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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 6:45 am
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Coming long beautifully Ceri.
I'm taking notes.......l 8)


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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 7:41 am
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The ugly duckling is starting to look like a Swan again :D . Very nice work so far.

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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:41 am
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[Later on Saturday] Hi guys: deeply delighted to report that in addition to what Shred6 was saying above, I've had several emails from people (including from a couple who aren't even signed up Forumites!!) worried that I'm going to try to bend my new top over that sharp edge between the front and forearm contour. Which would be a very bad idea. Thank you to those people. :D

Rest easy: I'm a man with a plan on that issue (famous last words...). It's on the list.

Anyway.

I've never tried this drop top thing before and it could all go wrong. So I'm just not quite prepared to risk a fabulous and expensive piece of Grade AAA wood on it. Therefore I ordered up several book-matched pieces of Grade A timber to make my choice. If it works out we can do it another time with more glamorous wood:
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The pair top right is spruce. Don't know if you'd call that marking "character" but I don't like it. The rest is sycamore. BTW: sycamore means two different trees either side of the Atlantic. This is acer pseudoplatanus, the European tree popularly known as "fiddle-back maple", because that is what it has been used for over the centuries. My supplier tells me this is English grown, which is hardly vital but which I quite like.

That pair top left has things I like about it, but I think I'm going for the bottom left pair for this project. Not classic and not what you'd call "highly figured" - though privately that is rather to my taste. We might call it uncoventionally interesting - to my eye anyway. A closer look:
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And if we turn them over and wet the top piece to bring out the grain a little:
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However, close to the middle is a little knot, and also the two halves don't seem to join up quite as well as they could across the center of the book-match:
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In that last photo I drew a pencil line where I think the lower piece should be planed off a little. If we lay the one over the other it looks like this:
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In any case they need planing absolutely straight to get a good join, so I have clipped and taped them together in such a way that when I run them across the planer the one piece gets more taken off it than the other:
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After planing I like the way they match better.

The next bit comes straight out of Melvyn Hiscock's book, Make Your Own Electric Guitar, if anyone knows that. Of course, the big boys have production methods for joining guitar tops: we homebuilders need simpler techniques:
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What Melvyn has us do is lay the two pieces to be joined on a board above a strip of beading, which angles them upwards slightly in the middle. We then carefully hammer in panel pins all the way around so that when we pull that strip of beading out it takes a little pressure to push the two pieces down flat - but not too much. Both the beading and the board beneath it are slathered with candle wax to prevent glue from sticking to them - we don't want to glue our guitar top to the board:
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When all is ready I glued up both edges of the pair, matched them up nicely, pulled out the strip of beading, pressed them flat and held them that way with my sophisticated pressing system:
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I want to leave that overnight: we'll see how it comes out tomorrow.

Cheers - C


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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 6:47 pm
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The mans a master. Very enjoyable thread, keep up the great work ceri.


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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 7:34 pm
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gratz wrote:
The mans a master. Very enjoyable thread, keep up the great work ceri.


Yo Gratz!! How about: Iron Luthier, Ceri! :idea: or Ceri can cook!! :wink:

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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 8:01 pm
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The farther you go with this project the higher my regard of your craftmanship goes.

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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 8:30 pm
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Ceri,

You remind me of the Marine Corps motto: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome!

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Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 9:12 pm
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manabu108 wrote:
Ceri,

You remind me of the Marine Corps motto: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome!


That flashing ad reminds me of why Joe Bonamassa went with Gibson. Didn't want to be another one in the same crowd. Seems he followed that motto above to a "T"

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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 3:09 am
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Doc,

I Wiki'ed Joe Bonamassa and read all that was there. Seems like an amazing talent. I just want to make sure because I'm not clear on the mood of your comment. Does the flashing banner bother you? :oops:

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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:23 am
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all i can say is "WOW"


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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:34 am
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manabu108 wrote:
Doc,

I Wiki'ed Joe Bonamassa and read all that was there. Seems like an amazing talent. I just want to make sure because I'm not clear on the mood of your comment. Does the flashing banner bother you? :oops:


Not at all :wink: I've recently finished watching his Albert Hall DVD and read with interest some of the commentaries on the Forum, particularly the references to why he went with Gibson. Finding my way to his website, I found the commentaries: a.)with respect to his issues w/Fender regarding the gold sparkle Strat and b.) his not wanting to be compared and contrasted with all these other guitar heroes with a Stratocaster. On seeing that banner, it all suddenly came together and made sense.

Actually, IMHO, the overall stage presence of he and his entire company are complemented by the instruments he is presently using. I commented to Ceri, privately, that I felt a PRS would work there as well (probably a single cut on second thought),and he, who personally attended the event, agreed.

The 'strat' body type, is a sportier concept and can often be out of place at times.

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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 9:58 am
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Incredible work, Ceri. You should sell tickets! :shock:

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Last edited by russianracehorse on Sun Dec 13, 2009 10:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 10:11 am
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russianracehorse wrote:
Incredible work, Ceri. You should sell tickets! :shock:


Wow, those are pricey! I feel like a cheat, because I've been watcing, but I didn't pay up!

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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 11:22 am
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orvilleowner wrote:
russianracehorse wrote:
Incredible work, Ceri. You should sell tickets! :shock:


Wow, those are pricey! I feel like a cheat, because I've been watcing, but I didn't pay up!


Listen!! You should be kibitzing already :idea: Maybe you could get a discount. :!: After all, you already know someone in the business. 8)

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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 11:24 am
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russianracehorse wrote:
You should sell tickets! :shock:
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:lol: :lol: :lol: Superb!!! I need a crying with laughter emoticon!

I had to look up "kibitzing". Now I know! :D

Anyway, cheap at the price - though I hate those service charges. Ticketbastard indeed!

Very cool... 8)

Episode due shortly.

Cheers - C


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