• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Seven Heirlooms - Time to organise the pore filing

The waste offcuts from 9 rosettes. (One broke and one spare)

ADA37CBD-0791-4E11-B942-1874B0596D87_1_201_a.jpeg



Using a lazy Susan and some anti-slip matt, planing off the excess purfling.

6BAD521D-C3F7-4230-BE6E-4114E7FC1B99_1_201_a.jpeg


Finishing off with scraping and a quick sand.

15CFA71D-C365-4949-800D-FBAE1304A047_1_201_a.jpeg


Seven rosettes completed.

6E809898-F936-49DE-98C8-CCAC96E3027B_1_201_a.jpeg


Finish thickness sanding in the drum-sander next.
 
duke said:
The rosettes look as they require a lot of time and patience. How many mils do you need to remove using the drum sander Malc?
Click to expand...
Thanks, Duke. You're right. I aim to take off about 0.25mm.
 
duke said:
Do you sand just the top side or both?
Click to expand...
Both sides have been sanded with 80 grit. I'll take off the sanding marks with 180. Then hand sand and scrape the finished body later on.
 
Seven headstocks veneered both sides with Padauk and black dyed Tulipwood to create the delineation between the inner and outer materials.

3384D91D-A4E4-4B6F-8C94-F69C8346314D.jpeg


03D06256-BC3F-429B-8F44-0A893F6AFCA4.jpeg
 
Sometimes it's been suggested that instruments hand made like mine are expensive. I would say they are costly, rather than expensive, because the design, materials and the workmanship are of such high quality. For example, just look what goes inside one of my instruments. And this is only underneath the soundboard. I've yet to make the blanks for the back braces.

To start, I make a template for the soundhole reinforcement and find the acrylic soundhole guide that I made a couple of years ago. That will line the reinforcement up accurately on the soundboard when I come to glue the reinforcements.

8985635B-007E-4822-BD7A-A2E9093F2106_1_201_a.jpeg

6mm holes, a 6mm pin and the acrylic circle allows me to line up the template to draw onto the spruce sheet.

Then I set up the router with the circle cutter that uses a 6mm pin, too, so everything lines up.

12146E7B-D871-46C9-8348-83B917C99FCF.jpeg



First hole cut.

679B8DAF-A36E-46E7-8834-1100A46BDBB7.jpeg


Seven holes cut.

212CCE4B-5137-4614-9B98-C4FFEBA05092.jpeg



After cutting out the individual pieces with he Kapex, it's time to set the Kapex up for the first angle cut. The fragile workpiece is suitable clamped down, do my hand is nowhere near the blade.

C4ADC298-301F-47AA-BD72-0D141C63ADC6.jpeg


Seven first angles cut.

B12A9C01-96B1-4DA1-92C9-DD660B91FAC2_1_201_a.jpeg


Reset the Kapex for the other angle.

25C5EB26-1B7C-4653-8BB5-7EC2163EE962.jpeg


Seven ferinforcement blanks cut to shape.

4B8D9A7E-0C26-4CFD-81BC-6139CBED01AC_1_201_a.jpeg


I've also hand cut and shot (shooted? :)) seven sets of longitudinal and lateral braces as well as seven bridge reinforcements.

15E1569D-EEE1-4885-BA49-F026C271B7F7_1_201_a.jpeg

I've deviated from the previous design of soundboard bracing (shown printed on the drawing) and am using Pete Howlett's design. He tells me it permits the more of the soundboard to vibrate, which contributes to volume and sustain.
 
Malc2098 said:
Sometimes it's been suggested that instruments hand made like mine are expensive. I would say they are costly, rather than expensive, because the design, materials and the workmanship are of such high quality. For example, just look what goes inside one of my instruments. And this is only underneath the soundboard. I've yet to make the blanks for the back braces.

To start, I make a template for the soundhole reinforcement and find the acrylic soundhole guide that I made a couple of years ago. That will line the reinforcement up accurately on the soundboard when I come to glue the reinforcements.

View attachment 31417

6mm holes, a 6mm pin and the acrylic circle allows me to line up the template to draw onto the spruce sheet.

Then I set up the router with the circle cutter that uses a 6mm pin, too, so everything lines up.

View attachment 31418



First hole cut.

View attachment 31419


Seven holes cut.

View attachment 31420



After cutting out the individual pieces with he Kapex, it's time to set the Kapex up for the first angle cut. The fragile workpiece is suitable clamped down, do my hand is nowhere near the blade.

