MIMF

I prefer to make my own jigs/tools using the newest technology. So I put this together a few years ago with Fred Tellier's help over on the OLF. The temperature controller is from eBay for about $30. It uses a K-type thermocouple that you insert into the sandwich. Set the temperature you want and j...

Mix and match going on when I was putting boxes together.

Here is one of the Fishbox guitars. The hirargana characters say 'kusuri' or drugs, it's the sign characters used to say drugstore. The kanji on the fish crates says Japan Fisherman's Association and 'Sanma' a type of fish known in English as 'Pacific Saury'. They are tuned to G D G tuning and play ...

Early Summer I made a few cigar box guitars using local fish packing crates that I cut down and reassembled into cigar box scale boxes. I'll post photos. As a result someone asked me to make a real electric cigar box guitar and brought me a box of Dominicans. Without the cigars, which I don't like. ...

Thanks for the feedback, I'm busy moving my shop to a new location 700 meters away...and my wife is riding my ass about cleaning the old shop and getting the deposit back, so I have to deep clean the old one today... When I finish with all this moving stuff I'll put this together, I'll need some help.

Hey Bob, yeah Japan. The Southwest Coast uses 100 volts, the North and East uses 110. It goes back to the days of the first power companies serving different areas and the southerners have historically been an independent lot. Kyushu is 100. So I guess that means the brand name fancy controller is o...

Planes have been invented! Hand planes!

J/k

I'm mulling over the worth or getting the LMI temperature controller vs. putting together something, or using something from another industry. I live in an area were the power is 100 volts. I'm buying a new silicon blanket too, curious if the Keenovo blankets are any good? Anyone have feedback on th...

I have used Cherry for bridges on flamenco and classical guitars. It's possible to make a bridge 14 grams...but hitting 16 or 17 is easy. And 20 -22 is big fat bridge. Although I'm not totally sold on lighter bridge equals better guitar. Maple works well if it's not super light, a good tightly flame...

This is encouraging. I really don't have time to make steel string forms right at the moment, good to know making SS with the classical pattern is still ok. The only real challenge is to come up with a neck attachment system that I can deal with. I'm curious light Hinoki top wood do, and also god to...

When I was very young, I was given a book on building balsa, solid wing, hand thrown gliders used in competition. The wings in these gliders are carved and sanded as a single plank and the cut into four sections that are mitered and glued to form the dihedral (perhaps it's called quad-hedral or mul...

I'm curious to hear opinions and experience on the topic of Titebond being used as the repairers main working glue. I am a hide glue person and I use maybe 80% hide glue and 10% Titebond or some white glue in the shop or while building guiars. I do not use Titebond very much at all as a repair glue....

bendi2.jpg.jpg bedi[ig.jpg.jpg Here is the cutaway form I use. We call it The Bendi-Pig TM* You can see the wedge shape that bends a compound curve from top to back. This is a good one to learn because customers eat it up. The sculptural effect is wonderful, but the access to the upper frets is goo...

Thanks for the encouragement, yes Clay still in Japan. Having a good time mostly, but am considering a change to build steel strings half the time. So I may be lurking to ask a lot of questions.

tuningn in fifths.jpg On the left, the smaLl bodied one, has a D-45 next to it to show the size. It is a small bodied guitar with fan bracing, an experiment I made for myself. The guitar is tuned in fifths and in the cello range. The strings are over wound d'Darrio and the tuning is CGDA exactly li...

A Madagascar rosewood cutaway, a super good guitar.
This one is a Bulgarian Tambura with a scooped out cherry back. Four courses tuned like D through 'e on regular steel string.

A coupe more of Maple cutaway.

Hey Stephen, I've built some guitars based on a plantilla very similar to the guitar in your third photo. My regular, daily players are both based on that shape. The SS is bubinga with Eng spruce, and the CG is CA walnut with Eng spruce. I also built a SS from CA walnut with Eng spruce for a friend...

I've inlet X braces into the upper transverse brace in the past. I would not leave those upper ends floating: too much of a chance of them peeling up, particularly if the top takes a knock. Noted for the next one. This top still has 10 mm of over hang from the outline, then 2mm of ribs and 7 or 8 m...

One for tomorrow, a Maple cutaway. Everyone love a cutaway, right?