16 inch Florentine archtop.

[rocket]

This one's a commission build and the customer wants all Aussie timbers used, he wanted a cutaway style and we decided on a Florentine cutaway, i haven't done one of these cutaways before so it will add a bit more interest to the build for me.
So far the timbers we've decided on are, back and sides mildly figured Tassie blackwood by Tim, King Billy pine top, will be X braced with some cf added, Wandoo fretboard by Tim, Silky oak neck with contrasting laminations, bindings and veneers still to be decided.
A couple of pics of the back and top, and notice the annulars on the KBP, about 5-6 per mm, very tight grain weighs a bit more than the WRC i used on my last build, the tree this top came from was about 1000 years old when it was killed in a fire about 75 years ago, has a very sweet smell when it is worked, i'll keep you updated.

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Rod.

[Crafty Fox]

I Look forward to watching your progress on this one Rod as I would love to build an archtop too. I like the 16" and Florentine style. I'm thinking of sheoak back and sides for mine.
Lots of photos please.

[rocket]

The Sheoak looks good when quartered Ken yours should look nice specially if you can get a nicely quartered billet,, i used some silky oak on the back and sides and neck of an EB2 bass build a while back, although the back was book matched it wasn't quartered, still looked nice but the neck was and displayed some very nice grain, best of luck with your build.
Rod.

[rocket]

Been doing a little bit of carving lately,
Blackwood back, outer arch

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Graduating the inside

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Completed

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King Billy Pine top, rough arching

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Rod.

[kiwigeo]

Nice work Rod.

There's alot to be said for florentine cutaways....today I split my second side set bending a venetian cutaway.

[rocket]

Thanks Martin, that's a shame about those sides cracking up on you, you're no novice at this caper so what do you put it down to?
This is my first Florentine i hope i don't stuff it up, happy to listen to any advice from those with a few under the belt, i intend to bind the point of this one, maybe try a perfect miter on a subsequent build.

Rod.

[kiwigeo]

Thanks Martin, that's a shame about those sides cracking up on you, you're no novice at this caper so what do you put it down to?
This is my first Florentine i hope i don't stuff it up, happy to listen to any advice from those with a few under the belt, i intend to bind the point of this one, maybe try a perfect miter on a subsequent build.

Rod.

I thinned the wood (IRW) down to 1.75mm around the cutaway. I think the curve on the horn is just too tight....Ive made up a new insert for the mold which has a slightly larger radius curve and it now exactly matches the radius of my bending iron....should work third time around.

[Jehu]

That looks like it will be a beauty! Do you do all of the roughing with the plane, or do you use another method before moving to that?

[Nick]

That looks like it will be a beauty! Do you do all of the roughing with the plane, or do you use another method before moving to that?

Chainsaw (Rod will understand the joke)

[rocket]

Nick knows me too well,, i usually use the McCulloch little beaver to bulk out the main load on the hardwood backs but go for a more refined tool like the Arbortech angle grinder attachment for the more delicate softwood tops like Spruce and Cedar.
A couple of shots of the KBP top at external carve.

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All bullshit aside though, i take the bulk of it out with the Arbotech blade and then continue with the finger planes, scrapers and then sanding, also i'll just add that KBP isn't one of the best timbers i've seen for scraping!! even though it's lovely to hand plane.
Rod.

[charangohabsburg]

Nice work as always Rod!

also i'll just add that KBP isn't one of the best timbers i've seen for scraping!!

I never have worked with, or even touched King Billy Pine, but for scraping any conifer wood I prefer very thin scrapers, more precisely these French scrapers which - quite oddly regarding my vicinity to France (about 30 km) - I ordered from Lee Valley, Canada. I don't find them to be hard on my hands or fingers at all. They take very clean shavings. Yes, those thin scrapers heat up quickly and doing a quick pass you better don't have a finger too close to the spot where the scraper does its work. But it also cools down quickly. Using with every pass a slightly different spot of the scraper lets me do about five passes with one edge, then five with the other edge in order the first edge can cool down. For the rare cases I work too fast I have a second one of those thin scrapers (they are sold by pairs anyway), so the first one can cool down to "working temperature". But then again, this is mostly spruce and silver fir what I am talking about, but maybe it would be fine for King Billy as well.

