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9:06AM
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I recently tried my hand - with mixed results. I decided to make my beginner mistakes on a learning guitar, so I built it out of wood I had laying around. Generally, I think it was a good decision. Mistakes (and you'll make them) were cheap to fix, and the skills acquired are what you'll need. For instance, by soundboard was made if 8 strips of wood. I got a lot of experience joining thin pieces, and surfacing them. Learned a lot. Used a propane torch and a piece of exhaust pipe to bend the sides. Ended up making 3 or 4, but learned how to do it. Learned some pitfalls about joining the neck. It was a good experience, and has given me a lot of confidence. Also learned a lot about hand tools, especially sharpening them. Total cost - about $5 for some bolts for the Compiano neck joint.
Lesson - priceless.
I would recommend the Compiano book. You might also take a look at the forum that has a $ 100 guitar building contest (google it). Some great work, and great ideas. Finally, I would start with a simpler guitar. In fact, my next one will be a classical/flamenco. First of all, I need one. Secondly, it's a lot easier.
Good luck - and keep a good supply of bandaids!
Greg
You wrote: "As guitars go, a selmer isn't really all that complicated. The cutaway is tricky"
I have bent an archtop cutaway out of flamed maple by hand over a hot pipe and that is tough to do without cracking at the grain 'run-out'.
I'm afraid to try that on a selmac since the bend is much tighter. Here is a vid of Shelly Park using a machine and I think she typically uses solid wood so this is what I am going to try.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAlwzwAjpW0
PS- I think the pliage or bombe (as you describe it) would certainly be superior both structurally and WRT tone since it would support a tall bridge (i.e. large string angle/down force) without caving in better than a plain spherical dome (more like the shape of a carved arch top) but I have not tried to make a pliage or formed Bombe. I may have to bite the bullet and give that a try. Do you pretty much follow Collins method for that? What is the angle or dimension of the pliage that you are shooting for? Is the top also 'domed' in the lateral direction by pulling it down to the braces/sides?
anyway, thanks very much for the kind input.
Miguel
I've only done a selmer cutaway with solid wood once and it was a challenge, but I practiced on scrapes until I got confident and it went fine. I used a hot pipe just a little smaller than the radius. I thinned the bend areas down a little first, then I soaked the part of the side where the two sharp bends are in hot water for about ten minutes and then slapped that section down on the top of the wood stove in my shop, ~ 500 degrees, long enough for steam to rise through the wood, then onto the hot pipe for bending. The rest I did in the traditional light spritz and hot pipe method. It took me two weeks and a bunch of broken scraps to work up to it and 5 minutes to do the actual side. Frankly, I've had a lot more trouble with purflings and bindings in this area than I did with the side itself, but that is another story.
Side bending over heated pipe techniques in general are well discussed in Cumpiano's book. BTW, I used a cutoff section of aluminum sailboat mast, heated with a propane torch, for the more gentle bends.
Regards using a heated bending jig, there are a variety of options that certainly work, but it is a fairly elaborate jig to build and gets expensive if you get into those silicon heater blankets. I'd build laminating jigs before I'd go there (well, that IS what I did). If you are committed to building solid, I'd stick with the hot pipe method.
Regards methods of bending the pliage, I still like the method I describe in this post:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6010&
Pliage angle and thoughts on the Collins methods are discussed. There are lots of other good ideas and links posted by others there as well. Regards the method I describe, the only changes are 1) I don't bother with the hair dryer any more, just leave it in the jig overnight to set and 2) I don't crank down all the way on the outboard side. This "tapers" the pliage so it is most pronounced along the center line of the glued up top and no visible fold line for the last inch or two toward the edges. Minor point, but I think this gives the top a more rounded appearance that is aesthetically more pleasing.
Try to keep the water you use to a minimum and concentrated in the pliage area so as to not warp the top elsewhere. Whatever you use to heat the area needs to be really hot so as to make steam right now and get the job done quickly. The longer you take, the more water the top absorbs which is a bad thing. I use an old spray bottle with water in it to spritz the under side only. This summer, I used my wife's aquatint etching plate heater with a 12' x 16" x 1/2" aluminum plate with a heater box underneath, gets up to 500 degrees. Perfect! This kind of heat will scorch the wood, so I heat only the bottom side, i.e. the in-side, so scorches and water stains do not show. I hold the pliage area of the top down firmly to the plate until I can feel the heat and steam rising through the wood (use gloves), about 10 seconds and then quickly transfer to the clamps which I have all set up.
BTW, If anyone opens new threads of selmac guitar building, consider using the BYO (Build Your Own) preface to the Topic, so we can more easily search for them later. If you do a forum search on "BYO", you will see what I mean.
Craig
Great info there. I've switched to that thread.
I renamed this thread BYO for future reference.
thanks