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Thread: Acoustic Build in 10 days - Gav

  1. #1
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    As some of you may know before I tried my hand at electric guitars i built acoustic guitars. I thought I might chronicle an acoustic build here so that those of you who may have an interest can appreciate the differences in the process. Much of what I have learned and that I share on the forum comes from having built acoustics. They are far more precise and a lot less forgiving than electric are!

    I am going to take you through my journey to build an acoustic guitar in 10 days. There are a collection of photographs from my course as well as other photographs that I will use to chronicle the journey. Hope you enjoy!

    Ps - No painting in the 10 days! That takes extra time!

    So here goes....

    The first decisions with building an acoustic is what wood to use for the back and sides and most importantly for the top, the soundboard!
    I'm using Bear Claw Sitka Spruce here and the build I show will feature two different woods as the diary will actually show pictures from two Dreadnaughts I am building. The one will have Honduran Rosewood Back and sides and the other is being built with Madagascan Rosewood. Anyone will tell you that it is the soundboard that determines the tone of the guitar, but there are some who say that while this is generally true, when it comes to Honduran Rosewood, this is the only exception!

    The photo below shows the uncut sides in the drum sander being thicknessed down to 2mm.
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

  2. #2
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    Then off to the scroll saw and using a pretty fine blade, cut the sides to the tapered shape from the template I created using the guitar plans. templates make repetitive jobs so much easier!
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

  3. #3
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    Now that the side have been cut into profile using the template they need to be bent into shape. This is an art. If the wood is too thick it will crack and ruin the body of the guitar. too thin and you run the risk of the wood splitting!!
    I have not followed e directions regarding bending wood from the manufacturer of my bending machine preferring to use my own method which seems to work with less issues than the method I am supposed to use!

    What is important is that the wood needs moisture and heat to bend. I lay my wood on top of a piece of timfoil with the wood wrapped in a very damp but thin cloth. The tin foil is then wrapped around both the wood and the wet cloth. This is then placed between a heater blanket and two flexible steel sheets and heated to 320 degrees Fahrenheit! Once at temperature, the bending process starts. It takes about 15 minutes to bend each side. It simply cannot be rushed or dosaster will happen!
    When the wood is bent you drop the temperature of the blanket down to 260 and leave the wood in the machine for another half hour to set.

    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

  4. #4
    Great job Gav, this is going to be really interesting.

    So... when can we expect the Pit Bull acoustic kits to become available?



    Scott.

  5. #5
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    The soundboard is typically built using two book matched sides to creat the whole soundboard. In order to join the two sides together requires you to plave the two halves so that they are dead straight and when held up to a light source, no light is visible at the join.
    I use a number 7 plane for this task!
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

  6. #6
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    Quote from WeirdBits on June 9, 2013, 22:42
    Great job Gav, this is going to be really interesting.

    So... when can we expect the Pit Bull acoustic kits to become available?


    I'm not sure Scott, they tend to be a bit pricey compared to electrics....
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

  7. #7
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    The same proceedure is then followed with the back pieces. using the plane to get the joining sides perfectly straight. This is also the best time to think about adding a strip to the centreline .
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

  8. #8
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    With the back strip in place we need to thickness the back to around 2.4mm. Using the thicknesses has it advantages as I can drum sand the backs level with the strip.
    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

  9. #9
    Overlord of Music keloooe's Avatar
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    Will it have a pickup Gav??? I love the tapred shape of Dreadnoughts, my Epi DR-220S has all the characteristics of a true Dread', and it is just awesome!!!

  10. #10
    Moderator Gavin1393's Avatar
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    Of course it will have a pickup!

    What I omitted to show you was how I glue the two halves of the soundboard and the two halves of the back together.there are several methods to doing this. The one I learned from the guys at ALS involves placing the two halves in a jig and wrapping rope around the jig to apply pressure to the glue joint. I hated this idea and so cam up with my own device which is shown below. Essentially it is a flat jig with two slats that do the work of the string. To make sure it doesnt pop up I weigh the centre piece down with dumbells! Wax wrap is used under and on top of the glue join to ensure glue does not adhere to the jig!

    In the second picture you will see a triangular piece of wood which is used to raise the two half pieces temporarily. The two slats are then tightened and when the triangular piece is removed this creates the gluing pressure! I always slightly wet the section that I am gluing as this tends to ensure a good joint.


    http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=1258&dateline=1443806  448Gavmeister

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