Search found 25 matches

by Mark McLean
Mon Aug 05, 2024 7:58 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: What is Double Binding?
Replies: 9
Views: 5553

Re: What is Double Binding?

Fair comments - I should not have used the word bogus. Sloppy description. What I meant is that it does not seem to be a term that has widespread recognition, or consensus with regard to its meaning.
by Mark McLean
Sun Aug 04, 2024 7:35 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: What is Double Binding?
Replies: 9
Views: 5553

Re: What is Double Binding?

Mike Conner wrote: Mon Jul 29, 2024 7:05 pm Seems like I should know this, but I'm not sure precisely what double binding is. .
No, I don't think you should know this. I have not heard this term, and if Professor Carruth doesn't know it either then I think we have established that it is bogus terminology.
by Mark McLean
Sun Aug 06, 2023 7:51 am
Forum: Archtop Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Archtop with an arm bevel
Replies: 11
Views: 19364

Re: Archtop with an arm bevel

Hi Fred I know it was a few months ago that you were posting about this - so maybe you have settled on a method and done it already. I made an acoustic with a bent-top arm bevel following the method of Mike Doolin, as he outlined here: http://www.doolinguitars.com/articles/armbevel/ I found that I d...
by Mark McLean
Wed Jun 21, 2023 8:47 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Another Side Port Done
Replies: 10
Views: 19151

Re: Another Side Port Done

Looks very good. I am sure the final effect with matching bindings and purfling and then under finish will be very classy!
by Mark McLean
Sat Mar 25, 2023 8:46 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Replace old ply back with solid wood?
Replies: 66
Views: 33719

Re: Replace old ply back with solid wood?

Ladder braced guitars can sound great, with a tendency for more fundamentals and less complex overtones. A bit more of a bark. The best ladder braced guitars tend to be small bodied. It is not as strong as X-bracing, especially along the grain. To effectively brace a large soundboard like your jumbo...
by Mark McLean
Wed Feb 22, 2023 5:58 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Improving Intonation on Guitar No. 2
Replies: 7
Views: 3226

Re: Improving Intonation on Guitar No. 2

Yep, having the wider saddle gives you options. But if you are going to optimize the result you want to determine the actual point, for each string separately, where the break point needs to be. In your other thread about bridge placement people offered advice about how to determine this. One way is...
by Mark McLean
Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:56 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Improving Intonation on Guitar No. 2
Replies: 7
Views: 3226

Re: Improving Intonation on Guitar No. 2

Hi Eric That guitar looks really fine in the shot next to the Gibson. The top colour is especially nice. The wide saddle gives you lots of real estate to dial in the intonation. One comment - I think you could shape the back side of the saddle more, to slope it down towards the pin holes. Perhaps th...
by Mark McLean
Tue Jan 17, 2023 7:38 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: How to fix misplaced bridge?
Replies: 15
Views: 20895

Re: How to fix misplaced bridge?

Yes, I would agree with Bob that at this stage it you might as well just string it up and see how much of a problem you actually have - before you try to decide on the remedy. If it needs a remedy you could try to add some compensation at the nut. That could make you look very clever and prove that ...
by Mark McLean
Mon Jul 25, 2022 3:38 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Spacers on the back of a guitar?
Replies: 9
Views: 11915

Re: Spacers on the back of a guitar?

You could adapt the concept of the “Guitarlift”, which is a Perspex plate that attaches by suction cups. It is primarily designed to be a rest for classical guitars that sits on your leg and holds the guitar in an elevated “classical” position. However, it also has the effect of holding it away from...
by Mark McLean
Thu Jul 21, 2022 12:17 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Bending some Mahogany questions
Replies: 17
Views: 8437

Re: Bending some Mahogany questions

I think that SuperSoft or similar products do help - and sometimes you want to employ all the help you can get. There is no disadvantage to using it that I have experienced or heard about. If you find that you need to go to less than 2mm to get that wood to bend one option could be to do laminated s...
by Mark McLean
Fri Apr 15, 2022 2:28 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Replace X- braces without removing top?
Replies: 28
Views: 10935

Re: Replace X- braces without removing top?

