Cutting the Pocket for the Neck Extension

Since then Cello Guitar will have a removable neck the fingerboard extension is not glued to the body so an extension of the neck is needed and that requires a pocket in the body.

Cut with a router and guide bushing using a template.

Template and pocket

With the extension inserted

Fretboards

I'm updating some of my methods to get more consistent results. That includes how I make fretboards. I've made a new jig to taper then and now use a set of specially designed router bits to radius the fretboards.

The tapering method is not my invention but is shown several places on the internet including:
http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?t=2169

Taper jig, the movable fence is set a specific distance from the edge
and a spacer used to create the taper

Close up of the spacer, narrow end first then the wide end

Radius router bit, this one is a 16"

Full set up for routing, need a bit better dust collection

Fretboard attached to the carrier

The result, quite smooth right off the router

Some More Progress....

Ahhh the humidity is finally in a good range for building!!!

So the top and back are on the Tenor Uke and to binding channels are routed.. Always a bit stressful to start taking a router to a more or less OK looking instrument body. Luckily the new binding router set up works well and takes away some of the stress..

Also the mounting holes for the bolt on neck are done..

Looking forward to lots of progress in the next few weeks..

Starting to look like something

Binding channels

And more binding channels

Ready for the neck - well not really yet

Some Peghead Work

Now that the inlay is in Rick's tenor I can continue to work on the peghead  for it and the parlour..

First the overlay gets glued to the peghead. Then the peghead shape gets cut out.. There are a number of ways to do this and in fact for these two guitars I used two different ways. For the Parlour I traced the shape of the template on to the peghead and cut close to the line with a band saw. Then I attached a template to the top of the peghead and used a template sanding drum in a drill press to sand away the excess. Works just fine.

On Rick's I used a template "router" in a drill press.. Which is in fact just a piece of tool steel with the end sharpened (filed) at about 35 degrees and run in a drill press as fast as the drill press will run. With this method the template is attached to the back of the peghead.

For the peghead shape I used on this tenor  this method is really not required, the sander method will work just fine but for more elaborate pegheads like those found on classical guitars this is a great way to do things and it is very safe. The only drawback is you need to make multiple passes around the peghead as you can only take small bites with this method..

Some people use a regular router for this as well but for me too many things can go wrong, especially routing across the end grain of the peghead.

Drill press "router" setup

and the result

After this was done I cut the slots in the Parlour's peghead for the tuners, its a slot head design, my first one. To do this I used the LMI slotting jig and it worked out perfectly.

LMI jig set up to drill tuner holes

Flipped over to route the slot

Completed, back view

And front with a tuner test fitted

The fretboard end of the slots still need a ramp filed in them, but I'll do that another day.

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

Binding Channels

Undoubtedly one of the more stressful parts of building a guitar taking a 10,000 RPM router to a guitar body, quite a bit can go wrong.. If you've followed this blog you've seen a couple of ways I've cut binding channels in the past.. All worked with varying degrees of stress and some variance in accuracy.. Most of the jigs I used were chosen to accommodate having a very small space for a shop. I just don't have room for a large parallel arm fleishman/williams-style jig.. I've been looking at the LMI or the Stewmac jig for some time and when LMI updated their design I did some thinking and decided that looked the best..

It is still a compact jig that I can store away in a cupboard when not in use and it works like a charm..

Setup is easy, adjustment straight forward and it works, despite screwing up the install of the top bindings and having to cut them off (with the jig) and even that when well..

Just pay attention to the getting the guitar level in the carrier.

I am far less stressed about cutting binding channels now that I have this jig.

The only change I had to make was a slightly different assembly of the carrier since I am doing a small bodied guitar..

Carrier assembled in a "non-standard" way

The results

Mounted to my work table

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

Making a floating Bridge with My New Toy

The Celtic Tenor guitar I'm working on will have a floating bridge and tailpiece so tonight I thought I would make the floating bridge.. I just happen to have to have recently got a Bishop-Cochran preciscion base for my Dremel tool and this was a good opportunity ti try it out.. http://www.bishopcochran.com/

I used this to cut a 3/32" wide and 5/32" deep slot for the bone saddle that will be inseted into the bridge, which is ebony.

The precision base worked great and I thing the bridge turned out good. It is patterned after the period Regal bridge that would have been on this style of guitar in the 1920's.

The base (nice red colour) and a simple set up in a vise to cut the slot

The completed bridge

Working on the Neck & Routing the Peghead

The neck now has the stack heal done and the peghead veneer glued on. Next step is to route out the peghead shape. I Don't use a router for this step but instead use the method Robbie O'Brien shows in his classical guitar course. It uses a piece of tool steel sharpened at a 45 degree angle and run in a drill press at high speed.

The advantage is it is safe and there is little chance of tear out. I like the idea of not getting my fingers close to high speed cutters..

It is a bit slow as you have to take very shallow passes but it works well.

After that the nut end of the peghead is trimmed as well and that's about all to be done until it's time to carve the neck.

Stacked heel & veneer added

Template attached

Drill press router

Simple jig for squaring off the nut end of the veneer

Completed

Cutting Shell and Inlaying

I've done one simple inlay before, since this is what I call a Celtic tenor guitar should have a Celtic inlay.. So gave that a try.. The inlay will go on the peghead.. I tried a couple of methods to cut the shell but in the end went with the tried and true jeweler's saw and needle files..

I considered trying to leave some wood in the voids between the arms of the design when I routed out the opening but decided they were so small it would be impossible. So I routed out the entire shape and glued in the shell with 5 minute epoxy coloured liberally with lamp black.. Left everything a little high then sanded smooth..

All in all I think it worked out good!

V block & Jeweler's saw with the cut out design

Just sitting on top of the neck

the pocket for the shell routed

glued in and filled with epoxy and lamp black

sanded smooth

The Bindings

Routing the binding channels in a guitar body has to be one of the more stressful steps in building a guitar. You have a nice closed box and now you are going to start routing out pieces of it.. A mistake can be darn near unfixable if  you mess up big time.. Besides the channels need to be precisely sized and consistent for the bindings to look good once installed..

I've tried several methods to do this all with varying degrees of success.. I am partly limited by a small work space so some of the bigger parallel arm jigs for this are out of the question size wise.. My current jig is a variation on a Charles Fox design and ones I've seen in some production guitar factory videos.. The key to all binding jigs is that they reference off the sides of the guitar NOT the top which is arched, only a small part of the to top or back is in contact with the jig so the arch does not effect the accuracy of the routed channel..

This new jig worked very well and this was by far the least stress I have had routing binding channels so that coupled with the relatively small size of this jig makes it a keeper.. I'm sure some of the bigger jigs are even easier to use (from what I've seen) but they just are not an option for me due to space.

The jig, the side of the guitar references on
the guide that sticks out, depth is set by moving
the guide up and down and  by adjusting the
router bit's depth, the only place the top or back contacts
the jig is the small piece of wood with two screws in it.

Completed channels, nice smooth and even

Another view

Bindings installed and taped in place while the glue dries.
I use fish glue for this as it allows time to get the bindings set in correctly

And from the top

The completed bindings

From the back

and from the side, I'm happy with how the ebony looks with the Koa wood.