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The binding is on, end flash in, several little screw ups so this is going to be far from perfect. Learning lots though, I need to find a neater way to get the binding on (too much glue everywhere). I think I should have waited another day before leveling the binding too.





I glued up the stock for the neck, I should be ready to start that the next time I get to the shop.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

Leaving us all in the dust I see Looking good.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Looks good. I really like that end graft.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I haven't had time or motivation in a while to make progress on my guitar, but I picked up the ball again and made some more pieces. I had the box built back in September, I made the neck, fit the dovetail joint, and made the fretboard in the last week or so. I have to order a few more things from Stew Mac (like a refret saw because some of the slots are too shallow after dressing the radius into the fretboard).

There are several mistakes in the build, but so far nothing that should keep this from being a playable guitar. We'll see.

I put a coat of tru oil on the sides and back of the body just now to protect it. I'm going to try to do a hand rubbed burst finish on the top and I didn't want to have to worry about accidentally getting a drip or smear from the dye on the sides. I'll probably mask them too for good measure.

I ended up using dots for the position markers. I bought a fancy set of silvertone style markers from DePaule, but decided to save them for another project when my skills are a little better. I did inlay my initials in the headstock. A little sloppy, but I'll do better next time.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

Well, cr@p.

I did a mock up of my parts, and noticed something wasn't right.

The neck seemed to join the body close to the 14th fret...wasn't this a 12 fret guitar? I checked the plans, and yes it is suppossed to be a 12 fret. So I checked the position of the bridge plate, scale length, templates, etc. Long story short, the plans I got from Georgia Luthier have 2 different neck layouts. One side and top view that match each other for length, and a top view that is shorter. I used the former to make my patterns (there isn't any explanation on the plan sheet). Clearly that is wrong, those parts are the wrong length.

This is really frustrating. The obvious fix is to scrap the neck and make a new one. I can probably cut the end of the fretboard off and add another piece of binding and make that work. Plan B would be to make some kind of goofy bridge that would move the saddle further forward but still position the bridge pins over the plate. I don't like that at all.

So, I guess I'm not as far along as I thought. dang.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

Your build looks great. I would save that neck for another build and start another one...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I mis-measured the first neck on mine and got to make another Save it for later like Steve said, it only hurts for a little while

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Yes - definitely save the neck for later. You will want a 12 fret neck one of these days and you will have it ready and waiting when you do.

Just be sure you mark it carefully with the scale length, body join fret,
nut width, and the nut/saddle string spacings. That way - you don't have to try to remember what it was when you dig it back up in a year or 3.....

Looks like your build is coming along nicely.

If you can possibly do it.... Spend a few minutes doing something on your build every night. That will help you keep the momentum...... It's easy to loose steam - especially when it comes to putting on the finish.

Hang in there!

OK, I made up a correct template for the neck and glued up stock for a second neck. I'll rough in the replacement neck tomorrow. Hopefully this will go smoothly. I'm going to remake the fretboard too, so I ordered another ebony blank and truss rod.

Maybe by the end of next weekend I'll be back to where I though I was.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

while I was waiting for the neck blank to dry I decided to see what I could do with some of the scraps I have left from other projects -- I don't actually have that much scrap wood, and nothing really special, but maybe enough for a second guitar.

I re-sawed an off cut from some 8/8 walnut. It's just wide enough, maybe, for a back. I got two sides out of another piece of plain black walnut, and dug through my scraps to make a laminated neck (maple, honduras mahogany, claro walnut, black walnut). Should be enough for two necks actually. I want to make an 0-28 martin pattern guitar, I'll use the second neck for that I guess, assuming I have enough walnut for sides and back on another body.

I was poking around and remembered a plank of Alaskan Yellow Cedar I bought probably 8 years ago on a whim (4/4, 12"+ wide, 8' long). When I looked at it, it looks like it all quarter sawn with not too much runout. I'll have to pull it out and see if it would work for a top (or two).

I really want to get a thickness sander, planing even straight grained wood down to .125 (or .080) is a little dicey. A little runout in the grain and it can rip apart even taking really (*really*) light cuts. There is no way I could use the thickness planer for figured wood.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

These early L-1's are my favorite shape and size. Looks like it has a smaller soundhole diameter, too. Good job

Ed

I've been working on the second L-1 while I waited for the truss rod and fretboard to re-make the neck on the first one arrived. We also had a big mudslide on the only road in to my house, which took out two power poles and left us without electricity for a week. What a nightmare!

The second L-1 is Walnut from some leftover boards I had that I re-sawed. I used reverse-kerfed linings, which is much stiffer than the linings I used on #1. The next guitar I make I'm going to try the solid/laminated linings instead. I'll get the back glued on #2 and then make the necks for both. I have to decide if I'm going to order a piece of spruce for the top of #2 or try using the Alaskan Yellow Cedar I have. My inclination is to order some torified sitka from stew-mac to try that out. I have a bunch of other stuff I need to order anyway...I'm thinking bloodwood bindings on the second one.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

Wow. That's a bummer, but luckily it didn't get any closer to your house.