Yes - like Al Says you can do the bridge rotation test, or the top deflection test (both in the Gore/Gilet books, or we could describe it to you if you don't have the books). Both are tests of the structural performance of the braced top. It would be worth doing these to provide some objective evide...
by Mark McLean
Mon Mar 07, 2022 6:41 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Fretboard Gluing Question
Replies: 8
Views: 6621

Re: Fretboard Gluing Question

Yep - switch glues. It is Titebond original for me, but many folks have success with epoxy and I have never tried it, so I can't argue with that choice. I just like to use something that I can later undo because, you know what, I stuff up some times. Another important question is how you are clampin...
by Mark McLean
Sat Aug 14, 2021 10:18 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Metal resonator "Body only" or damaged for parts instrument for sale
Replies: 7
Views: 10458

Re: Metal resonator "Body only" or damaged for parts instrument for sale

You can certainly make your own from recycled metal, but you would need to be fairly well set up for metalwork, welding etc. Don Morrison is a guy in South Australia who makes great looking (and sounding) resonators out of old water tanks and roofing material. Great mojo. http://www.donmo.com/Guitar...
by Mark McLean
Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:46 am
Forum: String Instrument Repair: Practical and Political Issues
Topic: Separated finish
Replies: 8
Views: 9373

Re: Separated finish

If it is not through the full thickness of the finish - and given that it is such a small area - you would probably get away with just sanding and buffing it out. Watch this video by Dan Erlewine to learn the strip sanding technique (at the end of the video). https://www.stewmac.com/video-and-ideas/...
by Mark McLean
Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:56 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Rookie Bending Questions
Replies: 12
Views: 16293

Re: Rookie Bending Questions

You have done well. You are good to go. Slight waviness or other irregularities will sand out. And anyway, nobody else will see the imperfections that you imagine are there. Bending by hand on an iron is a great way to work. You don't need anything else, unless you are a factory trying to crank out ...
by Mark McLean
Sat Feb 13, 2021 11:13 pm
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Formica guit AR-7
Replies: 21
Views: 20147

Re: Formica guit AR-7

I recently rebuilt an old HPL guitar to try out a few design ideas. It originally had a HPL top but it distorted under string pressure (badly - it was a 12-string) and the bridge came unglued, twice. I retopped it with redwood, and I painted the HPL back and sides a matt black (kind of Ovation-like)...
by Mark McLean
Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:41 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Acoustic/electric dreadnaught, adjustable neck
Replies: 25
Views: 38178

Re: Acoustic/electric dreadnaught, adjustable neck

Hi Peter, thanks for showing off your latest creation. I must say that there is a noticeable increase in refinement of your builds over these four. Things like the headstock binding that matches the body purfling and rosette, the cutaway, the finer truss-rod opening. Very nice work. I am sorry that ...
by Mark McLean
Mon Jan 25, 2021 5:51 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Almost consistently bad glue joints...
Replies: 34
Views: 74083

Re: Almost consistently bad glue joints...

Everything that people have said about joint preparation and clamping is important. Titebond is generally a good glue for luthiery but one thing you need to know is that Titebond and all similar glues have a limited lifespan. 1-2 years is the maximum recommended time, then it definitely deteriorates...
by Mark McLean
Sun Jan 24, 2021 2:35 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: Acoustic/electric dreadnaught, adjustable neck
Replies: 25
Views: 38178

Re: Acoustic/electric dreadnaught, adjustable neck

Dear Peter and other contributors. Thanks so much for sharing your designs and experiences with the adjustable neck joint - and the other innovations you have adopted in these builds. I have also recently been building with flying buttress CF rods, zero fret and various forms of bolt-on and bolt-dow...
by Mark McLean
Mon May 22, 2017 4:01 am
Forum: Flat-Top Acoustic Guitars and Bass Guitars
Topic: I know what I am doing, and my time is too valuable...
Replies: 13
Views: 16005

Re: I know what I am doing, and my time is too valuable...

As a wise man once said - "To err is human, but to really foul things up you need power tools"

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