MIMF

Here one can see that some of the pearl gets close to the bottom of the top.
I just took a snap of the top with a light behind it before the back got glued.

Thank you. I quit even pretending to make things symmetrical. This is how I fool the eye a little, and minimize the aesthetic problems present when dealing with asymmetry. I try to lay the dots and stuff about halfway through the top, but it doesn't always work out like that. Always seal with shella...

Some other details.

I hope everyone is well. This is my new build. IRW/Sitka. Mahogany neck. Very loud. Need to adjust neck and fix nut. Strings are too close to edges. As usual the sound develops after a few days, but things are looking good. It's nice to revert to the glued on bridge after doing the floating bridge/ ...

I ruined my IRW back, it cracked next to the center strip. It will be usable for another instrument. I have an old stop sign. Is there any precedent for using this material for a guitar back? I see resonator types all metal. Will hot hide glue stick? Can one affect a dome shape by beating this stuff...

I think the purfling tool is shipped with the blades like that so the delicate points are not touching each other. I tried option B, and excepting my lack of chops, which in this case are improving, the result is correct. People have been doing this for about five hundred years. I'm sure there is a ...

Turns out it's B. I looked at Stewmac website.
If B is in fact not correct, then what is? I'm just dyin to know the WAY.

I've been away from building for a while, but now I'm going to build a violin (I hope). My new purfling tool. The knives, as they are in this new tool, together with the faceted faces facing each other (refer to photo) measure .083. My purfling measures about .051. Do I: A. Grind down the thickness ...

So why then is the popped bridge such a common repair? I took a class in building from George Morris in Vermont and if I understand him correctly, he recommends building pinned bridge guitars by gluing up the top bracing flat. No dome or barrel. Then carve the braces pretty light. Thenstringntension...

Ya but! I love the huge spread. It looks cool. But you are maybe right. I think it's not so important to do this multiscale thing anyway. Or maybe I need to get my structural engineering in order. The thing happening at the sound hole is a result of the string tension pulling my under-braced top wit...

Are there more detailed pictures?

Yup. Too light. I think I'm going to make this guitar again, but a 26.5" single scale and a taller Xbrace instead of ladder brace. I could perhaps raise the break angle even more to minimize the distortion on this one, and it may richen the sound, and give me more volume. Just in the last coupl...

Oops I posted Before I was done. iPad. I try to make the bridge a light as possible with the least contact possible. Basically the bridge is hollow. On this one, I left some heft in the bridge because the really light bridge I made caused the guitar to sound just like a banjo! That was scary. I buil...

Dear Jason, I have been looking at selmacs. The top is barelled not domed. It's about 61" wide and has about 1/2" arch. But the string tension changed everything. The break angle is very slight, just enough so the bridge doesn't shift aroundwhen playing hard. I figure that too much down be...

Great! I will stand corrected. My last instrument and this one have block made in the same way. The bass on this fan fret job is weak for sure, which should not be the case with a 28.5" E string. But the other one which has been alive for a few months -the bass has really opened up. But I will ...

Mark, I was asking about fan braces as a thought for an upcoming project. This guitar does indeed use ladder braces. The plywood in the neck block is the cheap stuff. 1/2" CDX. I figured it's really just an anchor point, mostly in compression, so as long as it does not crack, crumble, or delami...

any objections to the plywood neckblock?
tthe next instrument will definately have much taller braces. I'm a little worried about this. Any thoughts about using classical style fan braces on a floating bridge top?

Back and Cutaway. This thing has been a real challenge. I'm working at the outside edge of my skill level. As always with these floating bridge guitars, the sound is loud and brash and will warm up in about a week, I still need to tweak things to make it feel better, but I feel like I built a Ferrar...

Here She is.
Indian Rosewood/Sitka
25.5'" and 28.5"

I'm thinking of using gold leaf as a finish on a neck. I like to think that it of course will wear off here and there as the instrument gets used. Is this ridiculous? Does gold leaf ever get used in spots that get touched? I have all this poplar which has nice tap tone and it's been sitting there fo...