Guitar D28 build

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Joe,
Fret spacing depends on the scale length and all this is readily available on the internet. I cut the fret spacing on the last build I did with a jig I made up for the job. This time I got a pre-cut and radiused fretboard. Saves a lot of time for very little in terms of cost. The scale length for this one is 25.465 inches.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Guys
Well the neck is close to being done. I have laminated the sides of the neck with bloodwood to frame up the veneer on the front and back of the headstock. The inserts have been inlaid on each side of the neck heel.

I have made the neck block for the neck to fit into. This was done with a hand cut dovetail join. Pretty happy with the fit as there is no movement at all when the neck is in the block.

The neck has had a coat of tru-oils to seal it up so it can be handled and muck can be wiped off it without the need for more sanding. The grain is starting to look nice now with the oil coat.

Next step is to put the fretboard on and make a bone nut for the strings to sit on. Nobody in NZ stocks a Martin style nut Believe it or not and because it has to be wedge shaped the standard 43mm nuts arn't wide enough so hence the need to make one from scratch. I envy you guys in USA as you have all this stuff at your fingertips.

Cheers
Glenn

[Mark N. Akers]

Glenn, the neck looks great, love your choice in wood.

[Merle Rice]

Hi Glenn , looks like things are going well . Is this the Hard Part or is that to come in making the Body ? Merle

[joepaulbutler]

Will you hurry up, the anticipation is mounting, no don't hurry the fine creation

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Mark
I try to pick woods with good grain patterns and of different colours for contrast and to create a bit of interest in the piece. The good thing with wood is that the possibilities are endless.

Hi Merle,
Yes the neck is the most tricky part of the build as getting the angles and profile right takes a lot of time and thought and the dovetail join has to be as good as you can possibly get it so that when fitted to the guitar body it sits in exactly the right place with the centreline spot on right through to the base of the guitar with no deviation to the sides and at the correct 1.5 degree down angle so that the piece of the fretboard that overhangs the end of the neck marries up to the slight bow in the top so that it can be glued down tight to the top. Archtops necks are way easier to fit as they can be tweaked into place relatively easily. This type has to be spot on or as close as you can get it.

Hi Joe,
As you well know hurrying is the kiss of death to any project hehehehe I will down tools if I don't feel in THE ZONE so to speak for the same reason. Dad used to say less haste equals more speed. Largely because one didn't have to re-do a lot of it hehehehehe.

As a build progresses it gets harder and harder to cling to those thoughts as ones mind is always 10 steps ahead of where one is actually at with the job. This is where I have to put the brakes on and tell myself to slow down. hehehehe.

Fretboard is on and am just fitting the frets.

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Guys,
The neck is sorted now and just needs a few coates of finish to be able to say done!! Couple of photos attached. The white nut is only sitting there as I am not happy with it and will make a new one from bone.

To get the fretboard in the right place I cut a sewing needle in half as it is thin and once I had the fretboard clamped in place exactly where I wanted it I drilled a 1mm hole off centre so I didn’t hit the truss rod on the first fret and on the other side on the 12th fret. I then tapped the needle into the holes unclamped the fretboard and removed it. I then applied the glue and located it on the 2 pins and clamped it in place.

One small job left to do and that is to fit the fret markers on the side of the neck but that wont take long.

The neck was levelled once I had fit the frets and the frets dressed so that at this point the neck is dead straight. When it goes on to the guitar body and is ready to put strings on the neck will be set with a very slight upward bow This will be about 8 -10 thou of an inch. This gives a bit of clearance and prevents buzzing when its played.

Setting up is a bit of a mission and I will go into that later.

[Just Carving]

Wow! This guitar is going to be special once it's done!

BobL

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Guys
Well the top is all together now and ready for the bracing to be shaped in the tuning process. The tone bars on the bottom 3 sections of the X brace are all fitted into the main x brace so the vibration is transmitted in all diections.

Even without tuning the top is ringing quite well with a variety of notes. This should be vastly improved with the shaping of the bracing to allow for maximun vibration and top movement while retaining strength. It should ring like a bell when done.

