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Top Braces Done, Sides Bent (pics)
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Author:  WaddyThomson [ Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:13 pm ]
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I finished gluing the braces to my top, and got them shaped to the point that they are ready for assembly.
 

 

 
Then, today, I prepared my sides for bending and did the deed.  It was slow, but they came out pretty close.  It took a lot of tweaking to get them to fit the form.

First, I used my template, and marked a rough taper for the bottom edge of the sides. Then I transferred it to the sides, and cut them down to size.
 



Heating up the Bending Iron, and the form is ready for fit testing.
 

First side bent, and sitting in the outside mold after bending - inside mold ready for the next side.


Bending the second side.
 

Second side bent and sitting on the inside mold.  Then trial fit to the top, in the Solera.
 

It fits fairly well, but I'll do some tweaking to get rid of some of the little gaps.
 

Clamped sides to the holding blocks.  Will leave over night, and work on them tomorrow for a tight fit.  Maybe cut them to fit the neck, and get a good butt joint at the tail block.
 

Thanks for looking.  More to come.
Author:  CraigSz [ Sat Jan 19, 2008 9:28 pm ]
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Hey Waddy Looks like you are well set up with your jigs and tools . Should be a mighty fine instrument. What are the timbers you are using . It that an Adi top ?


Regards


Craig.
Author:  bob_connor [ Sat Jan 19, 2008 10:03 pm ]
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Hey - looking good Waddy.

Very neat workmanship. Very Hesheltine in quality.

(your workshop doesn't look like his though - looks more like mine )

Bob
Author:  Hesh [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:18 am ]
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How come you aint got no X-brase?

Beautiful work Waddy!!!
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:22 am ]
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Nice Job Waddy, is that Zebra?

Top looks very white, German, European, or Englemann?
Author:  Marc [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:25 am ]
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Waddy,

Braced top looks great, very neat work. Nice match on the side bending, you're good with that pipe.

You're at a fun part of the build--neck attached to the top, the sides on, back on, from there you're working on a guitar instead of its pieces.
Author:  Marc [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:28 am ]
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Waddy,
Is that an adjustable neck-set in your solera?
Author:  Alexandru Marian [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 12:51 am ]
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Why don't you attach the side mold to the solera if you have it?  I use separate posts too, but just because I was too lazy to make a mold.

And don't sweat over a perfect butt joint. I'd leave it a bit open so there is no stress when adding the endblock. You are going to cover all up with the end graft/stripe.

Author:  Jim Kirby [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:04 am ]
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Waddy - I'm curious about how the Zebra is to bend. I know you haven't done a lot - which practice woods have you done to compare too?

The build looks great!

Author:  WaddyThomson [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:18 am ]
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Thanks, everyone, for your comments.

Craig and Bruce, Zebrawood and German Spruce per the recommendations of OLF members.  Not the Zebrawood, but the German.

Bob, Thanks for the comment.  My shop will never look like Hesh's.  I don't have any white carpet.

Marc, I'm going to have to spend a little time on the pipe again today to tweak the mismatched areas.  It's not bad, but there are some gaps.  I would like for it to be a pretty tight fit.  I think I was lucky.  I did a little video of the bending of the first side.  It is 24 minutes long, boring, because I didn't talk much, and I only got about half way through in that time.  Lots of fitting as I went along.  I was going to post it on Luthiertube, but havn't figured out how to get it reduced from it's present 2 Gig size.  Stilll learning, although I find myself liking the bending process on the pipe.

The neck set is not adjustable, but that is a really good idea.  I don't know why you couldn't make it so. You'd just have to make sure the pivot point was in the right place.  I guess it is a little adjustable, because it started with a 4mm drop, and I shimmed it to a 2mm drop. Yes, Marc, it is an adjustable neck set!

Alex, I only have one outside mold, and it is a little tight, on purpose.  I also like being able to get to everything, and I likie the adjustability of the blocks.  Mostly, I like the access of the open areas.   I have read the Bogdanovich book, though, and thought about it.

Today, I'll be tweaking the sides to a better fit, and maybe installing the neck, and, maybe, gluing the sides to the top with Dentillones/Tentellones.
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:29 am ]
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Jim, my only other bending has been a small piece of Mahogany that I thinned down to just under 2mm, and a piece of Poplar.  The Zebrawood was more like the Poplar than the Mahogany.  I think, though it worked, that I should have been bending on a hotter pipe - 350* + - because when I got it hot, it released better, but I was a scaredy-cat, and when it got above 350, I turned it off, and forgot, until it was down to 300 again, then I finished the bending in the 325 range, because it is so slow to heat up.  I might need a more responsive heat source, though it holds the heat well.  It was still at 300 after being off for over 30 minutes.

The only think I did notice, and I don't know if this is common, was that certain sections of the wood seemed more resisitent to bending than other sections.  This made it difficult to keep the bend square.  That was my hardest battle.  Bending was fairly easy, keeping it square was a bear, and I had to keep un-bending places along one edge to square it up.
Author:  Colin S [ Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:39 am ]
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Waddy, nice going, is that your first bend on a pipe? If so you're a natural.

I can recommend an ouside mould that can be attached to the solera, it keeps everything in line and in place when gluing on tops and backs etc, especially if you are using go-bars. Although of course your blocks will serve the same purpose.

Colin
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