Posted on October 26, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Prepping Rough Planks for Solid Bodies Prepping Rough Planks for Solid Bodies by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, October 2021 There are plenty of places online where we can purchase prepped electric guitar body blanks. But who can refuse free wood when it is offered? Several rough planks of 2"×9"×12' poplar came to me out of the blue. They had been painted on two sides, but so what? They had spent years in a dry barn. I cut them down to 6' to fit them in my little pickup truck, hauled them home, and stored them in my mower shed for two more years. All photos by John Calkin I have been working on electric ukuleles, mandolins, and mini guitars, and that is where the poplar is destined to be used. The first step was to cut a plank into 15" lengths using a sled on the table saw. Though it looks like the plank will be run against the fence, there will be plenty of clearance after the cut is set up. Two pieces sat evenly on the saw deck so I proceeded to run them through the drum sander, first the humped side and then the cupped side. One edge was sanded flat (but not perfectly) on the 6"×48" belt sander in order to run it evenly against the table saw fence while the other side was trimmed clean and perpendicular to the faces. In this photo, the second edge is about to be trimmed. That's as far as I will take them for now. They are shy of the 1 3/4" thickness used for most Fender electrics but plenty thick enough for smaller solidbodies. When the time comes, the shorter length will be sliced up to widen the longer piece as necessary, making the bit still covered in red paint irrelevant. Once joined the blank may be thinned even more to accept a top of figured wood, but that lies in the future. The three blanks off the board that rocked too much on a flat surface would still rock after thickness sanding, so they will get a slightly different treatment later. ◆
Posted on September 22, 2021March 5, 2024 by Dale Phillips Shop-Made Bandsaw Dust Port Shop-Made Bandsaw Dust Port by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, September 2021 My old bandsaw was made before dust ports were added to every power machine, so I made one out of wood. It's a close copy of the heavy-gauge steel cover for the lower wheel but made out of light plywood. The dust port itself was purchased and screwed to the cover. A mahogany interface to accept the 3" vacuum hose was made to fit the port. The sides of the cover were kerfed to permit easy bending to match the original metal cover. I think the rest of the construction is self-explanatory. ◆ All photos by John Calkin
Posted on June 23, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Pre-bending Herringbone Purfling Pre-bending Herringbone Purfling by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, June 2021 Herringbone purfling s a lot easier to work with if it is prebent before it is glued onto the guitar. This is best done after wetting it first. I always use a brush to spread glue on guitars. I keep a coffee cup of water handy at all times, along with an acid brush with the bristles properly trimmed back to the stiffness I like. I dip the brush, then hold it stationary as the strip of purfling is pulled across the cup underneath it. Soak the purfling well on both sides. This should take only seconds. Then the strip is pulled through a dry cloth. Soaking it for too long will encourage it to come apart as it is bent. Give the purfling a minute to absorb the water, then tape the butt end into the channel it will be glued in later. Wrap it carefully around the lower bout using a couple pieces of masking tape to hold it tight. More tape, as well as care, will be necessary to make it conform to the waist area. The wrap around the upper bout should be as easy as the lower bout. In the photo, you can see how much tape was used as well as the small fan used to dry the purfling before gluing it in place. All photos by John Calkin Herringbone will wrap around a moderate Venetian cutaway but do it gently and by stages. To be safe, the purfling can be wet and then sliced lengthwise on one of the glue joints using a single-edge razor blade. On a tight Venetian cutaway, the purfling must be sliced. On this tight-waisted jumbo guitar, the purfling was sliced from the top end to below the waist area to help coax this half-herringbone purfling to conform to the shape of the guitar. Sliced purfling doesn't need to be prebent but you might wish to wet it as you reach that portion of the install. Slicing the purfling can go awry and destroy it. Buy extra. ◆
Posted on April 8, 2021March 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Hand Sander Dust Collection Hand Sander Dust Collection by John Calkin Published online by Guild of American Luthiers, April 2021 Shop dust is a pervasive enemy that can cause damage to the lungs and sinuses. One of the silliest inventions ever is the dust collection bag that is hung on many hand sanders in an attempt to convince woodworkers that the manufacturers care about our health. They don't work, they might even blow off of the machine causing a dust cloud of their own, and the irregular port sizes make it difficult to improvise a vacuum hookup. I broke down and bought a new DeWalt DWE6421 sander along with the DWV9000 hose-to-sander adaptor and a 20' length of 2" hose, all for about $110 from Amazon. The long hose is to keep me as far away from the noisy shop vac as possible, though I still wear earmuffs while working. The rig works very well, much better than even the powerful down-draft table I used at Huss & Dalton Guitars. It's not perfect, though, and a particle mask should still be worn for safety. All photos by John Calkin Remember that the filter in the shop vac will clog up and need cleaning long before the collection tub is full. As the photo illustrates, it is way too easy to put off cleaning it for too long. I intend to be more diligent. ◆
Posted on June 26, 2019March 7, 2024 by Dale Phillips Nine Electric Guitar Construction References Reviewed Nine Electric Guitar Construction References Reviewed by John Calkin previously published in American Lutherie #63, 2000 Electric guitars are interesting creatures. The noises they are capable of producing are so far removed from an acoustic guitar that a listener could convince him/herself that either something magical has happened to the instrument or something has gone dreadfully wrong in the world. Creating electric guitars often conjures up a frustrating paradox. The guitar body begins life as nothing more than a chunk of wood and ends up as little more than a chunk of wood, but assembling and shaping that chunk can present a challenge out of all proportion to what you end up with. Power planers and jointers are expensive. On the other hand, accomplishing the job with hand tools requires a serious investment in time needed to learn to sharpen, set up, and master the tools. Farming out the heavy work is possible, but often seems to dilute the lutherie experience (a belief, strangely enough, found most often in rank beginners who have neither money nor talent, and are often cursed with a stunted sense of the practical). To me the obvious answer was plywood, which makes a much better guitar than anyone would have you believe. The shape, cavities, and channels can all be established with routers and such before the body is glued up to thickness. It’s chief drawback is that it’s hard to finish nicely, but it will get you into guitar making with the least amount of outside help and expense. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