View attachment 31421


Seven first angles cut.

View attachment 31422


Reset the Kapex for the other angle.

View attachment 31423


Seven ferinforcement blanks cut to shape.

View attachment 31424


I've also hand cut and shot (shooted? :)) seven sets of longitudinal and lateral braces as well as seven bridge reinforcements.

View attachment 31425

I've deviated from the previous design of soundboard bracing (shown printed on the drawing) and am using Pete Howlett's design. He tells me it permits the more of the soundboard to vibrate, which contributes to volume and sustain.
Click to expand...
I like how you clamped down pieces to be cut.
 
This is my shooting board to plane the bracing strips down to 11mm wide. (They've already been through the drum sander to get them to 4.7mm thick.)

2B891298-7CB4-4F57-92B7-2E271E77C377_1_201_a.jpeg



And this is how much timber is needed for the braces of the backs of the instruments.

0F5257EB-9108-484A-93FD-F43D945BE83B_1_201_a.jpeg

Wherever the braces go, the grain has to be perpendicular to the grain of the back. So you can see that the transverse braces' grain is at 90 degrees, but so is the grain of the the brace along the back centre joint.


Time to get the go-bar deck out tomorrow. :)
 
That long brace must be very weak with the grain running that way. Is it reinforced (e.g. with a good soaking in glue) or does it just rely on the adhesion to the back?
 
Dr.Al said:
That long brace must be very weak with the grain running that way. Is it reinforced (e.g. with a good soaking in glue) or does it just rely on the adhesion to the back?
Click to expand...
Absolutely, they are fragile. I broke about three just cutting them to width, but they don't need to be in one long piece. And once glued on, the stresses in the two halves of the back are counteracted but the perpendicular grain of the brace. If the brace grain were the same direction as the back grain, the there would be no reinforcement advantage with it glued over the join. And yes, they just rely on on TB original.

And once glued on, I'll shape those join braces cross section to a semicircle to remove some mass, while maintaining the same width gluing face.
 
Malc2098 said:
Absolutely, they are fragile. I broke about three just cutting them to width, but they don't need to be in one long piece. And once glued on, the stresses in the two halves of the back are counteracted but the perpendicular grain of the brace. If the brace grain were the same direction as the back grain, the there would be no reinforcement advantage with it glued over the join. And yes, they just rely on on TB original.

And once glued on, I'll shape those join braces cross section to a semicircle to remove some mass, while maintaining the same width gluing face.
Click to expand...
Malc, how do you tune your sound boards?
 
duke said:
Malc, how do you tune your sound boards?
Click to expand...
Duke, I'm not that proficient to be able to do that to a professional standard. I listen to the tap tones as I drum sand the plates, and stop when I find the sound pleasing to my ear.
 
Before I show the go-bar deck, here's a quick video showing how I draw the curved offset cutting line in preparation of cutting the shapes oversize on the bandsaw.



Drawing the offset line.


Here's the go-bar deck ready for when the cut soundboards and backs have their braces glued.

AB35DAD0-5FFD-4243-9AC4-096F0A6C16B5.jpeg
 
Efficient use of the go-bar deck space.

5EEFE99C-68D1-4521-824F-455103CEDC5C.jpeg



Removing material off the joint brace to reduce mass and to make it look nice.

0A56715B-EE1C-423C-AAE9-2C1A6AB0794D.jpeg



Now that the joint brace is glued on and shaped, it's time to create the housings for the transverse braces.

8A4C0A44-6E34-4891-9441-AF51F83C93EC.jpeg


One down, 20 more to go.
 
Still watching in awe. (y)
I couldn't contemplate making one let alone multiple instruments. At least I only have one grandchild to consider. :)
 
A neat addition to the go-bar deck is the radiused sanding dish. My 400mm disc is dished to a 24' radius. I think I posted a WIP of the CNC machine creating to radius dish a year or two ago.) This allows me to sand shape the transverse braces to that radius.

One of the longer braces and one of the shorter braces sanded to shape and used as templates to mark the other 19.

ACA7E07B-CBAB-452D-85FB-FF2F819AAA04.jpeg


You didn't think I was going to sand them all one at a time did you? :)

9961D1A5-181A-4019-9F7A-351515D1E444.jpeg


The main benefit of the sanding dish and the go-bar deck in use together is that it preforms the 24' radius of the back under tension of the fibreglass rods.

9FEE65EC-4FD4-4F86-8815-F90F00C2DA52.jpeg


This shows the dishing of the back a bit better.

