$100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Here is where you put your entries.
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

I don't have a thickness sander in the shop so I normally try to get pretty close to final thickness when planing. I keep an extra set of dedicated planer blades that are used for tops only. The reality is, my planer will only take a top down to a range of .113" - .120". And the rest, I'll have to do after joining. So actually, this particular top came out at around .115". So I'll have around a 1/64" of final sanding to do. But I'll wait until after I've done the rosette work to do it.
User avatar
Mark Swanson
Posts: 1991
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:11 am
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Mark Swanson »

I see...that is a good example of how each builder learns his process for and with the tools he has at hand!
  • Mark Swanson, guitarist, MIMForum Staff
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Yeah....plus it also explains why I needed and wanted a better and more accurate fixture to use for the actual joining. At any rate, if I can ever find the time, I do have plans to build a thickness sander.
User avatar
Mark Swanson
Posts: 1991
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:11 am
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Mark Swanson »

I do have plans to build a thickness sander.
Go for it! You will be so glad you did. You'll think of a million uses for it.
  • Mark Swanson, guitarist, MIMForum Staff
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

I used another guitar for the basic design of this project so I never had a blueprint or plan to work from. I've basically just made things work out as I went and kept a log of all specs for future reference. With that in mind, I figured it was about time I sat down and drafted out a bracing design. In the process, I decided to draft out a side view as well so I could go ahead and determine neck angle plus I was curious to see how the fretboard extension would work out in conjunction with the 25' top radius. Neck angle worked out to be 3.5 degrees and the fretboard extension will require very little work for a final fit. I also went ahead and made a couple of bridges from black walnut.
Attachments
GAC48.JPG
GAC54.JPG
GAC55.JPG
GAC55.JPG (9.15 KiB) Viewed 69216 times
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Installed inlay dots on both fretboards and then radiused using a swing fixture on the vertical mill.
Attachments
GAC50.JPG
GAC51.JPG
GAC53.JPG
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Cut neck angle on both neck blanks. A shot of both blanks along with both fretboards.
Attachments
GAC56.JPG
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Glued extensions onto both headstocks.
Attachments
GAC58.JPG
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Cut the rough heel contours and then cut the rough shape on both neck blanks. I already have one top joined so I guess it's time to get the rosettes done and then on to the top bracing. I'm hoping to have both of these closed up by the middle of the week but that remains to be seen. At this point, allowing for finish and cure time, I'm not so sure I'll be able to make the deadline but I'm gonna try.
Attachments
GAC59.JPG
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Both necks with fretboards glued.......ready for final shaping and contouring.
Attachments
P4301985.JPG
P4301986.JPG
Steven Wilson
Posts: 103
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 3:11 pm
Location: Eastern Shore Maryland

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Steven Wilson »

Very nice.
User avatar
Patrick DeGreve
Posts: 308
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:19 pm

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Patrick DeGreve »

Very, Very nice, Eddie! I love the pegheads and logo. The neck binding is just right, I am curious about the cherry. One of my local hardwood dealers has cherry all the time, and I have thought about using some of it. I know that cherry aften darkens when exposed to light, and becomes very rich looking. I have seen it listed on several tonewood dealers, and have a couple of orphaned sides, but haven't tried it yet. Again very nice work, Eddie, these two guitars are going to be beautiful.
User avatar
Mark Swanson
Posts: 1991
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:11 am
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Mark Swanson »

The cherry is great wood for an acoustic guitar. I've used it a lot for necks, backs and sides and so have many others here.
  • Mark Swanson, guitarist, MIMForum Staff
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Thanks Patrick. As Mark said, cherry is a wonderful wood....and not just for acoustics. It's great for solid-bodies as well. Actually, if you look close in the background of the neck pictures, you'll see another special order custom that I started on April 7. It's a custom LP-type and it is completely all cherry with the exception of the fretboard which is black walnut. Hence my slow progress with this challenge! Cherry and black walnut are actually the predominant woods that I use mostly....due to the fact that they're both common to my locale...plus I have a friend who owns a mill that gives me great prices and lets me handpick the woods that I want. I've built at least 20 guitars (probably way more) that were mainly cherry and I've never been disappointed. You should definitely give it a try.
Last edited by Eddie McRae on Tue May 01, 2012 9:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Well I made a little progress today. I got the 2nd top thicknessed and joined and then got both of them cutout to rough shape and ready for rosettes. I use the top of my go-bar deck as a work surface to do rosette work.
Attachments
GAC63.JPG
GAC64.JPG
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

A few more pics of the tops and herringbone rosettes.....
Attachments
GAC65.JPG
GAC66.JPG
GAC67.JPG
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

I'm at a point here where I wouldn't mind a little input regarding the top bracing. I used another guitar that I own as the basic guideline to make all my templates and forms and such for this bodystyle. It's been one of my favorite guitars for over 20 years and has withstood the test of time as well as outperformed almost every high-end acoustic that I've owned including too many Ovations, 4 Guilds, and a Martin. I also used it when laying out the bracing pattern for this build as best I could along with using pics of Taylor's X14CE bracing design. The bracing in my existing guitar is not scalloped. So, that is my question. "To Scallop or Not To Scallop?"
User avatar
Mark Swanson
Posts: 1991
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:11 am
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Mark Swanson »

Hmmmm...you might get several different opinions. So I'd ask you, have you made a guitar with scalloped bracing before? If I had to make this choice I would just take all that I knew about all the different bracing patterns that I had tried and what they sound like, and decide which direction I want this guitar to lean toward. Then design and go from there to best get that tone and the best guitar out of it.
  • Mark Swanson, guitarist, MIMForum Staff
User avatar
Eddie McRae
Posts: 153
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:07 am
Location: Woodbury, GA USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Eddie McRae »

Yes I've built with scalloped bracing but it's never been in a comparative situation. In other words, I didn't have another identical guitar with unscalloped bracing to compare it against. It's always been my train of thought that unscalloped would provide a more balanced tone and that scalloped would let more low end come through. I may be wrong with that line of thinking though. At any rate, it occurred to me, this is the perfect "laboratory" situation for me. Since these guitars will be identical in every way, I think I'll scallop one and leave one unscallopped and compare the two when done.
User avatar
Mark Swanson
Posts: 1991
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 11:11 am
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan USA
Contact:

Re: $100 Local Materials Challenge, Eddie McRae, Grand Auditorium Cutaway Acoustic

Post by Mark Swanson »

Good plan! That's what I'd do too. I feel that the two patterns do have a different tones but I wouldn't want to try and describe it.
  • Mark Swanson, guitarist, MIMForum Staff
Post Reply

Return to “The Local Materials Challenge (Closed)”