Thinking about your neck situation..... It's pretty funny that if you look at old Gibsons - you will find plenty of guitars with oddball neck joins.... 13.5 fret necks aren't all that uncommon on pre-war Gibsons.....

But... Sounds like it's going to be a few days before anything gets delivered.

That second guitar is coming along well. I suppose you may as well make progress on it while the road is still blocked.

Thanks

I might have gone with the existing neck if I could - regardless of what fret-join it was - but given the scale length the bridge ends up not being over the bridge plate that is inside the top.

I'm really disappointed in "Georgia Luthier", it took two emails and two "web contact forms" (and many weeks) before they even acknowledged they got a message. And no response acknowledging that there was a mistake, no apology for the mistake or offer to "make it right" in any way.

// separate thought ///

I sharpened a chisel before using it to shape the ends. I'm not a guru sharpener or anything, but I know how to sharpen a chisel. The brace material really didn't cut very well at all. Lots of tear out and very splitty. On both ends -- so grain direction wasn't a factor. It seemed really touchy when pre-shaping with a spokeshave too, prone to tear out. Is this typical with spruce? The only woodworking I've done with softwoods has been some pine projects (tool chest, wall cabinet for the shop, etc) and that cuts like butter and a plane or chisel leaves a beautiful surface. I couldn't get a clean surface with a chisel on the spruce. Maybe I should try splitting one of the billets I got from stew-mac and see what the runout is like.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

Spruce is very stringy with long fibers.. But it's also spongey... It tends to squish under tool pressure.

The first trick with spruce and edge tools is sharp sharp sharp. A dullish chisel will cut walnut, cherry, and mahogany beautifully... And it will mangle spruce.

The next is that spruce is needs a fairly fine bevel.. A "sharp" tool with a convex (bellied) bevel and even worse - a slight bevel on the back - will give you fits.

The back is absolutely flat, polished on a trued 16,000 grit water stone. 30 degree angle, with a micro bevel polished on the same stone. It shaves the hair on my arm, and it's as sharp as I know how to make it. I'll see if my paring chisel does any better, it has a much lower bevel angle.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

I got a little tinkering time in today on guitar #2. I didn't repeat any of the mistakes from the first on (yeah!) but I found a few new things to do wrong (BOO!).

I think I'll see if I can get this box closed up and then work the necks on both of them together. I guess the rosette will be the next adventure.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

You have enough yellow cedar there to make an entire instrument - back, sides, top, braces, and neck. Something I have wanted to do for a while now. Would look great with an ebony headplate and fretboard, and black binding.

Ed

I got a little shop time in this afternoon and got the rosette made for the second L-1. My thinking is that I'll get the box finished for this one, then do the necks and fretboards for both at the same time.

I used the same spalted tamarind and bloodwood / black fiber that I used for the end graft. I laid out the rosette on the computer, with each segment decreasing 10% in size as you move from the bottom to the top. I cut out the pattern and sawed up all of the segments.

My main worry was that the pieces would stick to the workboard and this would be a disaster, but it worked out really well. I glued the the pattern down with spray adhesive, then went over it with a layer of clear packing tape. I waxed the tape, and super glued all of the parts in place. It held tight for the assembly and routing, and popped free with a little finesse with a chisel.

Since the segments are different sizes I cut out patterns for each, glued them to the spalted wood and then sawed the angles using a guide block. It worked really well, only a little fine tuning necessary to get a nice fit everywhere.

Tomorrow I'll get the bracing on the inside and maybe glue the back to the rim.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

Really nice rosette!

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I got a couple of hours in the shop yesterday, got the back glued on and started getting the braces on the front. Then the power went out. Pretty typical for where I live when it's raining (or windy). What a pain in the neck though. I'll get the rest of the front braces glued on this morning, and can probably start shaping them later this afternoon.

As I was looking at the plans I realized that I made a mistake on the shaping on the first guitar, the legs of the A and both ends of the tone bar are supposed to be shaved down. I wonder what that will do to the sound, given that I didn't do it?



Instead of using spool clams I glued the back on in the go-bar deck. The rim on this build is stiffer than the first one, but it still doesn't hold it shape perfectly. This worked out pretty well, and really locks the shape of the guitar in place.

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

Front Braces are glued in and drying, and the headstock overlay is glued up on guitar #1. I don't have enough small clamps to do the other one, so I'm taking a break while this one dries. I had some problems with the ebony plate sliding down as I tightened the clamps, so I had to pin it in place. I don't remember having this problem before, but I'l be ready next time!

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

I think you will probably be OK on the A brace and the tone bar.

I think my preference would be to do a little taller soundhole braces.. These guitars tend to fold up across the soundhole over time. But it looks very clean.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll see how stiff it is before I start cleaning up the braces and use that to guide me on how much I shape them -- and whether I should add a little more to the soundhole reinforcements.

Since the unbraced top felt a lot floppier than the spruce I used in the first one I left it abut .015 thicker and made all of the rough braces a bit wider and taller.

But I'm totally making this up as I go, so who knows?

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Blog on Making Stuff: http://www.McGlynnOnMaking.com

By not tapering the braces I would expect the soundboard to be a bit stiffer and maybe tend to favor the trebles. Nice work and the braces can always be modified later although it is not much fun.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"