MIMF

From looking at the pictures and seeing where the crack line of the finish is, I keep thinking the top buckled (and cracked?) at the relief rout. You would only feel the relief rout inside the guitar, but the top may be cracked along that same line. If that is the case I would be inclined to wick su...

I've seen a guitar with multiple cracks and a three square inch hole in that area that held up structurally and sounded great (an old pre-1900 Martin). It is better to repair the damage and that was an extreme case. From the interior photos it looks like someone has reglued the top to the linings us...

Hi Steve, That looks like the hot setup. I used one to radius a fretboard and also had good luck with it using multiple shallow passes. My "jig" was heavy on hot melt and scrap particleboard. Eventually I will make something better. I cut the fret slots after radiusing the fretboard by kind of rolli...

The precision we can expect from "home workshop" tooling is much less than an industrial tool might give. Two tenths of a millimetre is less than 8 thousandths of an inch. I would be very happy with that kind of accuracy with the woodworking tools I have. If it is truly a problem then a "work around...

There is one thing to keep in mind when you use thin sides. You need to keep your bindings flush or a hair proud. Some people suggest leaving the bindings slightly set in, and sanding the sides to meet the bindings. If your sides are already at the lower limit you want to avoid much additional sandi...

I found this thread on Mandolin cafe:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/thre ... -thickness

Some classical guitars have sides that are only 1/16th inch thick which is what you are dealing with in only a few spots. OM guitars aren't any deeper. You might add a couple of extra side braces, but if they bend o.k. I would use them.

Hi Jim, If I ever run out of Formica scraps I know a few dumpsters I can raid. I still build a few HPL bodied instruments, fun little stick dulcimers and a few ukuleles. The last guitar I used it on was a "Formica Blanca" I built several years ago. It is actually made with Alpi Ligna - a prefinished...

P.S. - If you can find a scrap of corian you could rout one out of that material and possibly have one more similar to the original.

I've made purfling rings out of wood. If you have a router and a circle cutting jig it is not too difficult. You can make a circle cutting jig fairly easily if you don't have one. One of the simplest jigs is a replacement sub-base with holes drilled in it at set distances from the router bit to acce...

Hi Al, I have also joined the ranks of the retired, or as a friend's wife calls us "unemployed bums". :D I tell my wife I am "working" on instruments, but she's not buying it. I think it's the lack of remuneration that tipped her off. I live about 35 miles south of you in Cecil County, the county Ma...

Has anyone tried doing an arched bent stave top on a guitar like some of the old viols had?

Hi Paul,
I use a simple "L" type jig to rough shape necks with a router. I also use it for a router table fence (I made a cut out in it) and it can also be used as a drill press fixture. The neck blank is held on by two screws through the jig and into the fretboard side of the blank.

Thanks for the information. I will keep my eyes out for one.

Good looking instrument, Tom Has it really been 44 years? I have an unfinished "lute like object" laying around in the shop gathering dust that I started in the late 70's, but never finished. Perhaps I should follow suit and do it. I wonder how many others have unfinished projects left on the strand?

Hi Al, I guess I did do a few things that were somewhat "experimental". I was building "Formica" back and sided instruments when an acquaintance stopped in the shop who said his son in law (who worked for Martin) would be interested in seeing them. I never met his son in law but not long after that ...

Hi Al,
Good to see you're back. I always enjoyed reading your posts.

Hi Barry, A Mad Scientist would be proud! Steam punk meets the unibomber (Ted liked to use wood in his devices too) :lol: All kidding aside - that looks like quite the contraption. I'm sure it comes in handy for a shop that does much repair work - and at a price much more attractive than the Collin'...

A quick surf of the web shows a number of decent looking guitar sets in the $100 to $200 dollar range. Unless the "slab" looked really good I would be inclined to buy a set where I could see what I was getting.

The better knife handles used a nice oily rosewood like cocobolo. It can stand to get wet periodically so washing the blade off didn't affect it too much. Newer plastic materials, widespread dishwasher use, and scarcity of rosewood reduced it's use as a knife handle material. How big are the pieces ...