Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey All!
Long time, no post.

So I went and got some knee surgery done this AM. Some torn meniscus, a little arthroscopy and some very effective narcotics. Maybe it's the drugs talking but I had a thought sitting here in la-la land mulling over people's pore filling woes:

It seems like it would be easier to pore fill and otherwise prep plates prior to assembly. Since they're still flat I would think application, level sanding and determination would be much easier. I realize there's final sanding after assembly and prior to spraying but it seems, in my chemically-induced euphoria, that the pore filling at least would be a lot easier.

Is this old news? ATaylor39042.7680324074

Alan I do my filling exactily like that... not before assembly, but in a
chemically-induced euphoria.
Really though filling is, and always has been the most frustating phase of
building for me! I've tried lot's of methods, but no matter what, it always
seems to take too long and not be perfect when I finaly give up. Any
ideas would be helpful for me. Thanks Alan I hope the knee heals and
the meds. last!

long

_________________
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

I only fill the back, sides and neck(somtimes neck should say) I would think if doing it prior with whatever you fill with, prior to assembly and ready for finish, your going to be doing it several times. There is alot of cutting and sanding to be done up to that point. That is why normaly that is part part of the finish process. I'm not saying most do it as part of finish process, because I don't know that for sure, just not something I have not heard of or seen done. I may be all wrong here though. stan thomison39042.8168171296

Good points Stan.

- If you pore fill prior to assembly, will you just eventually sand away all the filling work?

- If you pore fill prior to bending, will the proper fill medium bend with the wood?

With my NEW (to me) drum sander, I can easily see how I could get a perfectly level fill on back and sides prior to bending & assembly. I think I'll try it on some scrap sides to see what happens during the bend process.