The Rosette was cut using a dremel router atatchment with a rosette cutting attachment. Was only going to be 2 bands of black white purfling in the inner and outer bands but I had a senior moment and got the first cut wrong so had to make it three bands in each. As it turns out I kind of like it that way. It frames up the herring bone patetrn nicely I think.

The joins at the top will be covered by the neck when it is fitted to the body.

[joepaulbutler]

You're showing us just how much is required to build a guitar. I'm thinking that cheaper on don't have the amount of work put into the top. The tuning must be quite a process∙∙∙∙you the man

[Mark N. Akers]

Glenn, the progress is awesome, I have a very good friend making 2 violins and its a winter project, so yes I understand the blood,sweat and tears that go into making a pristine musical instrument, love it,, and its definitely going to be a keeper.

[Merle Rice]

Hi Glenn , What do you do now to insure it has a Good Sound after Finished ? Lookin really Nice . Merle

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Joe
I have got it tuned now as best can. Is amazing how the tap tone can change when you take a bit of wood off one of the tone bars.

Hi Mark
You can do all the supposed "right things" But as to the sound you are going to get the Jury is out until the strings go on. hehehehe. With the quality woods I have used and with building to the specifications I should end up with a reasonably good sounding instrument. BUT I think the difference between good and fantastic is down to experience in building these things and a feel for how the woods respond to being worked.

For instance the back is supposed to be around 100 thou of an inch and at 125 it sounded as dead as a dodo.As I get closer to the target specification the tap tone is starting to improve. The trick is to take it to the point where it sounds at its best which is often right on the border of structural integrity. When it gets to the point that no further gain is apparant by removing wood that is the stop point. The back shouldn't go below 78 thou of an inch. The top shouldn't go below 90 thou and can go to 125 thou.

It all depends on the actual piece of wood you have in your hand and ones ability to read how that will work best. Is a bit of an art form me thinks. This is only the second guitar I have built so I do a LOT of research on each step to try to get the best result.

From what I have found on the internet as a rule of thumb the lighter you can build the guitar the better it will be. So taking it to the edge if one dares is probably best.

I love these type of jobs as it keeps the brain alive trying to beat the gremlins in the job. hehehe. Having a win is a big adrenalin rush.


Hi Merle
Have a look at what I just typed out in reply to Mark. I think it will answer that question. A lot of the outcome i think is down to a feel of how the wood is responding to what you do to it.

After it has been made you can play around with different strings which can bring out the best in the guitar once you get it right. For instance I bought a Martin Eric Clapton Signature model and it did not sound that good at all with the strings it had on it. I was thinking I had bought a 4.5K clunker. I changed the strings to a quality acoustic brand and got an improvement but it just wasn't there yet and I was pretty worried about it so changed strings again to same brand but different metal composition and slightly heavier gauge and the thing just came to life. So the show aint over till the fat lady sings as the old saying goes. And I hope to make her sing GOOD !!!!hehehehehe

[joepaulbutler]

Glen, "the tone tap" Looked it up =
"I was curious and bought a few "extras to satisfy my (compulsive) need to "experiment"... thinning them down to the point of failure (paper thinness)... The nature of the sound definitely changes as you reach the optimal point... they start out sounding stiff and crisp and rather sharp, but as you reach the final thinness of the diaphragm (you can hold it up to a light and see the gradations through the wood), they rather suddenly loosen up, lose resistance and take on an almost rubbery echoing sound (like a piece of rubber sheeting stretched over a coffee can?) at which point you start adding the bracing and bridge reinforcement.

Is this about right?

[Glenn Jennings]

Hi Joe,
That is pretty much right. The top wants to be about 100-125thou of an inch for structural integrity but the closer you get to optimum thicknes the more the wood rings like a beyy. Take a look on the net at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei5-DkVTrEE This is a great demo by a proffesional on how to voice the guitar top by shaping the bracing.

Different woods are better than others for getting good notes. This is why Alaskan Sitka spruce is considered one of the best woods in the world for guitar tops.