Official Luthiers Forum!

Thanks again to everyone who was able to join this month's roundtable meeting. We had a smaller group today but a great discussion. I always learn something new. The recording is below.

If you would like to submit anonymous feedback on topics, experience, etc... please fill out the form here - https://forms.office.com/r/HHEni87fAP

Recording:
Direct Link - https://youtu.be/Tkhd4p8aNfE
Meeting Archive Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... d2qUiezNGN

Attendees:
Brent Tobin
Bob Gramann
James Orr
Brad Combs

See you next month!

Brad

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I watched the replay. Sorry I could not make it live. As I mentioned to Brad, the Valley Woodworkers of West Virginia had our annual shop tours yesterday, where we go to a few members’ shops to see their tools and such. I organized it and gave a tour of my shop (four other shops were visited besides mine), so I was tied up all day.

It warms my heart to hear that Bob, who has built way more guitars than I ever will, finds use with my scarf joint jig. That’s very cool, and I’m so glad it is useful for others besides me. As I’ve mentioned, when I use mine, it feels like cheating. And I’m glad to hear that James is gearing up for hide glue. It’s great stuff, made way easier to use when you have some specific tools.

Thanks for all the info on neck joints. I learned some good tips! Shout out to Brad for making me some templates like the ones he uses on his LuthierTool jig. They are going to come in very handy. And thanks in general to Brad for organizing these roundtables. Very worthwhile.

I thought you’d get a kick out of that! I think it was also the last thing standing in the way of all HHG construction, which is also right up your alley.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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HHG allows you cheat to the extreme on scarf joints Just rub it together and hold by hand for a minute, and then stick 5 cam clamps lightly on it to prevent the edges from curling up (water on the outer surfaces also helps to balance the swelling). The glue has such a strong tack, it prevents the joint from shearing unless you put a lot of pressure on it.

I actually still have two joints where I can’t align and set the clamps fast enough to use HHG: the head and tail blocks to the rim. I haven’t solved that one yet, so there, I still use a PVA.

Brad, I don’t remember if this came up in the earlier thread on Ziricote allergy: scraping makes shavings instead of the dust of sanding. Not everything can be done with planes and scrapers, but a lot can.

Bob--

I can offer a few ideas on the blocks. Some might fit in with how you prefer to work, but some might not.

First, I really like using John Hall's approach of screwing the blocks to the outside mold using drywall screws, with the sides sandwiched in between. It's good not only for the gluing, but also in place of spreaders in the North-South direction. I use two screws per block (spread vertically, not horizontally), and I drill pilot holes and do a dry run first, so that I'm not cutting threads during a glue-up. For the parts of the joint that stick up past the mold, just apply some clamps up there. The point is that, by using two screws on each end, you get both reliable positioning and great clamping pressure. The screw holes are hidden by the eventual tail wedge at the tail and the neck attachment at the head.

In terms of having enough working time, once you have done a dry run, and use some heat gun action on the blocks, you should have plenty of pre-gel time per block. If not, then you can always add a small amount of urea and get that extra minute or so of pre-gel time. I know some folks don't like that idea, and I don't use it for these joints (I just don't need to), but it is another tool in the toolbox.

Don, you’ve got me thinking again. I’m well practiced in using the heat gun for working time. My major problem with the blocks is keeping them aligned while I clamp them. My outside molds aren’t tall enough to provide a decent clamping surface for gluing, but I think I could make a fixture that would keep the sides and the blocks aligned while tightening down. By the time I do a rim again, I ought to have it figured out. Thanks for the impetus.

Ah, more design things to remember. Bob showed the flat upper bout. Sounds like a plan.

I'll try to remember to do a flat bottom block as well; at least for archtops. The little 13" is giving me trouble with the tailpiece. I cut out the first one after setting the brass clamp in place. The new one I didn't do that, so it is off center, because the bottom is round, but maybe not on center round? Maybe the slot in the first was a little out of square?
Flat bottom would help anyway.
The strings keep falling out! The new idea isn't working as well as I thought. Besides falling out, the bridge is so low, they are hard to string up! Space underneath is at a premium. The ball ends are big.
Need taller bridges!
Draw it up full size. The angle of the bridge is far less than I thought.
Making new things every time is one thing after another.
I'll get it.

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