I am making a guitar body with a 20x14x2.5 inch block of wood. I want
to cut it down the center (quarter saw ?) so that I have two pieces
that are 1.25 inches thick. I will then hollow out the sides and glue
them back together.
I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
unreleastic to try to find a bandsaw this big ? Perhaps I should just
route out one side of the block, and glue a back on to it.
Any advice appreciated.
[email protected] asks:
>>I am making a guitar body with a 20x14x2.5 inch block of wood. I
want
to cut it down the center (quarter saw ?) so that I have two pieces
that are 1.25 inches thick. I will then hollow out the sides and glue
them back together.
I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
unreleastic to try to find a bandsaw this big ? Perhaps I should just
route out one side of the block, and glue a back on to it.<<
In my very limited luthiery experience, that is not how you make a
guitar body. James Jones here in Bedford has a 12" rip capacity on his
Delta 14", but he resaws for the sides, and bookmatches backs and
front. I doubt very much the method you mean to use is going to supply
the resonance you need to make the guitar a pleasure to play and listen
to.
Hit google for "luthiery" or just take a spin through the Grizzly
catalog (on or offline), or check out Stewart-MacDonald, where there
are numerous stringed instrument building kits that ease the pain of
getting started by a considerable amount.
>quarter saw ?
The word you want is resaw.
>throat(?)
Cutting height. Throat is the horizontal distance from the blade to
the support that holds up the top.
12 inches is sort of a magic number for resawing. A typical 14"
bandsaw with a riser block can resaw 12 inch wide boards. Any more
than that and the bandsaw gets into the couple thousand dollar range.
Keep looking though. I'm sure there are shops that can do it.
brian
[email protected] wrote:
> I am making a guitar body with a 20x14x2.5 inch block of wood. I
want
> to cut it down the center (quarter saw ?) so that I have two pieces
> that are 1.25 inches thick. I will then hollow out the sides and
glue
> them back together.
>
> I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
> to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
> unreleastic to try to find a bandsaw this big ? Perhaps I should
just
> route out one side of the block, and glue a back on to it.
>
> Any advice appreciated.
This is called resawing, if the grain is perpendicular to the cut as
I think it will be for a guitar back, it will also be quarter sawing.
It can be done with a hand tool called a resaw. Resaws are typically
frame saws. A small one is illustrated here:
http://www.hyperkitten.com/woodworking/frame_saw.php3
Yours will have to be bigger, but the same approach applies.
If you can make a guitar, making the frame saw will be a piece of
cake. BTW, do not use curly maple for the frame, DAMHIK.
There is also a newsgroup devoted to lutherie in the rec.music
or rec.crafts hierarchy.
--
FF
Thanks all.
>> Does that mean the finished guitar is 28" wide?
No, the guitar will be 14" or less wide. My plan was to split the
block (as you would open a book in the middle) and hollow it out then
glue the sides back together. But I am hearing that this may not be
such a good idea.
This is the second guitar I am building, and it has some odd options
(headless - no headstock, and the neck is fanned fret). I was going
for a chambered semi-hollow sound. I will re-think this body idea.
.
Mike Marlow wrote:
> "Dave Hinz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
, a hollow chamber of enough size to work in, will do
> > dramatic (bad) things to your sustain...unless you're going for the
> > semi-accoustic sound.
>
> Well - not quite Dave. Chambered guitars exist and they have great
sustain.
> Not semi-accoustic either. Raw electric. I know - I have just such
a
> thing.
Mikes right if done correctly will improve sustain
here's a site with a pic of one such body
http://www.scogo.com/design.html
also as mentioned before check out:
rec.music.makers.guitar
you could make the guitar with bookmatched top, chambered middle( width
could be glued up) and bookmatched back
On 1 Apr 2005 12:54:30 -0800, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
> to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
> unreleastic to try to find a bandsaw this big ? Perhaps I should just
> route out one side of the block, and glue a back on to it.
If this is your first guitar, maybe building something like a Strat
copy would be a good way to get experience. The problem with making
it hollow, and then gluing it together, is that your electronics will
then be impossible to repair without cutting the guitar back into two
pieces. Also, a hollow chamber of enough size to work in, will do
dramatic (bad) things to your sustain...unless you're going for the
semi-accoustic sound.
Also, if I understand what you're saying, you need to "resaw" this
with a 14" height, Does that mean the finished guitar is 28" wide?
I'm not clear on which dimension you're cutting here.
Dave Hinz
On 1 Apr 2005 15:07:51 -0800, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks all.
>
>>> Does that mean the finished guitar is 28" wide?
> No, the guitar will be 14" or less wide. My plan was to split the
> block (as you would open a book in the middle) and hollow it out then
> glue the sides back together. But I am hearing that this may not be
> such a good idea.
Right. Decide if you want cover plates on the front, or on the
back. I like 'em on the back, so you can have the pretty wood on
the front. The back _will_ get scratched up, so might as well
have a hatch under the pickups and under the controls.
> This is the second guitar I am building, and it has some odd options
> (headless - no headstock, and the neck is fanned fret). I was going
> for a chambered semi-hollow sound. I will re-think this body idea.
Take a look at how Rickenbacker does the semi-hollow bass body.
Loverly sound, but more work than I'd take on for a second guitar.
Maybe make this one a nice fiddleback maple solid body and get
more experience? But either way, have fun with it.
On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 21:59:29 -0500, Mike Marlow <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> "Dave Hinz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> a hollow chamber of enough size to work in, will do
>> dramatic (bad) things to your sustain...unless you're going for the
>> semi-accoustic sound.
> Well - not quite Dave. Chambered guitars exist and they have great sustain.
> Not semi-accoustic either. Raw electric. I know - I have just such a
> thing.
