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Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:56 pm
by Ron Daves
Here's the front
Here's the front
Front of #2.JPG (14.59 KiB) Viewed 25451 times
Just finished my # 2 classical guitar. Well, I think it's a classical. It has a spanish foot but a steel string fretboard. It might be a parlor guitar. Had lots of problems, especially with the French Polishing. Finished the bugger twice. Had to strip it first time. Had a lot of trouble resulting from working in different humidities.

Soundboard is Sitka Spruce. Back and Sides are Rosewood. Neck is Curly Maple. Fretboard, bridge and peghead veneer are Ebony. Rosette is Bubinga and Abalone.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:00 pm
by Ron Daves
Made the Rosette out a small amount of Bubinga that I had. Had to make it in segments and use a form to glue it together.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:01 pm
by Ron Daves
Here's the back. Indian Rosewood.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:04 pm
by Ron Daves
The neck came from a dirty, bark covered hunk of wood that a guy gave me. Turned out to be curly maple. Didn't have enough for the neck, so laminated it with Ebony

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:08 pm
by Ron Daves
Tried a different way to reinforce the back.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:21 pm
by Ron Daves
Here's the jig I used for the Rosette. Had more fun with jigs and fixtures than building this box.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:24 pm
by Ron Daves
Because I finished this guitar in the desert with very low humidity, I had to build a garage for it. Kept sponges in the bottom and heat source underneath.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:30 pm
by Ron Daves
Here's my shop

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 8:38 pm
by Clay Schaeffer
Hi Ron,
Looks like it all came together for you! How does it sound?
That is an interesting looking jig you made for the rosette. How does it work?

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:59 pm
by Chuck Tweedy
What a great place to work!! Natural light - But I bet its been pretty cold out there recently.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:29 pm
by Tim Douglass
Nice work. I really like the neck and headstock. The outside workroom is a nice bonus of a dry climate - one that I miss since I moved to the rainy country.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 12:49 am
by Ron Daves
Clay S.

This guitar has a very nice sound. I like it better than my #1, which I've always liked.

Here's a picture of the rosette jig in action.
Rosette jig.JPG
Rosette jig.JPG (14.69 KiB) Viewed 25416 times

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 3:45 pm
by Ben Loutrelle
Nice shop! I built my second in a trailer about that size outside Joshua Tree.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2012 1:48 am
by Erik Hokanson
Ron,
That jig is super cool. Im looking at the pic of the back. Based on the lighting, I have a question: Does the back have a slight concave depression in the waist when viewed from the tail to the heel? This has plagued me in my own work. The concave board I use to press my braces is probably more extreme than most, so the sides need to be trimmed to accomodate this "bowl" before the kerfs are in place. The waist is always a little higher than the upper and lower bouts because it's closer to the center of the dome. Not an easy thing to work out. If this is what's up with the double reflection in the pic, I think I have a reasonably effective solution. If I'm wrong, and please tell me so., but why are there two reflections?
I would love to have a sop like that.
-Hoke

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 12:23 pm
by Patrick Hanna
Nice second effort, Ron. Keep 'em coming. Add me to the list of folks who like your rosette jig.

Re: Ron Daves' # 2 classical

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:42 pm
by Ron Daves
Erik Hokanson wrote:Ron,
That jig is super cool. Im looking at the pic of the back. Based on the lighting, I have a question: Does the back have a slight concave depression in the waist when viewed from the tail to the heel?
-Hoke
Erik: No, the back doesn't have a concave depression. When I took the picture, the guitar was sitting on the floor underneath two closely located florescent lights in my trailer.

When I made the braces for the back, I curved them according to the plans; carved out the curve in a piece of MDF; placed the back on this MDF and; used a go-bar box to hold the braces in place while the glue dried. I've attached a picture of the sled I used for carving the crosswise curve, also the go-bar box that I used to glue down the braces. I also attached the setup I used to establish the lengthwise curve in the back. While I had this curved back in place, I marked this curve on the sides and shaped them with a chisel. Following this shaping, I used a curved sanding stick (I think I used a 15' curve to shape it) that spanned the back from end-to-end. I completed the shaping of the sides by sanding with 80-grit sandpaper attached to this elongated sanding stick. I attached a picture of the sanding stick. It's a little worse for wear.