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Whats wrong with putting the mold on the mantel? Its not like the kids' Christmas stockings are hang there!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Made the neck and tail blocks and fitted them to the mold. Not much progress, but an object in motion tends to stay in...

I hope to build a tenor for my 3rd or 4th build. I have a Martin tenor neck cut for a dovetail. I'll just have to figure out how to cut a corresponding neck block.

I'm looking forward to seeing yours.

My abandoned second was meant to be.... well sort of .... OK admit it was going to be a repeat of my first, but horrendous slippingae with a rounter when doing bindings meant I could rescue the top and back if cut down to tenor size... with new matching sides and a a 13 fret to body (due to scale v existing bridge position, I managed to salvage a tenor.... only for a complete mare with the neck angle.... it is currently in the shop awaiting removal of the neck... it may take some time...

So number 3 is this competition build as no 2 never completed... although I have another project ongoing - electric bass... I will declare all prior to any voting

A few steps forward and one step back over recent weekends.
1) Managed to create a 15" radius dish for the back and get it varnished. The guitar will have a flat top. Made the dish with a router riding on radiused rails making a bridge over the dish. Rotating the dish under the router worked great, and amazingly, not too dusty.
2) Profiled the sides close with a block plane then sanded.
3) Then I tried to put on the reverse kerf linings I'd made. Got a little greedy and snapped them. Then snapped the next one. Then being a genius decided to rip some thin spruce and laminate up some solid linings. Except that they didn't conform well to the sides due to the radius and left gaps that i didn't notice until after. So... I scraped them out... mostly. Was starting to get frustrated and it was time to set the chisel down. I'm learning. Last time i got frustrated with a chisel in my hand, i put the chisel in my hand... literally.

More progress to report.
After snapping the reverse kerf lining on the tight waist of the tenor, I made up these double kerf liners. Kind of a poor mans A4 liner. Worked like a charm. Afterward slipped it back into the radius dish and sanded down to 15' on the back and flat on the top.

I also fixed my circle cutter so it would cut a tighter radius. I was pretty nervous about cutting the rosette, but with the 1/4 20 thread adjustment was able to sneak up on the perfect size and get the walnut and purfling all glued in one go (using titebond). Used a spiral upcut bit, but it was sharp and worked great. Ran the top thru the shop built drum sander and it turned out alright. The walnut is a cutoff from the sides. Planning to use the bookmatch for the headstock so the grain continues through the rosette.

I also dimensioned my brace stock for gluing.






Slowly a guitar is taking shape!

That last photo has me wondering... how to pore fill a rosette? Cross that bridge later.

Nice progress on the guitar Randy. The mistakes are sure part of the process, mine sure keep coming. Funny, I need to make a mantle too and I like yours - nice design but looks reasonably easy to execute. I might steal it

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Maybe someone has already responded to this, but Todd Stock shows how to do this in his excellent Epoxy Pore Fill tut on YouTube!
I'm really enjoying your build. I like to hear about how people adapt to the things that don't go as planned (which are legion in my building processes). My motto is, never make the same mistake twice!
I love your kerfing solution...brilliant! Nice job.

Steve steal away. Particle board columns with 1/4 layer on top and cheapo home depot trim. House is a 1930s pre-ranch style, so wanted something classic, but not too colonial or craftsman. Feels like it hit the mark.

Beth I'd just seen Todds video. Still not sure what I'm going to do finish wise. Maybe truoil. Maybe unfilled. Appreciate the encouragement.

Cut the sound hole, brought the top to final thickness, .088" and laid out the bracing. Decent progress after work!

There no way I'm finishing by october. I WILL finish though And keep posting pics as it happens. Congrats to everyone who crosses the finish line on time. You all deserve a guitar!

Keep up the good work, Randy, and let us see how you're doing!

I'm still alive! Braced the top this weekend. Kitchen counter + cabinets + curtain tension rods = go bar deck. Then I pulled another doh. Spent so long away from the project I forgot I radiused the back! Plans call for a cylindrical back so I didn't radius the braces or use the dish for glue up. more learning ahead

Hey Randy, looking very clean. Might want to check with some of the more experienced builders, but by pre shaping the X braces. You have some gaps at the joint. Everything I've seen and read suggests that joint should be really tight with no gaps. You might want to look in to wedging a couple of splints in there and then cap the joint with a bit of spruce you can then plane to minimal thickness.

What is a "cylindrical" back?

Keep up the great work. Will keep watching:)

Cylindrical back is only radiused in the head to tail direction.
Managed to scrape off the braces in about a half hour. Not too bad. A few light passes on the drum sander and it should be golden.

I feel the guitar is over braced at the moment since a) it's tiny and b) has 4 strings and c) the top is Douglas Fir ie crazy stiff... So to your point about pre shaped x, I'm going to try flattening the x a pinch and putting a wood patch over. Thoughts?

Looks OK, but lots of bracing for a tenor, I think. Try and find some guidance on tap tuning the top where you can hear the difference as you go to get some reference. By comparison the little tenor I started for the competition has four small ladder braces......

I would also fill and cap the X,

and think about removing one of your lower bars....