Interesting. Who built it? I'd like to read up on it.
Dave
"Dave Hinz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> If this is your first guitar, maybe building something like a Strat
> copy would be a good way to get experience. The problem with making
> it hollow, and then gluing it together, is that your electronics will
> then be impossible to repair without cutting the guitar back into two
> pieces. Also, a hollow chamber of enough size to work in, will do
> dramatic (bad) things to your sustain...unless you're going for the
> semi-accoustic sound.
Well - not quite Dave. Chambered guitars exist and they have great sustain.
Not semi-accoustic either. Raw electric. I know - I have just such a
thing.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
"Jonathan" <letseatpaste@RATATAT_TAThotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xby3e.8794$Tn.7403@lakeread06...
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >I am making a guitar body with a 20x14x2.5 inch block of wood. I want
> > to cut it down the center (quarter saw ?) so that I have two pieces
> > that are 1.25 inches thick. I will then hollow out the sides and glue
> > them back together.
> >
> > I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
> > to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
> > unreleastic to try to find a bandsaw this big ? Perhaps I should just
> > route out one side of the block, and glue a back on to it.
> >
> > Any advice appreciated.
> >
>
> Guitar tops and bodies are usually bookmatched, which means there's a seam
> down the middle and the halves are essentially mirrored. In other words,
> you resaw your piece, and then open it up like a book.
>
> So it sounds like what you would want to do cut your piece in half to have
> two 7" wide pieces, then resaw those pieces to 1.25" thick, and glue up
> bookmatched halves for the top and bottom.
>
> Jon
>
Almost - but not quite. Guitar tops are usually bookmatched (if a fancy
grade of top is desired), but those tops are typically only 1/2" thick and
go over a body that is somewhere around an inch thick and is one solid
piece, not bookmatched.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
I use a chainsaw for doing cutting of trees into slabs, then plane them to
the thickness I need.
Jon
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks all.
>
>>> Does that mean the finished guitar is 28" wide?
> No, the guitar will be 14" or less wide. My plan was to split the
> block (as you would open a book in the middle) and hollow it out then
> glue the sides back together. But I am hearing that this may not be
> such a good idea.
>
> This is the second guitar I am building, and it has some odd options
> (headless - no headstock, and the neck is fanned fret). I was going
> for a chambered semi-hollow sound. I will re-think this body idea.
>
> .
>
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I am making a guitar body with a 20x14x2.5 inch block of wood. I want
> to cut it down the center (quarter saw ?) so that I have two pieces
> that are 1.25 inches thick. I will then hollow out the sides and glue
> them back together.
>
> I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
> to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
> unreleastic to try to find a bandsaw this big ? Perhaps I should just
> route out one side of the block, and glue a back on to it.
>
> Any advice appreciated.
>
Guitar tops and bodies are usually bookmatched, which means there's a seam
down the middle and the halves are essentially mirrored. In other words,
you resaw your piece, and then open it up like a book.
So it sounds like what you would want to do cut your piece in half to have
two 7" wide pieces, then resaw those pieces to 1.25" thick, and glue up
bookmatched halves for the top and bottom.
Jon
On 1 Apr 2005 12:54:30 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>I am making a guitar body with a 20x14x2.5 inch block of wood. I want
>to cut it down the center (quarter saw ?) so that I have two pieces
>that are 1.25 inches thick. I will then hollow out the sides and glue
>them back together.
>
>I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
>to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
You might ask the guys at rec.music.makers.builders.
There are some very experienced guitar guys there. They will likely
have some good suggestions for you but could also recommend a re-saw
service if you need one.
Mike O.
"Dave Hinz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 21:59:29 -0500, Mike Marlow <[email protected]>
wrote:
> >
> > "Dave Hinz" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> >> a hollow chamber of enough size to work in, will do
> >> dramatic (bad) things to your sustain...unless you're going for the
> >> semi-accoustic sound.
>
> > Well - not quite Dave. Chambered guitars exist and they have great
sustain.
> > Not semi-accoustic either. Raw electric. I know - I have just such a
> > thing.
>
> Interesting. Who built it? I'd like to read up on it.
>
Mine is from Terry C. McInturff. Here's a link to the model I have which
has the tone chamber. Not all of his models do.
http://www.mcinturffguitars.com/06-Guitars/GloryStandard/GloryStandard.asp
These guitars have sustain that goes until forever. They play nicer than
anything you've ever picked up too.
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
I would bet there is SOME woodworker in his area that have a Bandsaw
that will do 14+ inch resaw. However, how to find them is the
problem. Posting in the MiniMax Yahoo group or the Laguna group would
probably turn up some owners - most of whom would be easily convinced
to do this for a small fee or gratuity
John
On Sat, 2 Apr 2005 08:41:01 -0600, "Jonathan"
<letseatpaste@RATATAT_TAThotmail.com> wrote:
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>I am making a guitar body with a 20x14x2.5 inch block of wood. I want
>> to cut it down the center (quarter saw ?) so that I have two pieces
>> that are 1.25 inches thick. I will then hollow out the sides and glue
>> them back together.
>>
>> I have asked three local shops for assistance but none have been able
>> to help since they would need a bandsaw with a 14" throat(?). Is it
>> unreleastic to try to find a bandsaw this big ? Perhaps I should just
>> route out one side of the block, and glue a back on to it.
>>
>> Any advice appreciated.
>>
>
>Guitar tops and bodies are usually bookmatched, which means there's a seam
>down the middle and the halves are essentially mirrored. In other words,
>you resaw your piece, and then open it up like a book.
>
>So it sounds like what you would want to do cut your piece in half to have
>two 7" wide pieces, then resaw those pieces to 1.25" thick, and glue up
>bookmatched halves for the top and bottom.
>
>Jon
>