-
I posted some pictures of a back and side set in an earlier post and I thought I would update some of the progress I have made.
Plate carving is the big hurdle in archtop guitar construction. Before I tried my first AT build, I converted a duplicator to accommodate a guitar plate and a plate pattern. The result was a fairly accurate duplicator with the slight draw back of being a bit too small, leaving a small section uncarved on a guitar plate. The best feature of this setup is the dust collection that really does work well on the finer dust. Without dust collection the job is a nightmare.
-
12-15-2017 10:33 AM
-
interesting..so how do rectify the uncarved portion...by hand? or repositioning top in device?
good stuff
cheers
-
Thanks Neatomic.
Originally Posted by neatomic
There is only 1 small section that is uncarved on the outside only. I remove all but the last 1/8" of this section with a forstner bit on the drill press. The last 1/8" is removed with a finger plane. It is easy to shape as it is at the lowest point of the plate. It is a 4 square inch area directly below the tailpiece. The stylus is hitting the frame of the carver preventing the router from cutting an area that the router can reach. That means if I want to I could remove the stylus and free hand the router in that area. It does a better job on the inside than on the outside. The outside of the plate has more hills and valleys which is where most of the inaccuracies come into play.
-
Your master template looks just like what I use when pressing individual veneers into a top or back. Wood frame, plaster of some sort making the shape in the center. You can't really tell from the photo, but one is a positive and one a negative and they nest with the veneers in between.
-
grez, always enjoy/ed all those vids you posted on laminate construction...& honoring rc allen!
good stuff...pt 1
cheers
-
Thank you Neatomic, much appreciated!
-
After sanding the carved top plate to 100 grit is when I add the bracing. I cut the braces from straight vertically grained spruce. To fit the brace to the curved surface of the top plate the brace has to match the shape exactly. I start shaping by first removing some wood from the ends of the braces.
Now the brace can be marked with a pencil and a washer to approximate the shape of the top.
I fit the brace for full contact by using sandpaper stuck to the top plate. Then with pencil knife and sand paper I work the brace down to an exact fit.
Once the brace fits perfectly I mask the area around the brace and glue the brace with HHG. I don't use a clamp. I hold the brace for about 2 min. then I place a small weight to hold it. It is important not to clamp with too much force as this can squeeze all the glue out.
Once the glue has dried I begin the brace shaping. The final shaping is done after the F-holes are cut.
-
meticulous as always matt c! nice!
cheers
-
Matt, thanks for sharing. It looks great and very enjoying to see the process unfold! Love the archtop! Steve
-
Thanks neatomic ! The fastest way to get her done is to get her done right the first time. Originally Posted by neatomic
Thanks Steve! I am moving kind of slowly on this guitar. I have several builds going at the same time.skykomishone
Matt, thanks for sharing. It looks great and very enjoying to see the process unfold! Love the archtop! Steve
-
It’s very nice to see what my future guitar is gonna look like when it being made.
You work very neatly. I like the washer idea. And I thought I was MacGuyver...
-
I don't really believe that Matt was the first to ever come up with the washer idea.
They've been around a long time.
-
Yeah? Maybe so but no one else does it with the same style, grace and class like he does. Nobody!
-
Is that an optical illusion from the angle of the photograph, or are the braces not symmetrical compared to the centerline? I have always just assumed the bracing is symmetrical, not really for any particularly good reason, but perhaps that is not the case.
-
It is an illusion. One brace is longer than the other, and this gives it a uneven appearance. Each brace is located an equal distance from the centerline throughout their length except at the neck end. With the angled placement of the braces, the very end of the longer brace is closer to the centerline at the neck end of the top plate. It is not always the case that braces are symmetrically placed. Most mandolins with parallel bracing (also called tone bars ) are not parallel at all and have braces that are located slightly shifted to the bass side. The braces usually are not a uniform size after their final shaping. Originally Posted by Cunamara
-
OK, so I can stop poking my fingers in through the F holes to see if I can tell whether the braces are symmetrical! Thanks, Matt!
-
I think you will need very long fingers. Originally Posted by Cunamara
Your guitar is X braced.
Last edited by Matt Cushman; 01-28-2018 at 09:22 AM.
-
LOL! Originally Posted by Matt Cushman
I think you will need very long fingers. Your guitar is X braced.
So how do you choose whether to brace a guitar with "parallel" versus X bracing? What is the difference in sound the two methods produce?
-
The X brace is typically a softer more mellow sound than a parallel braced model. For a louder voice with more projection then parallel braces are the choice. The top can be carved thinner in the center with parallel braces. The parallel pattern is more centered with greater longitudinal strength. The X brace is very popular and most of my guitars have featured X braces. The goal of this build is for a loud acoustic guitar. Originally Posted by Cunamara
-
With the top braced I proceed to cutting and binding the F-holes. I use a pin router system to cut the f-holes.
The router does a clean job and with a little sanding the F-holes are ready to bind. Some of you know that I like to bind with fiber. I posted a thread previously about the processF - holes bound with fiber
Before I glue in the binding it is a good idea to seal the end grain with HHG and let it dry.
Clamping the multiple layers of fiber takes a bit of MacGyver. Clothespins make great spreaders to hold the strips in place while the glue sets.
-
great stuff & nice spruce!
cheers
-
Thanks neatomic! I buy all my spruce from Home - Alaska Specialty Woods Originally Posted by neatomic
-
Mat, it's a treat to see "the birth" of an archtop step by step. Thank you very much for letting us watch the great work you do.
-
Matt, very nice work! As I think about perhaps building an archtop(s), I'm thinking about getting a duplicator...
Dave
-
I’m not sure where you buy a duplicator these days, but you can make one relatively easily. Originally Posted by Dave Richard
That said, we have an old cast iron one at the school which we use in the archtop building class. One plate is hand carved and one duplicated to expose the students to different techniques.
FWIW, using the duplicator is such an unpleasant experience that many students say they would rather hand carve a plate even if they had a machine in their home shops. Hand carving may take several days compared to an hour or so on the machine, but what a stressful and miserable hour!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Reply With Quote
Rialto Archtop Guitars UK
Today, 07:04 PM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos