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Awesome looking work Robin!
I've been putting off my build due to illness and the weather. It's way too cold out in the shed at the moment.
Depending on the weather tomorrow I might do some more work on it. Looks like it's going to be a wet day unfortunately, so the lawns won't get done....again!
Beautiful and worse case it will make a stunning wall hanging :D
Coming up a real treat, Rob.
Looking great and thanks for the Brasso tip, I will try it out
Brasso does work well but avoid any pools of it as it does eat through the finish (at least on acrylic). Apply to a cloth, not the guitar, then you'll be fine.
Very cool!
@Simon
Thanks Simon, and thanks for the tip about Brasso. I have had good results using Brasso with both Tru-Oil and now MinWax. Luckily I have always applied it to the cloth and not the guitar.
@Andrew, Dave, Pabs, Dedie & Kick.
Thanks guys. The encouragement we all get from these Forums never ceases to amaze me.
@Zandy
Thanks mate, hope you're feeling better and get a chance to venture out into the shed. The grass can keep mate, doesn't grow much over winter anyway.
Thanks again guys
rob
love your work as always Westie07 ! You always get a beautiful shine and it's a cool looking axe.
Is that mini wax gloss wipe on you used ?
Thanks Warren. Yes mate, it is Minwax clear gloss Wipe-On Poly.
Hi Robin, just catching up this build and super impressed with how it has turned out.
Yes, I use a little bit of Brasso too, but only a little bit as it cuts through finish quicker than anything else I have used. Good for a quick wipe over or concentrated in small problem areas and then back on to Meguairs. On the Swampy Tele I used Nu Finish for the final buff up after a few solid workouts with Meguairs and was very surprised how it brought up the shine. Far more forgiving than Brasso and Meguiars but it did need things to be quite smooth to begin with which is where Brasso combined with a bit of thickness in the finish helped.
Thanks Wazza, still a work in progress, but nearing the finish line.
Thanks for the tips on Brasso. I will make sure to take it a bit easier than I have previously. I have also tried Silvo, which is a much finer cutter, maybe I should give it another go.
The finish on the Swampy is stunning mate, I might have to invest in some Nu Finish. lol.
cheers
rob
HI Robin, I got desperate as the Meguiars was not quite doing it and Brasso was taking too much off. Saw the orange bottle in the garage and thought, lets have a go on the back and see what happens. Not much cutting action but does wonders with swirls, cloudy patches and minor marks. Doesn't take as much effort to buff up manually either.
Me again.
Hopefully this will be the second last update for Lyn #15. I’m hoping to have her finished later this week.
I had forgotten how stressful it is to get it “just right” with an acoustic guitar bridge. Very little margin for error. I researched several web sites for accurate compensation but it was hard to get a definitive answer for a classical guitar. Seeing as the exact measurements varied so much from site to site I figured that it might not be so critical with nylon strings. So I ended up going with a combination of a few different theories. I think I’ll stick to electric guitars in future.
Measuring up for bridge placement:
That’s not a guitar string in this pic, it is some fishing line that I use to align the bridge with the neck. Once the neck is screwed in place I run the fishing line through one of the E string holes in the bridge, up over the nut, around the machine heads and back to the other E string hole in the bridge. Once the line is pulled tight it is easy to “site” where the strings will align on the neck.
Attachment 21827
One thing I noticed is that the square ends of the bridge looked a little out of place and just a tad too close to the squiggly “f” hole so I have reshaped the bridge so it looks like it belongs there.
Too late to change it now as I have scraped off the Min Wax finish ready to glue on the bridge.
Attachment 21828
It’s glued on now so I will leave it for 24 hours for maximum strength and start the final assembly tomorrow.
Wish me luck.
rob
good stuff Westie07, glad you are on the home stretch, looks awesome and good luck, you won't need it ! haha
Best of luck, old chap. Hoping it works.
Nylon string guitar bridges aren't compensated. The strings are so much softer than steel ones that the dead length at each end is very small and doesn't vary hugely with string thickness (and classical guitar string sets have less variation in string size than steel strings). Likewise the silk (or whatever's been used) cores of the wound strings are soft and also have a very small dead length at each end of a size comparable to the nylon strings.
With a couple of clamps to hold it in position, you could have done an empirical test for bridge placement to check how much extra length over nominal scale length you needed (if any).
Can't wait to hear how this baby sounds.
Well it took nearly 150 hours but Lyn #15 is finally finished.
