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LarryH
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2018 11:54 am 
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J De Rocher wrote:
LarryH wrote:
Trying not to start a new thread but also want to start a new cut away guitar and associated molds. I currently have both inside (for bending) and outside (for construction) molds and can easily add the cutaway shape (Venetian in this case) to the outside mold as an additional piece but the inside mold which is 5 or 6 layers of 3/4" mdf either requires cutting the shape out perfectly with a band saw (ain't gonna happen) or hacking away at it until it's shaped up correctly, then shaping a new caul for the bending process.

OR, building both the inside and out side molds from scratch as cutaway mold sets.

Recommendations?


A third option is to use the molds you have now and free hand bend the cutaway on a hot pipe. The builder I learned from did it that way and that's how I made the Venetian cutaway on my first steel string guitar. The treble side was bent in his bending machine using his standard mold and then I reshaped the upper bout into a cutaway on a hot pipe. Even though that was my first time bending anything on a hot pipe, it worked fine. This approach saves you from having to modify your mold or make separate molds and it gives you the option of varying the cutaway shape from one guitar to another since you are not locked into one shape by a mold. Here's what the cutaway looked like:

Attachment:
Cutaway - Macassar ebony.jpg


Hmm...Thanks so much for the ideas...Not comfortable with a hot pipe as my set up uses a heat gun and is very questionable but I've been thinking about a nicer hot pipe set-up as I do hand bend a bit on my funky rig. Hate the thought of ruining a side through inexperience but also not looking forward to setting up new molds and cauls and a new set up for the new cauls. Lots to think about.

EDIT: This method would also allow the desired cutaway shape be place in the outside mold and hot pipe bent to match. Still pondering...

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LarryH
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 4:17 pm 
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Another first time cutaway question. I've seen a couple of different styles of joining the neck to the treble/cutaway side. One has a tapered heel that does not follow the straight vertical line of the cutaway https://massstreetmusic.com/products/co ... 1a-cutaway and another that uses a wide square heel that does follow the straight vertical line as this guitar does https://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell/M ... -Guitar.gc

I've also seen where the cutaway dies exactly in to the fret board and others that have a small space between the fretboard and the cutaway. Curious about preferences out there and why?

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sdsollod
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 6:06 pm 
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I've done it both ways. This is how I've done it on recent builds. The other way would be easier for a first time cutaway.


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LarryH
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:09 pm 
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Thanks Steve, I can see that the width of the cutaway and fret board/heel need to match exactly to pull off the flush finish you show. Looks like 1/2 the fret board width applied to the CA side...?

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J De Rocher
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:51 pm 
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I agree with Steve that the combination of a tapered heel with the cutaway is a bit easier to do. Otherwise, I think it's just an aesthetic choice. Personally, I've never cared for a tapered heel combined with a squared off cutaway end like below, although I like the binding on the corner on this one.

Attachment:
Cutaway tapered heel.jpg


Here are some interesting alternatives.

I particularly like this approach with the side fared into the tapered heel. I would like to do this one sometime.
Attachment:
Cutaway fared into tapered heel 2.jpg


Attachment:
Cutaway binding blended into tapered heel.jpg

Attachment:
Cutaway tapered heel blended into side.jpg


These two strike me as a bit odd looking:
Attachment:
Cutaway tapered heel 4.jpg

Attachment:
Cutaway tapered heel 5.jpg


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These users thanked the author J De Rocher for the post: Michaeldc (Wed Nov 28, 2018 9:38 am)
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sdsollod
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:01 am 
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I love the look of some of those cutaways, but they are certainly at a higher difficulty level. With some of those, good luck with a neck reset...

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These users thanked the author sdsollod for the post (total 2): J De Rocher (Wed Nov 28, 2018 12:30 pm) • Bryan Bear (Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:41 am)
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Bryan Bear
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:43 am 
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sdsollod wrote:
I love the look of some of those cutaways, but they are certainly at a higher difficulty level. With some of those, good luck with a neck reset...


That is a good point about the neck reset and one I had not considered until just now. I have been wanting to do the one where the side is bent into match the shape of the tapered heel for a while now. I'll have to think about how that heel shape might change during a reset.

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LarryH
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:55 am 
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Wow on those cutaway shapes. A couple are above my pay grade but a couple are worth attempting...

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J De Rocher
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 28, 2018 12:30 pm 
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Speaking of challenging neck resets:

Attachment:
Cutaway heel 1.jpg


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LarryH
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 28, 2018 2:48 pm 
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J De Rocher wrote:
Speaking of challenging neck resets:

Attachment:
Cutaway heel 1.jpg

And WOW again...

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SnowManSnow
 Post subject: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 10:39 am 
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So far I have decided to leave the top edge unprofiled and use my dish in order to get the “bulge” I need correct.

I’ll Notch the mold to allow for the treble side to extend past the joint.

Viable plan ?
Image


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meddlingfool
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 11:57 am 
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Yes, viable plan. More work than making a profile with your mold mind you, but you'll get it done.

One thing to consider is what kind of heel shape you're planning, and if you want the FB flush at the join. I used to leave a gap but make them flush now with a straight heel. This covers the endgrain of the cut side. When I made a tapered heel, imextended the non cut side out and butted the cut side to it, so the endgrain would be inside th cutaway...


These users thanked the author meddlingfool for the post: SnowManSnow (Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:54 am)
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SnowManSnow
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:54 am 
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meddlingfool wrote:
Yes, viable plan. More work than making a profile with your mold mind you, but you'll get it done.

One thing to consider is what kind of heel shape you're planning, and if you want the FB flush at the join. I used to leave a gap but make them flush now with a straight heel. This covers the endgrain of the cut side. When I made a tapered heel, imextended the non cut side out and butted the cut side to it, so the endgrain would be inside th cutaway...

Good point


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sdsollod
 Post subject: Re: First time cut away.
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 10:26 am 
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Quote:
"So far I have decided to leave the top edge unprofiled and use my dish in order to get the “bulge” I need correct. "


Rather than just use your dish, use a plane to take the side down to the point where you can take it down to where it needs to be with the dish. You can start by setting the sides on the dish and see how far you need to go, then as you remove material, check it from time to time and remove more as necessary. I like using my little finger plane for this.


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