Belated Updates

I've been a bit slack updating the blog of late. Summer was busy with non-luthier stuff and life just gets in the way sometimes. I have however not been completely ignoring luthier work however. I've actually got a fair bit done over the last few months considering all the others things going on in life..

First off someone in the small orchestra Julie plays in had a cello in need of repair/restoration. Turned out to be an Englehardt Cello, a pretty cheap student model but apparently pretty common in school music programs. The cello was the victim of and attempt at refinishing that was at best misguided.. It was also missing most of the parts like a bridge, tuning pegs, tailpiece and sound post. Anyway this got those parts replaces and a new finish put on it.. It is going back to a local music program, It was interesting to do as I am really not a repair person.

The only "before" I did, after I removed the rest of the finish

Ready to be played again

Also the next builds are well underway, those are an Irish Bouzouki and a Octave Mandolin, both built as flat top guitar bodied instruments. The Bouzouki will be Rosewood and Spruce and the OM Honduran Mahogany and Cedar. I started by making the bindings for these, I've been meaning to try my hand and making my own bindings with purfling for some  time so it was good to try that and it worked out great.

The Setup for cutting thin binding strips with a slitting blade on a small table saw

The end result

I've also got the sides bent and glued up to the end blocks for both instruments and the tops and backs well on the way to being done.. Just starting to brace up the tops today..

Here I'm doing the rosettes..

And here are one of the backs and top bracing underway.

Joining the Tops & Backs

A quick plane on the shooting board and the top and back halves are ready to be glued together. Lots of ways to do this, I use a pretty simple jig of 4 sticks and 4 wedges and some rope.. Works for me.

Once joined they get rough thicknessed and you have tops and back to two Parlour Guitars.

The Pacific

Cedar & Rosewood - I ended up changing this top as it was just too thin.
It will have to be a Uke some day

Wood Shavings

OK working on the back of the arch top is making a pile of shavings.. Going well but time to clean up.

Rough work done on the outside back

Preparing the inside, yes I'm doing it the easy way

And more shavings

OK OK I need to vacuum

Back to Work on the Tenor Guitar

Now that the holidays are over i can get back to doing some work on the tenor guitar.

I've glued down the braces on the top and back and carved them to shape and the top is more or less voiced, I just need to think a bit about it and decide if I want to try and push things a bit farther and carve the braces down a bit more.

A "quick" video of rough carving the back braces, actual time about 18 minutes
http://youtu.be/pNuLS7FQ8tQ

The rough braces before carving

Top after carving

Back after carving

Progress on a Couple of Tenors

Tenor Guitar and Tenor Ukulele that is..

Things seem to be going good, I've got most of the body parts for both thicknessed all that is left is the tenor guitar top once the rosette is installed. The top and back for the Uke are braced and I guess I should think about bending the sides.

All in all going pretty good.

Tenor guitar top with rosette cut and ready to install

Tenor Uke back

Tenor Uke Top

Waiting for sides

Top with the Rosette

Simple rosette design for a small body

Busy Weekend

OK done, the Parlour is now caught up to the Tenor, so I can put away all the body jigs & moulds and get on with making necks..

This weekend I  carve to top braces and finished voicing the top, glued on the back & top, cut the binding channels and the channel for the top Abalone purfling and got all the bindings & purfling installed.. I was a bit concerned how the Wenge would route as it seem brittle but it was fine..

Still lots of finish sanding to do on both bodies but that can wait until later...

All in all a productive weekend and I'm officially in love with my new binding router jig.. works so darn well..

I'm also really happy with how the binding came out on the Parlour the Abalone looks great and not too gaudy..

Very happy with this look

No Abalone on the back

End wedge

Top view

Both now waiting for necks

Voicing the Top

So voicing the top to me means carving the braces down until I get some sort of tap tone on the top that is musical and has a ring and sustain to it.. Pretty subjective really, there are other means that are more mechanical and use various scientific equipment but I really don't have the interest in learning those or buying yet more equipment.. The method I use has been used for a very long time and can be very successful.

                                         

Top with rough bracing

Carved and scanded braces

Back braces also sanded

Top and rest of body ready to be closed up.

The Weekend's Progress

So things are moving along, the back braces are carved on the tenor and the back is not glued on the sides. All the top braces are glued on and ready to finish voicing the top.

The bindings are bent and since I had the side bender set up the parlour guitar's sides and bindings are bent as well...

Using a go-bar deck to clamp some of the
top bracing

Back now on the sides

Top and back together

The parlour's sides resting in the form

End Blocks, Linings and the Back

Just what the title says, made the end block and cut the mortise that will eventually hold the neck & drill the holes for the bolts..

All the kerfed kinings are glued on the sides and they are ready to be radiused.

The back has the bracing glued on and ready to be carved.. All in all good progress.

Neck block in the jig ready to be routed

and complete with holes drilled

both blocks attached to the sides

Gluing on the kerfed linings, can never have too many clamps

all glued on

notched for the braces

All glued up

Some Work on Both Guitars

So I cut the sound hole  & bound it on Rick's tenor and finished bringing all the body parts to thickness.. I also cut he sides to rough depth on both the tenor and the parlour.

Then cut out the body shape in the top and back of both. Now ready to bend sides and brace the top and back..

Completed rosette and sound hole binding

Two tops and back