Search found 105 matches

by Chuck Morrison
Tue Sep 07, 2021 7:45 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Idiot proof approach to guitar building? For this idiot
Replies: 12
Views: 7273

Re: Idiot proof approach to guitar building? For this idiot

Wow, that's an interesting description of the desirable g string tone. Not helpful, but interesting. An idiot proof system for building an acoustic guitar ? Hmm... This is the approach I have developed over the past 40+ years. I didn't start out with it, but it developed over time. Unfortunately, it...
by Chuck Morrison
Tue Dec 15, 2020 10:23 pm
Forum: Glues and Finishes
Topic: No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes
Replies: 8
Views: 9286

Re: No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes

Very interesting Chuck. Do you use the same technique between each coat? How many coats do you find you need with this technique? Yes, I do. I think a fair part of this is that wiping on the water also wipes off any remaining dust, which helps it all lay down nicely, not as many dust nubs. So doing...
by Chuck Morrison
Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:56 pm
Forum: Glues and Finishes
Topic: No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes
Replies: 8
Views: 9286

Re: No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes

Clay Schaeffer wrote: Mon Dec 14, 2020 9:56 am Do you think the wetted surface that helps flow out might also affect the adhesion of the film? I would be curious to know.
I'm curious to know as well. Just from working with it on one instrument it doesn't seem to be a problem, but time will tell.
by Chuck Morrison
Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:22 pm
Forum: Glues and Finishes
Topic: No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes
Replies: 8
Views: 9286

Re: No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes

I tried misting the water first. I wanted as close to an even coat of water as I could get and my misting bottle wasn't doing that and I had to wipe it anyway, so I went with wiping without misting.
by Chuck Morrison
Fri Dec 11, 2020 1:06 am
Forum: Glues and Finishes
Topic: No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes
Replies: 8
Views: 9286

No bubbles or brush marks with water borne finishes

I've been trying to brush PolyAcrylic finishes for almost as long as they've existed in a belated attempt to escape the health hazards of lacquers. After several recent instruments finished with shellac (French polish) I went back to PolyAcrylic (Brite Tone) to use its high solids content for grain ...
by Chuck Morrison
Mon Dec 07, 2020 12:27 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Blank thickness for glue up
Replies: 9
Views: 7849

Re: Blank thickness for glue up

It depends on how thick you want the back to be. I try to get back sections pretty close to final thickness before gluing, realizing that I need to get the joint very close to perfectly aligned. If I don't succeed, then I end up with a back that's thinner than I'd wanted. Do you want a thin vibrant ...
by Chuck Morrison
Tue Sep 29, 2020 12:14 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Oak Classical
Replies: 7
Views: 7357

Re: Oak Classical

Alan, I referred to your previous posts as support for building this one. I debate building others due to your warnings about trying to sell oak guitars. I intend on showing this next week to some professional classical guitarists who might actually be honest about what they hear. We'll see.
by Chuck Morrison
Tue Sep 29, 2020 11:54 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Oak Classical
Replies: 7
Views: 7357

Re: Oak Classical

Man, that guitar looks like a living thing. Awesome. I've got a ton of red oak milled up from some storm damage here. The most of it will be flooring for my shop, and a tiny house, but I'm holding back the clear QS stuff, and you've given me some inspiration. How does the unfilled oak feel? Any dif...
by Chuck Morrison
Sat Sep 26, 2020 3:33 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Oak Classical
Replies: 7
Views: 7357

Re: Oak Classical

I could hear a certain brightness in the oak and by the way it is a stunning guitar. Thanks Bob. I think it's pretty stunning too, acoustically as well as visually. Just a couple additional notes that could impact the sound qualities of the two guitars. The rosewood guitar has western red cedar for...
by Chuck Morrison
Sat Sep 26, 2020 1:48 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Oak Classical
Replies: 7
Views: 7357

Oak Classical

I decided to take up the challenge and make an oak classical guitar. In this case I found a lovely looking 2" slab of red oak online and bought it based on photos. It turned out to have huge splits in the center of the board from drying which rendered much of the board unusable, but I was able ...
by Chuck Morrison
Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:19 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Honeycomb Tops
Replies: 6
Views: 6541