D09EA463-16D4-4E8D-BC84-7F6BC7F0127B.jpeg

This was a dry run to make sure I had no gaps anywhere before gluing.
 
Last edited:
All seven backs have been glued. Took me 3 days, one then three, then three.

Time to start carving the braces.

F6213607-E4B0-4C4C-86BE-FA8DF477E6EC_1_201_a.jpeg

My tools; masking tape to protect the back while sliding the plane along the brace, the plane creates the longitudinal shape either side of the brace and I use the chisel, bevel down, to create the curved ends of the braces. Then little bits of abrasive sheet to remove any arrises.


So hopefully this image shows how much mass is removed while retaiing strength.

2DE7017C-A49F-4806-81CF-309E7845C248.jpeg



The contrast between a back finished carving and one not having started.

F07F1C34-8477-4705-BFB4-942ED0A46228_1_201_a.jpeg


I find carving and sanding both enjoyable and even therapeutic. It's hands on and you can not only see what you've achieved, but you can feel it, too.
 
The first of the soundboard braces is the bridge plate. This helps spread the load created by the string tension, although a nylon strung ukulele is nowhere near as tense as a steel strung guitar.

60BECB2F-C593-47E7-8E2D-618BD9CF6306.jpeg

This time I'm using cork to prevent the bars denting the soft face of the spruce material.
 
Twenty-one soundboard braces carved.

It might not look it, but the long braces are handed. Their housings are set at a 5 degree angle to fit over the bridge plate. The tenons are also cut on the angle.

10408F3B-7ACD-43B8-B100-208FB84450D0_1_201_a.jpeg


And that's not even half the waste carved away!

05CEC580-A8B8-4810-8508-5EC15E7FA6A7_1_201_a.jpeg



Laid out.

8D9E93D0-CCDB-44FF-A4F1-582CC5743718_1_201_a.jpeg


Dry fit.

D7B2EDD2-2FF9-49C6-8E31-76976AF461EB_1_201_a.jpeg


This was a Chinese puzzle to glue together!

F4278483-A8D4-4F9E-8C37-6FC90B519983.jpeg

The block at the back is the same size as the tail block that will be fitted, so keeps the two long braces the correct width apart while the glue dries.




The inside of the soundboard finished. The braces are carved to fit into the sides of the instrument and the bridge plate is sanded to nothing at its ends.

E540A494-9386-4AA9-A5BD-F6917A5179CA.jpeg


This is the first time I've used this brace design. I haven't got recording equipment decent enough for you to hear, but even this small piece of Cedar, fully braced, has a tap tone pleasant to my ear.
 
Seven soundboards braced.

794604A4-0CCE-4A3C-AC3C-E056119EFE0A.jpeg

And seven sound holes smoothed over from the underside.

BE1EDCD8-8A62-4589-92F7-EB6AA21EF341.jpeg

And once the 'box is closed', no-one will ever see that work again.



There will now be a several weeks' absence of luthier works while I upgrade my CNC machine before I can mill more components of the instruments.
 
AndyP said:
Why the upgrade Malc? Software? Hardware?
Click to expand...
I'm changing the drives from leadscrew to ballscrew, which should make the movement smoother. I'm replacing the controller with one that can deliver 36v DC to the stepper motors (previously it was only 24v) which combined with the screws can make it faster and smoother. The controller also has regular firmware updates from its Australian manufacturer which work closely with their control software, which is continually updated and improved.
 
Well, it's been a while but I've completed the leadscrew to ballscrew upgrade on the cnc machine. I've fitted the new controller and it took a while to get configuration right, and it's working now. I fitted a new spoilbaord, surfaced it level to the spindle and routed a 50mm square grid to help positioning of workpieces.

CE6F5E95-AC3D-439A-8824-D3F98941DE24.jpeg

So, it was time to get down to do some drawing of the heirloom's components. If I am to make seven of each, the cnc machine should be able to deliver seven identical pieces of work.

Here's the bridge and fretboard drawings simulations. Those fret slots are milled with 0.6mm diameter end mill.



I hope you don't have to sign in every time just to watch this.
 
AndyP said:
Didn't have to sign in at all.
Will you do all 7 at once?
Click to expand...
Good.

The African Blackwood I have for the bridges is long enough for four. So I will draw an array of four in a line and make eight in two goes on the machine.

I will also try to draw four fretboards and position them separately and carefully enough for the machine not to go 'off piste'. That's where the grid comes in useful. The machine, and me, know where every cross is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top