Ron Daves' # 2 classical

[Ron Daves]

Here's the front

Front of #2.JPG (14.59 KiB) Viewed 22885 times

Just finished my # 2 classical guitar. Well, I think it's a classical. It has a spanish foot but a steel string fretboard. It might be a parlor guitar. Had lots of problems, especially with the French Polishing. Finished the bugger twice. Had to strip it first time. Had a lot of trouble resulting from working in different humidities.

Soundboard is Sitka Spruce. Back and Sides are Rosewood. Neck is Curly Maple. Fretboard, bridge and peghead veneer are Ebony. Rosette is Bubinga and Abalone.

[Ron Daves]

Made the Rosette out a small amount of Bubinga that I had. Had to make it in segments and use a form to glue it together.

[Ron Daves]

Here's the back. Indian Rosewood.

[Ron Daves]

The neck came from a dirty, bark covered hunk of wood that a guy gave me. Turned out to be curly maple. Didn't have enough for the neck, so laminated it with Ebony

[Ron Daves]

Tried a different way to reinforce the back.

[Ron Daves]

Here's the jig I used for the Rosette. Had more fun with jigs and fixtures than building this box.

[Ron Daves]

Because I finished this guitar in the desert with very low humidity, I had to build a garage for it. Kept sponges in the bottom and heat source underneath.

[Ron Daves]

Here's my shop

[Clay Schaeffer]

Hi Ron,
Looks like it all came together for you! How does it sound?
That is an interesting looking jig you made for the rosette. How does it work?

[Chuck Tweedy]

What a great place to work!! Natural light - But I bet its been pretty cold out there recently.

[Tim Douglass]

Nice work. I really like the neck and headstock. The outside workroom is a nice bonus of a dry climate - one that I miss since I moved to the rainy country.

[Ron Daves]

Clay S.

This guitar has a very nice sound. I like it better than my #1, which I've always liked.

Here's a picture of the rosette jig in action.

Rosette jig.JPG (14.69 KiB) Viewed 22850 times

[Ben Loutrelle]

Nice shop! I built my second in a trailer about that size outside Joshua Tree.

[Erik Hokanson]

Ron,
That jig is super cool. Im looking at the pic of the back. Based on the lighting, I have a question: Does the back have a slight concave depression in the waist when viewed from the tail to the heel? This has plagued me in my own work. The concave board I use to press my braces is probably more extreme than most, so the sides need to be trimmed to accomodate this "bowl" before the kerfs are in place. The waist is always a little higher than the upper and lower bouts because it's closer to the center of the dome. Not an easy thing to work out. If this is what's up with the double reflection in the pic, I think I have a reasonably effective solution. If I'm wrong, and please tell me so., but why are there two reflections?
I would love to have a sop like that.
-Hoke

[Patrick Hanna]

Nice second effort, Ron. Keep 'em coming. Add me to the list of folks who like your rosette jig.

[Ron Daves]

Ron,
That jig is super cool. Im looking at the pic of the back. Based on the lighting, I have a question: Does the back have a slight concave depression in the waist when viewed from the tail to the heel?
-Hoke

Erik: No, the back doesn't have a concave depression. When I took the picture, the guitar was sitting on the floor underneath two closely located florescent lights in my trailer.

When I made the braces for the back, I curved them according to the plans; carved out the curve in a piece of MDF; placed the back on this MDF and; used a go-bar box to hold the braces in place while the glue dried. I've attached a picture of the sled I used for carving the crosswise curve, also the go-bar box that I used to glue down the braces. I also attached the setup I used to establish the lengthwise curve in the back. While I had this curved back in place, I marked this curve on the sides and shaped them with a chisel. Following this shaping, I used a curved sanding stick (I think I used a 15' curve to shape it) that spanned the back from end-to-end. I completed the shaping of the sides by sanding with 80-grit sandpaper attached to this elongated sanding stick. I attached a picture of the sanding stick. It's a little worse for wear.