My first 100% scratch build. Another labour of love for me, and another guitar that carries my beloved Lyn’s name.
Although I am fairly happy with her, she has a slight fret buzz on the 11th and 12th frets, which I think is a result of the action being just a tad too low. The bridge/saddle sits quite high so I may have to shim the neck a fraction to change the neck angle. Having said that she plays beautifully in the lower frets, so I might just leave that for a few weeks.
The Fishman pre-amp works well, with the bonus of an in-built mic and blend knob which I didn’t realize it had lol. Because the guitar is chambered and not a proper acoustic the tone from the mic is fairly hash, but I can see a possible use for the mic in certain situations.
This is the first guitar that I have ever made that needed no intonation adjustments. I think that is more to do with nylon strings than my ability to get it right the first time. As Simon said, nylon strings are obviously very forgiving.
Anyway enough waffle, here she is.
Front:
Attachment 21849
Attachment 21850
Attachment 21851
Attachment 21852
The Neck
Attachment 21857
The Headstock
Attachment 21858
Attachment 21859
Attachment 21860
Absolutely stunning
Really lovely, Robin. And unlike a classical guitar, you've got a truss rod to let you tweak the neck as well as just adjusting the saddle.
Does it balance well on a strap?
Bravo Robin, standing ovation. Just awsome
Robin I am in awe. That is a stunner.
Very beautiful. Great job.
Lovely stuff, Robin. You should be very proud of this beauty.
@Chrissy, JB, VH, Fretty, and Pabs
Thank you so much guys, that means an aweful lot to me.
@Simon
Thanks mate. I'm not sure how much I can adjust the truss rod as I left a lot of meat on the fretboard and its pretty solid. The truss rod is just a bit of belt and braces stuff.
Balance wise on a strap? Really nice. Which is really amazing as I didn't even consider this during the design/build.
Just another lucky happenstance. lol.
Thanks again guys.
Lovely bit of work Robin, that central ply core of the neck has created a wonderful accent to the whole look. The easy access neck/body transition is wonderful and in itself visually stunning, as is the stylised soundhole/F hole execution.
Amazing build as they always are from you. :)
Another beautifully stunning build Westie07, this axe has class and all built without any power tools. You are an inspiration to all of us Rob, top job mate.
The neck shape looks pretty square at the back, is that how you like the neck profile ?
Can't wait for a sound demo when you get time. Also impressed you log your time. 150 hours was well worth it !
Bloody beautiful Robin, well done once again!
@Frankie
Gee, thanks mate, but you are too kind.
(Queue "Rocky Horror Picture Show" voice-over) I'm looking forward to seeing what come out of the "Lab"
@Woks
Thanks Warren, kind words.
I've just discovered that I don't like flat fretboards LOL.
But I've tried to copy Classical guitar specs as much as possible with this build. So that meant longer scale and width and a flat fretboard.
Only using hand tools and logging times on my builds?? That's just me being anal.
@Zandit
Thanks mate.
But I'm looking forward to seeing your Silent Guitar. I'm sure it will be a stunner.
Thanks guys.
hey Rob, not the fretboard, the back of the neck looks like a flat D profile. Sure it is nice to play
Stunning mate. 11/10.
@Woks
Sorry mate, I get it now. Yeah its probably a weird shape, but it's 50mm wide at the nut and 60 where it joins the body and I have never owned anything like that. So I just shaped it by feel and stoped when it felt good to me. Its probably all wrong but too late now LOL.
@IRL
Thank you Sir.
no worries Westie07, no drama, as long as its comfy for you to play all good.
Awesome guitar Robin, very well done!
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I lik e the idea of playing a guitar with a 50mm wide nut.
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Looks amazing Robin!
I really like the strip of plywood in the neck!
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@Andrew
Thanks mate.
@OliSam
Hey Sam, it's the first guitar that I have owned that isn't the standard 42mm. That and the longer 650mm scale length means I'm still trying to get used to it.
@Fred
Thank you very much Fred.
It's actually 3 strips of ply. I could have used only one and used more pine but I thought that the extra marine ply would add some structural beef to it. Time will tell.
Thanks guys
rob
Hey Rob, you should be very proud of your efforts with this one as I reckon it looks as sweet as some of those sexy acoustics Zandit keeps putting up on the Beautiful Guitar thread.
Bravo.
Amazing is so many ways. Well done Rob.