Re: Honeycomb Tops

I visited Randy Reynolds around 2008 and saw his setup for building doubletops. It took me several years to get around to building one myself, partly because I had to tool up to be able to do it. His info in the archives is a good place to start. A vacuum press is definitely a must. I tried some oth...
by Chuck Morrison
Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:28 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Double top all-wood acoustic
Replies: 13
Views: 12022

Re: Double top all-wood acoustic

I've been building double tops for a six or seven years now. I appreciate seeing how you've done the CNC work on your wood DTs, and had conversations with builders who have been doing that or talked about doing it, but I haven't had the opportunity to see one or try it myself. My concern about doing...
by Chuck Morrison
Mon Dec 16, 2019 3:45 pm
Forum: Tools and Jigs
Topic: Thank You Alan!! (Ultimate Scrapers)
Replies: 15
Views: 16319

Re: Thank You Alan!! (Ultimate Scrapers)

Thanks for the tip Alan, Oddly enough it didn't take long at all to get the original sharpening gouges out with the skate sharpener and it went right to the edges quickly, so It doesn't seem that far off of the original curve in spite of the small diameter. Maybe some slop in my technique is a bette...
by Chuck Morrison
Thu Dec 12, 2019 3:03 pm
Forum: Tools and Jigs
Topic: Thank You Alan!! (Ultimate Scrapers)
Replies: 15
Views: 16319

Re: Thank You Alan!! (Ultimate Scrapers)

After reading this thread I bought a skate sharpener and a few cheap sharpening stones. The sharpener (with 2 grit sizes) and the round stones have the same diameter, about 1/2" and the right size for the scraper. Although it took a while to get the original deep scratches out of the hollow edg...
by Chuck Morrison
Fri Dec 06, 2019 12:26 pm
Forum: Wood and Materials Q&A
Topic: Scheller Tuners
Replies: 2
Views: 7241

Re: Scheller Tuners

I thought they looked nice and asked for a quote. They are 2x to 3x the price of the Rubner "roll" tuners I usually use. I may try a set some day just to see ...
by Chuck Morrison
Fri Oct 25, 2019 6:55 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Double sides
Replies: 34
Views: 37478

Re: Double sides

Matt Atkinson wrote:I imagine laminated sides have very little springback?
In the case of the fully kerfed sides I show above, yes. I'd say none actually since it was glued together in the form and it still fits closely into the form even with top and back attached.
by Chuck Morrison
Tue Sep 24, 2019 7:05 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Double sides
Replies: 34
Views: 37478

Re: Double sides

Hi Darren, Thanks for the detailed description and the photos. Definitely worth more than 1000 words in this case. 5 layers of .5mm veneer is 2.5 - 3 mm + whatever glue adds. I got away with 3 layers on a guitar I built to be ultra light (1.5mm). What did you use to glue the birch veneer onto the po...
by Chuck Morrison
Mon Sep 16, 2019 2:08 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Double sides
Replies: 34
Views: 37478

Re: Double sides

I'm going back to a previous discussion rather than starting a new one, not sure which is proper protocol. I've done double sides in the past layering up veneers, but I never felt like that was doing what it was supposed to, which is giving a more solid foundation for holding the soundboard and redu...
by Chuck Morrison
Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:52 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Double top glues ?
Replies: 4
Views: 5341

Re: Double top glues ?

My guess is that water soluble glues won't stick as well to the Kevlar/phenolic Nomex. Other than that I can see no reason not to use it in a guitar. The Kevlar stuff is water and heat resistant, which is useful in automotive and aviation applications, but we don't need it. That could be an issue, ...
by Chuck Morrison
Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:44 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Double top glues ?
Replies: 4
Views: 5341

Re: Double top glues ?

Why is foaming a bad thing? It shouldn't make any difference in the weight and might even add to the stiffness. I can't imagine that an area filled in with PU foam would have the same acoustical properties as one filled with just air. but if they were all filled in, what would that do ? I don't kno...

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