by Henrique Schneiter » Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:17 pm
Thanks Steve.
Jason, thanks, and yes. At first that space felt too tight, than I enlarged it after my original sketch. I can tune it comfortably.
About the nut-rollers: Actually, on my very first sketch there was a nut after the rollers, wich soon dissapeared after I realize that it was not just unecessary but disturbing as well.
I went for that 5 cm roller diameter to allow the strings to have the "proper" height (2,5 cm) over the board and to avoid weakening the overall structure because of the back channel for the strings (hope you get the picture), as marupá is a rather soft wood. Of course a smaller roller would be appropriate for a different design, though (as some travel guitars have).
About the time, I think it took less time to make the rollers than to cut and notch properly a nut. I just cut them with a cup-saw, mounted them on my drill-press with a jig, set it to spin slowly and grooved the channel with a triangular file. Then some sanding, sealer, and you're ready to go.