, Ken!

I went to a guitar store in Waterford today. Found a used A & L gig bag for $25. It isn't plush, but it should keep it from getting scratched up if it's in the car. They were busy. Traffic was busy around there. That's why we moved out of the city! One kid looked at it. The owner was all over. I guess it sucks to be worried about money. No one played it, or looked at it critically. They have an open area, like a small theater in the back where people could plug and play electrics. Could get loud.

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Why be normal?

If yours works, then StewMac is probably not 6 times better. I bought a $10 reamer from Grizzly when I first started out, and it was just barely usable. I was able to complete the task, but it took several minutes of wrist-straining work for each hole. Bought StewMac for the next one since I don't like gambling on mid-priced things (and it was $30 cheaper back then). But I'd gladly take a half way decent reamer for half the price if I knew for sure that it wouldn't be another Grizzly. No need for anything fancy on a tool that only sees a few minutes of use per guitar.

I bought a 'General' brand reamer to ream bridge pin holes. Works well for me. Would a 'luthier' reamer from Stew-Mac do a better job? Dunno. At the price differential, I'm not curious.

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Peter Havriluk

I ground an edge on the tang of a couple of hand files to match the taper of the bridge pins (3 and 5 degrees), and use them to ream the bridge pin holes. They cut surprisingly quickly so you have to be careful to not go too far.
Many of the guitar makers don't taper the holes, so tapering them is an additional refinement we do.

Hi Ken,
I snapped a couple of pics of an original old wooden guitar case similar to some I have constructed. The originals often had wall paper linings but I use cloth. They can be slapped together in an afternoon once you have the materials on hand.

Well Clay, that case is cool. Dutch Luthier JAVACA has plans for a Panormo Guitar with a case. It looks very similar to that. I want to get that plan. It is around the same time, and size as the Stauffer, and I like the size and sound of that one. He built cases for his Strad guitars, but I don't know if his plans for the Strad include the case.

I just noticed that you wanted a back view. I thought I put it in, but I must have missed it. I just took it in the basement. Not very level!

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Why be normal?

Ken, I love watching your builds and this one didn’t disappoint. Great work.

Ken, how did you modify the tuners?

It is surprisingly easy. They are 6 inline. They are like the Grover Uke tuners I used on the Archtop. Pull the knobs/worm piece out, and heat the stem. Pull off the plastic knobs. I had a piece of drill rod, or something, that was the exact size. Cut pieces off to extend the knob to the right place. Cut brass tubing that just fits, long enough to go from the knob to past the head, and soldier it all together. Glue the knobs back on.
I found that a little torch worked the best.

I bought 12 string tuners, so I have to make another. Don't I? The knobs can be switched either way.

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Why be normal?