Walnut Hollowbody Build

[Elias Graves]

Some seriously nice work going on there EG.

Thanks. This one is fun so far.

The fretboard is still taller than the nut.

 

[Elias Graves]

I gotta do some figurin here.
Normally, it looks like builders will band saw the back and side profiles of the neck, then finish with sanders, spokeshaves and rasps before they attach the fretboard. I think they do it like that so it's easier to run through the machines.
I don't have a band saw so ill be doing all that with rotary rasps and some other hand tools.
My question is whether I should glue up the fretboard now to keep everything together and even or, as done by most, work the neck blank first before gluing down the fretboard?

I'm leaning towards gluing up the neck before I carve, as I do this mostly by eye with a tape measure for confirmation. I don't use templates. So, having it all together will allow me to carve and feel, carve and feel.

Any down side to attaching the fretboard now? Any reason I NEED to leave it off?

Anybody?

 

[Elias Graves]

Running design change. I've come up with a shortcut to build the back. Beginning with these.

They are 1/4" thick.

 

[Elias Graves]

For the sides, ill do something like this. Dano style.

But no particle board or cheap plywood.

 

[Elias Graves]

With the truss rod and filler strip glued up. A few little dabs of silicone are used to make sure the rod doesn't rattle.

 

[Elias Graves]

And now the neck lamination. With the truss rod in, the filler strip glued and planed smooth, the 1/8" thick walnut goes on top. With lots of clamps.

 

[Elias Graves]

I feel like I'm making progress. Need to find a band saw so I don't have to attempt cutting the neck shape by hand.

 

[Elias Graves]

Some progress on the neck. This is slow going.
Yes I know some of the lines are off but it's all cut oversized and ill work it into place with other tools.

 

[Elias Graves]

Beginning to look like something. FYI, it takes 100 strokes from a hand saw to cut through one inch of walnut.

 

[Elias Graves]

It's taking shape! And it's getting scary. I need to decide what to do next.

 

[Elias Graves]

This cut was tricky.

 

[Elias Graves]

Those were scary cuts!

 

[jelloman]

Those were scary cuts!

...no shit...

 

[Elias Graves]

Getting ready to attach the fretboard. Rosewood is difficult to glue, mainly because of hardness and oils. Normal wood glue is water based and has a difficult time soaking in to oily wood and the hardness of the rosewood complicates it. To head off potential glue failure, there are some things you can do to help it hold.
Fresh sanding. This does two things, it toughs up the surface to give the glue a larger surface area with lots of little hairs and hooks to grab. Second, it scrape the oil that collects at the surface.
Cleaning with a solvent. Ill use naphtha. This helps disolve the oil that's on the surface, allowing you to scrub it off with a rag.

Hopefully that'll do it.


Next consideration is alignment. Keeping the centerlines true is essestial during glue up. Boards like to drift laterally when there's a coat of glue between them. To counter this, I've installed some tiny wire guide pins in the walnut neck. When clamping, these will press into the rosewood enough to make sure it doesn't move.

 

[Chad]

I have no idea how you even do that stuff.

 

[Phil513]

I have no idea how you even do that stuff.

Yup. I'm way impressed.

 

[Elias Graves]

I just make it up as I go.



CLAMPZZZZZZZ!

 

[Elias Graves]

Question

Are these dots big enough? They look to be 1/4"
Should I use them or get bigger?
I'm not sure what I think about them yet.

 

[dodgechargerfan]

Are they made from unicorn horn?

This guitar deserves unicorn.

 

[Elias Graves]

Are they made from unicorn horn?

This guitar deserves unicorn.

No, I got Dragon scale for this one.