[rocket]

Here's a couple of progress pics.

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I want to use HHG to glue the plates on this one, just asking those who use it all the time what the best method is for gluing a large area like this, is it a rush to get it clamped up inside the open time or size both surfaces let dry and then reheat after clamping? how should i go about it?
Cheers,,

Rod.

[kiwigeo]

I want to use HHG to glue the plates on this one, just asking those who use it all the time what the best method is for gluing a large area like this, is it a rush to get it clamped up inside the open time or size both surfaces let dry and then reheat after clamping? how should i go about it?
Cheers,,

Rod.

I size...particularly for end grain glue jobs. I also pre-heat the wood with a heat gun on low setting. Once glue is applied and surfaces joined I go around with the heat gun or a photographer's sealing iron and reheat the joint prior to applying the clamps. While I was building the lute the sealing iron got used alot during glue up operations.

That guitar is looking really good.....extremely neat and tidy work and I love the way it fits perfectly inside the mould.

[charangohabsburg]

I want to use HHG to glue the plates on this one, just asking those who use it all the time what the best method is for gluing a large area like this, is it a rush to get it clamped up inside the open time or size both surfaces let dry and then reheat after clamping? how should i go about it?

Like Martin I also use an adjustable heat gun at about 150°C. Preheat, apply glue, reheat.
For reheating the borders just before applying pressure I don't use an iron but steam (just a tiny bit into the joint, taking care of not blowing away the glue!) which works very well for me and leaves plenty of time to accomplish the task. Here I am gluing the back to an already braced box.

[56nortondomy]

Have to agree with Martin, that's looking really good Rod.
Wayne

[rocket]

Thanks for all the good advice re HHG, i ended up using for the back, just as well as i had it misaligned and had to take it off and redo
Progress is good got some pics to show, as far as specs go, blackwood B+S, kbp top , silky oak/ blackwood neck, Wandoo/evo gold f/b, blackwood sapwood binding, Baggs Lyric/Benedetto S6 pups.
Rod.

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[kiwigeo]

Oh THAT is a nice looking guitar!!! Exquisite work..

[56nortondomy]

Really nice work there Rod, keep the updates coming.
Wayne

[Nick]

Very nice Rod, it's coming along well and beautiful work, I especially like the neck/body joint and the seamless transition between the body binding/purfling and the heel cap binding/purfling. It's those little subtle things I always look at and pick out to be the difference between a good builder and an excellent one.
Is there any difference in the thickness at the recurve with the King Billy over Spruce?

[rocket]

Thanks, Nick, i went a tad thicker with the KBP than i would with Sitka but not as much as 20% more like 10% as i've added CF to the bracing, at the recurve it is about .25 mm thicker. I found a few more pics of the build also.
Cheers,,

Rod.

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[kiwigeo]

Rod, is there CF under the braces as well as on top?

[Crafty Fox]

That is just beautiful.......I love it! Great work.

[rocket]

Under and over Martin
Rod.

[charangohabsburg]

Wonderful work Rod!
The carbon fibre on top of the braces looks cleaner than most or all I have seen so far. I have not yet worked with CF but would like to know what's the key to get the strands down so cleanly. What are the things one must and/or must not do in order to not only prevent a mess but also get somewhere near to the cleanliness you have achieved?

[kiwigeo]

Wonderful work Rod!
The carbon fibre on top of the braces looks cleaner than most or all I have seen so far. I have not yet worked with CF but would like to know what's the key to get the strands down so cleanly. What are the things one must and/or must not do in order to not only prevent a mess but also get somewhere near to the cleanliness you have achieved?

1. dont use too many strands of CF.
2. dont use too much resin (especially under the brace).
3. dont f****k around with the strands with the brush just because one single strand is out of place.......soon all the strands will be out of place.
4. dont finish off a long neck of Coopers Stout just before starting the job.