COPING MECHANISMS:

This week progress was slow and kinda painful but I got the F holes more or less sorted.   Somehow this asked more questions than it answered...how will I fix the pick ups, pots  and other potential electrical problems ... how will the pick ups be replaced if they break, without opening up the guitar?...the mahogany was hard to saw and the pattern difficult to follow. This small step for mankind (Meekind?!??) took three hours. And still the mystery remains of which pick ups to use...suggestions welcome! I did learn how to use a coping saw  Catch you next time!!

Yet as always it was great fun 

What else could I possibly pick as a music link? Remember this you funky friends?:

BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE...

At last I am back to chopping wood and gouging out shapes to form what hopefully will be a guitar, and of course generally making a mess.  Both top and bottom are shaping up but this is a real messy job.  Someone has to do it (thats where I come in!)

Slight skin disorder "sawdust face"

Note the outline of the F holes and spaces for pick ups... to be shaped next week using a coping saw.










Thought about linking Led Zeppelins song "Rock N Roll" (see heading) to this but prefer this:

THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME...

This week all I did was the same as last time -chisel, plane and sand, this time on the second piece of wood....pics to follow next time

 





These tiny planes reminded me of this song for         some reason best known to my head..it is still relevant

THE JOY OF CHISELLING...

Whilst last weeks work was all about man and machine (i.e. the thicknesser) this week was all about tools.  The chisel as an extension of the hand... or the plane or the humble, but essential, square of sandpaper. In this case I used 120 grade paper (that red stuff in my hand below right, note trendy 1970s rock icon T shirt)

With both pieces of mahogany (top n base) contoured as per last weeks pictures, this week was all about curvature, taking away those sharp edges and creating a smooth finish.

Initially I used the paring chisel in the picture which took away the sharp edge. Then that tiny and pretty cool plane to even out those curves a little more. A scraper helped out at that stage. Lastly a grade 180 sandpaper to end up with that neat shape. I still think it's a little too high...what dya reckon??
 









The art of using the chisel seems to have  a therapeutic benefit.  Lotsa men (maybe women too) love to work with wood and chiselling is often a centre piece of this labour...remember whittling anyone?  It can help hat ease the troubled mind,  a little like the way meditation can. Chisel on I say.

This weeks song considerations included "Enter Sandman" (far too up itself for it's own good really) anything by Level 42 (err?!? nothing by Level 42) Really tho' it had to be these iconic Aussie pub rockers..we all know their catalogue (well the readers from down under anyway) ...so here is their last single with Jimmy only kinda screaming (!) It's a good comment on the Aus/UK/Everywhere Idol/ Who's Got Talent etc crap shows that now seem to shape the music industry.  Sadly they break a guitar in the video:  see John Hiatt  at the end of my second post.

IN THICKNESS AND IN HEALTH...

Today was spent primarily shaping the contours on the both the base

 (finishing from last week) and the top of this "Gibson semi solid to be".

 

Here we see the "Before" "During" and "After" views. What could be so good as working on a "potential guitar", in the sun, on a machine with ne'er a care in the world.  Well lotsa things, I guess but this was a damn good day at the office. The machine in use shall hence forth be known as the Thicknesser.  The guy next door from the battery world shop decided it would be so. It's a variation on the one in the link but the principle is there. Later I used the thicknesser/planer shown in the link to help smooth the pieces of wood attached to the top'n'back (see above left.. the white piece on the guitar shaped bit!!). These pieces of "thicknessed" i.e. levelled wood will help secure the guitar for the chiselling to come. Stay tuned groupies!

Given the nature of todays work a link to "Tales from the Topographic Oceans "  by Yes seemed an obvious choice but hey its a triple album of prog. rock... read the link!!!  The following piece of music is still from Yes, though a solo piece from the far superior and much shorter "Fragile" LP.  There are a few versions around but the studio one is still the definitive version, and hey look at that Roger Dean art. ...Isn't this reason enough to practise your chord changes and fingering: 

NEXT STAGE...

After cutting the shapes and pasting them onto craft wood, the bandsaw again comes into it's own.  The craft wood is much easier to cut compared to the mahogany, and all digits remain intact.  I counted,  still got ten, and of course the absence of claret is also a good indicator of a safe outcome.

These cut outs help shape the back and front of the guitar.  The height of both sides is 11mms at the centre and then they slope off, at  rate of 1.83333mms per contour (those 6 shapes I cut).   Back to the mahogany: it will be shaped according  to the contours and measurements (refer to advanced calculations pictured,traditional approach of pen on paper but checked on mobile phone!) I did refer to the plan.

The shaped craft wood is screwed onto the mahogany, one piece at the time, starting with the smallest, to allow the real guitar shape to be gouged out.  The machine in the picture, being used by Strato, is a custom built thing of infinite use, but without a name. It helps me end up with the shape in the last pic (that's the base, phase two of six).  Four more levels on the base, the full six on the top and then: let the chiselling begin!!!

No reason to post this 'cept it's a great song, even if the band has a crappy name. Enjoy,  catch you next time.

MAKING SHAPES...

After a months leave I returned to the workshop in Toronto NSW on Friday July 26th. Todays plan includes shaping the wood into something resembling a guitar.  I have already cut the shape of the guitar from the plan and glued it onto some craft wood.  Now I use a pen, inside a washer, to go round the outside of the shape drawing it onto the mahogany. This allows room for error,shaping and whatever else may go awry in the future

Using this line as a guide I then cut both pieces of mahogany into a shape vaguely resembling a Gibson hollow body guitar.

Using the bandsaw on the thick mahogany is far more challenging and especially difficult in those areas the will attach the body of the guitar to the neck. Truth be told I nearly broke the saw 'cept for the interventions of Strato the luthier.  Next I pick what will be the top and back of the guitar. I select the sides of the pieces that basically are most pleasing to the eye, and show the least amount of flaws in the wood.  The two opposite sides are then planed to allow them to lie flat against each other.  Much of the inside of these will be gouged out to make way for electrics etc. (a bit away as yet).

Now we get back to the plans and trace over each of the contours on separate pieces of tracing paper. This is  good fun, I like to draw/trace. Each piece of paper will help develop a 3d shape to help refine the top of the guitar...but hey thats next week.

I was tempted(only very briefly, mind you) to include the 

1960's hit "Bend me Shape me" here.  Then I considered something by Harry Chapin (oops!)

 "Heart Shaped Box" anyone?

I really would have liked to patch a video of "The Shape of Jazz to Come"

 (Ornette Coleman) but lets face who's gonna sit thru

 a full album in these hectic times??? and it's modern jazz!

It had to be the following from the Last Waltz: Great movie, even better band, 

inventors of Americana, Listen, Enjoy.