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<Starting a new thread by request>
I don't mean to alarm anyone, but contrary to all logic and sense, it has begun again...
I probably won't be documenting this one in painstaking detail like the last one, but I'm happy to post some progress pics here and there!
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05-11-2015 04:47 AM
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(In response to guesses regarding the woods)
Interesting guesses! The top on this is a native New Zealand timber called Kauri, obviously flat sawn (but pretty cool looking!). It came out of renovations on a century-old villa, so it will be well seasoned. And it will have been from a very large tree indeed -- the Kauri are known as NZ's "forest giants":
The back and sides are Tulip Tree, which is from the magnolia family and is quite a hard wood. The neck will be Rimu (another native timber), and the fretboard and fittings will be Puriri as with the previous build.
This one will be a birthday gift for my father, assuming I can get it done in time to visit him later this year.Last edited by Jehu; 05-11-2015 at 04:52 AM.
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Hahaha ! Not really surprised !
But you're surprisingly fast !
Wow <3 Very cool ! This tree is huge !! Flat sawn looks great for sure. What a lucky father, man !
Wondering what it will sound like ... Kauri ? Tulip Tree ? 'scuze me ?
Good luck to the brave warrior !
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Excellent, enjoyed reading all the posts (and the soundclip) of your first will follow this thread as well. This is one of my dreams, I dont know if I have the skills, I know for sure I dont have the time.... But when I am retired or win the lotto I want to build myself an archtop. In the mean time Ill be watching yours !
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Monteith fueled, uh ?
Last edited by xuoham; 05-11-2015 at 09:11 AM.
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I would think that you've made it past a good bit of the learning curve having built such a fine instrument on your first attempt, so hopefully you'll have an easier time with this one.
How much experience did you have with woodworking before you undertook your first project?
How much do you enjoy the process?
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I'd love too see painstaking detail 8-)
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Best wishes for round 2!
Please do post progress pics now and then.
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That's why all my linings are crooked!
Originally Posted by xuoham
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Not a great amount of experience, just a few smaller projects here and there but nothing of this magnitude. I spent a lot of time around woodworkers in my formative years if that counts for anything. Originally Posted by Klatu
I very much enjoy it, otherwise I probably wouldn't be spending this much time at it! Though a distinction needs to be made between "enjoyment" and "satisfaction". For example, I wouldn't say the physical act of carving plates is fun exactly, but it is a deeply satisfying experience.
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With properly sharpened blade in a carving plane and removing slithers of wood it's almost meditative! Originally Posted by Jehu
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"Ohmmmmm.... that thumb blister exists only in the physical world... ohmmmmm..."
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Lol.
Or....
"Ohmmmmmmm-my gawd! I've taken too much off!"
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So the most compelling thread of recent times gets a re-run.
Good news for those of us who read and re-read the details, pored over the pictures and offered our support and eventually congratulations, on the last one.
I have to say, I only got to listen recently to your Soundcloud recordings of the first one. I was - forgive me - quite astonished as to just how great it sounds. Not that I doubted your abilities, you understand, but I was expecting it to take time to ...."mature", sound-wise. So much for that idea.
And dammit, now I have GAS again for an acoustic archtop........
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Just a quick update, folks!
To suit the prospective owner's personality, I went with a more understated look for the f-holes. I intended to use Puriri to match the body binding I'm planning on using, but after about a week of singeing my fingers trying to tightly bend the little pieces, I knew that it wasn't going to look great. So I resorted to some black ABS I had around, and will need to practice my small bends.
Then I fit the tonebars and shaved them down, and supported the plates around the f-holes.
One last peek after attaching the back...
... and then on with the top!
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Thanks a lot for the update, Jehu. Truly enjoy watching the progress.
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What are those pyramid shape on the back of the guitar?
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Thx for sharing it with us again....looks great
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Thanks, guys!
Those are cleats to strengthen the joint. Once much of the excess is shaved off (hence the pyramid shape) they are practically weightless, and with grain running at 90* to the plate they add a good bit of strength. Originally Posted by edh
This one will be living in quite a different environment (Canada) than where it was born, so I'm doing everything I can to avoid the possibility of a centre-seam separation at some point down the track.
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Right, forward ho!
After trimming the excess from the plates, I excavated the binding channels with a gramil and a chisel, because I still haven't learned my lesson (or bought a router).
Then I fit a tail wedge...
And glued in the Puriri bindings. I must say, this was far trickier than with plastic bindings!
At first it was looking a bit rough...
But with a bit of planing and a lot of scraping...
... it's actually not looking too shabby!
Obligatory artsy shot:
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Yowza. That's real purdy.
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Very nice.
Thanks for the info about the cleats.
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Jehu - Somehow I missed your first excursion into building an archtop. Could you put up a link to the old thread?
This wood on this guitar looks great! How long did it take you to complete the first one? I want to see and hear the clips.
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I slapped together a three-piece neck made of Rimu (another native timber):
After adding headstock wings and gluing a Puriri veneer to the front and back, I installed the paw inlay:
I slotted the fingerboard and attached it, sanded a radius, and bound it in matching wood to hide the ends of the fret slots. I then added some simple side markers. Round toothpicks seemed perfect for the job.
Finally, it's time for frets! I gave the hammer method another go, and this went much more smoothly than last time.
Onward and upward! (Well, onward anyway...)
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