Fun Build

erich@muttcrew.net said:
Brad, what effect will radiusing the top have on the neck/fretboard/body joint, the bridge, the assembly, etc. If the assembler and others are not set up to work with a radiused top I think it might result in certain issues downstream.
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That's a great question cause I know a lot of people are totally into the spanish neck, which seems to me to be a superior method. I want to eventually go that route for some instruments, but I can't give up radiused tops or binding. I've got the binding thing covered kinda but what about the radiused top?
I'd personally love to keep the radiused top and see if we can work through it.
 
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First of all, let me explain why I think it is important for us to radius the back and top. Primarily it is to protect things from humidity changes. Because I do not know under what conditions the instrument is going to be assembled under (temp and humidity), my goal is to build in as much protection as I can. A radiused top and back are able to expand and contract much more than flat ones without cracking. When I build, the temp and humidity are controlled throughout the entire building process. Once I ship the top, who knows what conditions it will be exposed to and what conditions it will be assembled under.
As for the final assemly, setting the neck angle for the correct bridge/saddle height is a basic operation, not a big deal, but a vital one. The only other adjustment, is the bottom of the bridge must be sanded to match the curve of the top, before being glued on. If we go with a bolt on neck, all of this is pretty basic and easy. If we want to use Timbuck's neck, I can attach to the body and ship it back to Vic or whoever for finishing. I have done many dovetail joints, they are not a big problem, just fiddley.

Brad
 
Hey Vic, I think you and I are only a few miles from each other. I'd like to participate. Let me know what's left and I'll pitch in.
 
erich@muttcrew.net said:
Has the neck build and neck joint been decided?
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Don't think so Erich. Seems we're hung up (by the neck). Is there a groan symbol?
Brad has volunteered to fit the neck to the body (dovetail).
We need to get Timbuck to re-volunteer the neck and send it to Brad, including the head block.
Fahrner needs to bend the sides and make the tail block and send to Brad. I just need to make a mold and learn how to bend with an iron. Am OK with that.
Does that mean the back should go to Brad as well? Also the fret board and bridge?
Not sure what the sequence of operation should be here. Maybe we need that?
The other open issue is the scale length (13.625 on the plans and Matts jig for cutting slots for 13.5").
Several unanswered questions I think.
 
I think Vic has ordered the plans and is waiting to have a look at them. He started the idea, so I feel it is up to him to decide how to proceed. I'm willing to help in any way I can, but for now I'll just hang back and wait for instructions, keeping in mind the adage of too many cooks.

Brad
 
The neck Timbuck had offered would add so much mojo to this project. The only issues would be the nut end ( the .0625 gap to contend with ) and the radiused top.
Brad, if you're feeling generous enough to fit the neck to your radiused top... then I'm all for it, no question about it. I will need the dimensions of the headstock so I'll know how to fit the bride on it. Still waiting for plans, MOP and ebony.
We'll probably have to shave some off the headstock to make room for the inlayed head plate. But I'm sure that's doable.

I'm pretty good at bending sides so far... Pete just showed a great video tutorial on it and Dave G and a couple others on youtube also have excellent tutorials... after watching them my first set of sides bent like butter. The only thing I've had trouble with are some dry padauk with inclusions and some brittle ebony binding.

I have a bender like Pete's. It rocks, especially for bending the waist on a soprano which is pretty dang tight.
 
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Hey, I bought the plan--I can reproduce the fretboard on paper, tape it to a fretboard blank and make the cuts. It should work like a charm, I just have never made one with anything other than my LMI template, and Dominator's StewMac slotting rig. Whaddya say?
 
Matt Clara said:
Hey, I bought the plan--I can reproduce the fretboard on paper, tape it to a fretboard blank and make the cuts. It should work like a charm, I just have never made one with anything other than my LMI template, and Dominator's StewMac slotting rig. Whaddya say?
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Personally, I find that suggestion copiously copasetic.
 
Vic D said:
Personally, I find that suggestion copiously copasetic.
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Are you making fun of me? ;)

Hey, another solution to extra space at the nut is to glue two nuts together and then shape them to fit the space. I did it once when my headstock veneer slid up--worked like a charm.
 
Matt Clara said:
Are you making fun of me? ;)

Hey, another solution to extra space at the nut is to glue two nuts together and then shape them to fit the space. I did it once when my headstock veneer slid up--worked like a charm.
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Ah but no need! After I posted earlier, with my last thought that the headstock would need to be shaved a bit for the inlayed head plate, it occurred to me that that would solve the nut problem. I forgot to post my thought but then Stephen (Flyfish) PM'd me with the same idea.
 
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Vic D said:
That's if we keep the dovetail. If the dovetail gets whacked off then it's golden, or maybe not... headplate... But I wouldn't want to do that myself. It would be a crime.
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I was looking for the "nut problem" which I haven't quite visualized for myself yet, based on Vic's description. However, if you are in need of a hangman for the dovetail joint just send it our way. We've sawn off so many bridges, fretboards, headstock veneers... A little dovetail would be French breakfast.
 
Aight let me put it this way. If the nut to 12th fret on Matt's fretboard is scale 6.75" long, and Ken's neck, from the nut to the 12th fret is 6.8125" long, then there will be roughly .062" of a ledge past the nut using the 6.75", having an .062 ledge there past the nut before the 14/15 degree break in the headstock... unless you use a super thick nut, which I wouldn't care for, or you shave the headstock down to allow for the head plate, which would eliminate the .062 ledge and possibly create an inlay for the nut.

I'm hope I'm being clear, I just don't know any other way to put it.
 
Vic D said:
Actually, the bridge would need to move up about .062 to reach the theoretical (before considering compensation) 13.5 inch scale. Then at the same time, the 12th fret must meet the body,.
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Please forgive my dullardness but why is this so?
 
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fahrner said:
Please forgive my dullardness but why is this so?
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Heck I dunno, never seen a guitar where the fret didn't meet the body. I guess it would just look weird, and the body is probably designed all around having the bridge at a certain point. Dunno... just don't know.

Something tells me that stress on the neck joint might factor in too, especially for fingerboards with frets that extend past the neck joint. But I dunno...
 
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fahrner said:
Please forgive my dullardness but why is this so?
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My thoughts on it: for a classic soprano, aesthetically speaking, it must fall on the 12th. CBU 101 will tell you, you can put it anywhere you want, provided the bridge falls somewhere in from the edge/down from the soundhole. That's a different aesthetic, though, and not a classic soprano.
Now the pros will come in and tell me why I'm wrong. ;)
 
Matt Clara said:
My thoughts on it: for a classic soprano, aesthetically speaking, it must fall on the 12th. CBU 101 will tell you, you can put it anywhere you want, provided the bridge falls somewhere in from the edge/down from the soundhole. That's a different aesthetic, though, and not a classic soprano.
Now the pros will come in and tell me why I'm wrong. ;)
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Dadgummit I was gonna use aesthetic and forgot to. Dadgummit... can any y'all tell I'm originally from Nashville...
 
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