[DesertRatTom]

Man, this is getting exciting. The violin maker I followed, had forms for all the side parts of the instrument. He steamed them, then clamped them to the forms and let them dry completely. Then each section is glued in place against the vertical blocks that have been carefully carved to match the shape of the top and sides. Very precise work. How will you be doing this? Cutting the verticals on the CNC?

 

[difalkner]

Man, this is getting exciting. The violin maker I followed, had forms for all the side parts of the instrument. He steamed them, then clamped them to the forms and let them dry completely. Then each section is glued in place against the vertical blocks that have been carefully carved to match the shape of the top and sides. Very precise work. How will you be doing this? Cutting the verticals on the CNC?

Thanks, Tom - glad you're enjoying the build!

I've already bent the sides (see post #1) and the vertical strips you see are already in place. I cut those on the tablesaw then feathered the ends with a chisel. Manufacturers like Martin use tape but I prefer solid wood to help strengthen the sides and keep them from splitting.

I'll be using the CNC wherever it makes sense and as often as possible, really. I could have used the bandsaw to cut the top out and that would have taken all of about one minute. But I spent days working on the digital design representation of my Grand Auditorium body because my plan is to build many more and I wanted the accurate and quick repeatability for cutting tops and that's what the CNC gives me.

The next step will be cutting and shaping braces for the top and those will likely be entirely by hand. If I planned to build hundreds of guitars, or even dozens, using the CNC for initial brace shaping would make sense but in this case I'll just do them by hand.

 

[DesertRatTom]

I thought that was a pretty beefy guitar. Thinking about having seen the Romeros in concert and the amazing volume of his guitar. This will surely be a treat to play. Maybe you've found a great extra income source. Let the guitrists beat a path to your door. I bet you could talk one of the great players into giving it a try and a review. All that hand work has to be carrying the sound from the top deep into the instrument.

 

[rwhpi1]

Wow David! An absolutely "pristine and priceless" piece of work.

I am very much enjoying your build updates, especially with the videos !!

 

[difalkner]

Wow David! An absolutely "pristine and priceless" piece of work.

I am very much enjoying your build updates, especially with the videos !!

Thanks so much, Bob! Gotta' say I'm having a blast building another guitar - fun stuff!

Glad you're following along and that you like the videos, too.

 

[difalkner]

Made a little progress on the guitar build and got the X-brace glued, ready to sand the 28' radius on the bottom of the braces.

 

[difalkner]

Finished the next step and began another, so here's an update -

Glued these 80 grit pieces to the 28' radius dish -

Cut the Bubinga bridge plate and an MDF caul to hold it down for gluing -

And a video to go along with all of this -

 

[jw2170]

Great progress, Dave.

 

[difalkner]

More progress on the acoustic build -

 

[DesertRatTom]

Coming along. Have you ever watched Olaf The Violin Maker on youtube? Different instrument, but same discipline.

 

[difalkner]

Have you ever watched Olaf The Violin Maker on youtube?

Seems like I've seen a bit of one, yes.

 

[difalkner]

Did some carving on the braces, got a new chisel, and on to the next step!

 

[jw2170]

Good progress there, Dave.

 

[Oscar36]

Regardless of the functional function, the wood working is beautiful. It is a gorgeous piece of art just by itself. Can't wait to see how it sounds.

 

[difalkner]

I took the opportunity to use the CNC for a small piece on the guitar, cutting the neck block extension to support the fingerboard and also cutting the neck block itself after it was already glued to the rim (guitar sides). There was a bit of risk in doing this because I only had one shot at getting the neck block right or I would've had to do some serious recovery to fix any mistakes.

 

[difalkner]

Today was a busy day on the guitar even though it doesn't appear much has changed. Lots of cutting on the sides for braces and a ton of sanding to get the sides to fit the radius of the top.

 

[jw2170]

That is a solid form you have there, Dave.

 

[difalkner]

One more for today, and this one is a video I had not planned to make but it became necessary when I turned the lights out (glare angle) and saw how badly the top was dented. If you've ever steamed dents out then this is old news to you but if you've never seen this then maybe it will help you. Unfortunately, I've had to do this many, many times!

 

[difalkner]

I'm finally back out in the shop after a two-month absence due to prostate surgery. Light duty work only but I'll take it!

Cut, fitted, and glued the Bubinga soundhole bracing -

 

[jw2170]

Hope your recovery goes well…