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you can never have too many clamps for a First Build.

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cardiffborn
(@jonathan-auckland)
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Those are great clamps.... and I really wish I had seen those when looking for alternatives to the really expensive ones from Stewmac et al.

I did a lot of reading about what other people were using and there were Super Clothes Pegs that would survive an Alaskan whirlwind all the  way to 'inexpensive' clamps from Amazon. 

In the end I got these from The Range and I think they were made for 'once use only".... they've got a reasonable grip but are really fragile. Yours look like they are meant for business.  Were they hard to make?


   
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cardiffborn
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I think that this was the stage when I thought that I might actually be getting somewhere. All those bits of wood were beginning to take shape. Though I still felt that playing it was far off in in distant future

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Ok that was a good day. Now all those hours of pain come to fruition when the sides go into place. It's sort of solid (in an acoustic way) and is definitely taking shape. That was a two-coffee day.

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The next stage was definitely going to be 'interesting'

 


   
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cardiffborn
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Maybe I should have cleared some space for myself to be able to move around.

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cardiffborn
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This is when I felt it was getting serious

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It's now beginnig to take shape.

The next stage involved sourcing some rubber strips. I didn't realise that Mark used old tyres and was disappointed that Screwfix ignored my request for some rubber binding.

In the end, after falling into a few industrial waste bins outside various tyre places, I twigged that inner tubes were a bit old hat..... I got one in the end and duly cut it and washed it.

My laundry was when the family felt that it was getting serious. I mean to say, you can't have dirty dubber strips when binding the body.  

IDAM9859

I still have some strips left over and I'm sure they will be useful one day.

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cardiffborn
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I get a feeling that Mark managed to cut his tyre in one continuous strip. I may be wrong, but that's the sort of wizardry of which he is capable. I used bostik and that seemed to work ok.

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I'm begining to use my 'serious' clamps now. There's also some 'Christmas' clamps and some 'Christmas' masking tape to prevent another glue deluge. I think my Titebond viscosity it to be questioned. You can never have too much masking tape either,

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cardiffborn
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The fretboard needs to be secure, so the big clamps get used. On one hand I have made clamps out of wood in order to protect the body, and then I use these beasts to glue the fretboard, They worked a treat.

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cardiffborn
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At this point I am feeling quite pleased and sense that it's not going to be long now.

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cardiffborn
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Fretboard?

Ive bought the fretboard already cut, so I really don't have to do that for myself. However, I failed to realise that I had to sand, shape and contour it..... by hand.

OK so I have acquired various rulers of varyious lengths and varying accuracy, but I knew that I had a nice piece of anodised aluminium somewhere. Bought in 1972 for a project and never used.

Well, it was going to useful one day, and I now needed something with which to  sand the fretbaord. I eventually found it in hthe place where I had left it. (seems obvious )

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Then a dose of two different thickness masking tapes to protect the body and I was ready for the fretboard.

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An old pillowcase and some styrene beads seemed to work for the neck-rest. Now it's getting tense. It takes a while to get it right , even though at this stage I am still in the dark as to whether I'm on the right track.

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cardiffborn
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I can't remember how long it took, but is was definitely longer than Mark. Now I had to make the bridge. 

Here I am becoming somewhat obsessive about getting it right. I have a few nice guitars and they all have the right notes in the right order with no acknowledgement to Javanese quarter-tones or British Standard Nearly Equally Justified.

Making sure I had the angle for intonation involved a bit of over measuring and a couple of dry runs. Eventually, I was happy and progressed on to shaping.

I followed Marks instructions and used the bandsaw and then started work by hand and came to understand the hardness of Ebony. A mug of tea later and I was up for making a 'special' to help.

Inexpensive Lidl's drill, four circles of wood, a piece of drainpipe and some sandpaper.

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It actually worked.

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I couldn't have built it without the help of the clamping community. They're like friends now.

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cardiffborn
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The location of the bridge took some time to achieve. I kept measuring, twice, then measuring again, then looked on the Internet, measured again, had copious mugs of tea, measured again, thought about it, checked my ruler, measured again, read about just and equal tempered scales and why you shouldn't tune your guitar by using harmonics, then measured again.......... into the night.

Finally, seeing as it's my first guitar and I'm bound to make mistakes, I bite the bullet and drill the holes.

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I have many drill-bits and some drill-bits are sharper than others. Some drill bits have pointy points that can cut skin and cause bleeding, on to clean wood. Thankfully, I had some cork left over.

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Oh yes, and another type of clamp and no sign of blood.

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darrenking
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As someone equally consumed with establishing the perfect bridge position this resource is fantastic https://www.liutaiomottola.com/formulae/compensation.htm

Work backwards from the actual strings/tension you intend to use and then you can establish a bridge position that is accurate enough for any further adjustments to be achievable in the filing of the saddle. You may need to get your digital callipers on the strings to measure the core diameters of the wound strings but it is really worth the trouble. The results are spot on.


   
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cardiffborn
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yes I do seem to recall a Forum discussion over this one.....

If I really push down on the bottom E I can get an extra quarter-tone (12th fret) so  I don't push down there! One forgets that one uses this when playing sometimes and I should be aware of it.

I didn't take much off the frets in the end and felt quite pleased that it was reasonable straight. However, the frets are pretty much full-height and that really makes a difference. I might consider taking them down a tad.

Also, I got worried about the edge where the string takes off from the saddle and how to be really accurate about this. Anyone reading this might think that I have good eyesight and good hearing. Far from it. I have various magnifying instruments and lots of tuners, but I do love guitars.

The URL has been duly bookmarked..... many thanks for that. I get a feeling that it's going to be a two coffee read.

 


   
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cardiffborn
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I seem to be here now

http://www.setitupbetter.com

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/repair/acoustic-guitar/intonation-correction.php

This is something for the next build. 

 


   
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mark bailey
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Hey folks ! I think it is very easy to get hung up on this - Everyone who has built a guitar using my methods has reported 'almost perfect' intonation - that is good enough for a first build...you can spend a lifetime trying to get it 'perfect' but guess what?

There is no such thing as perfect.

When it comes down to it how hard you press (playing style) can have much more of an impact.

Having said all that - thanks for posting those links! ? Fantastic for those who want to 'go deep' on the theory!

I still prefer to use the same simple tried and tested method we use here in the workshop - as described on my courses. You can make fine adjustments until the intonation is 'perfect' for you (but it may not be the same for another player).

 

Measure twice, cut once...


   
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cardiffborn
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No fears Mark, I'm with you all the way.

It's my first guitar and I'm amazed that I managed to build something that actually plays. The "wanting to go into depth' comes from my love of learning and a desire to understand what's actually going on here. 

I am reminded of the rehearsal, after I had been playing for a little while, when my mate moved E up a tone and it became F, which became G after a move of two frets. Up until that point I had believed all chords existed in isolation (as shown on the pages of the cheap  chord book) and had no idea that there were relationships to consider. I went home that night and it all became much easier.

The guitar build sounds great, though I suppose I do secretly compare it with my more expensive guitars. As my wife always says "why, if there are two routes to chose from, do you always opt for the difficult one?" Answers on a fiver to my home address please.


   
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mark bailey
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@jonathan-auckland

Yeah..I don't mean to be a PITA...just can't help myself ? 

Truthfully - I want folks to understand it is not as difficult as they might imagine...I really believe anyone can do it...

It is not a good idea to over complicate things - at least for a beginner...

But like most things ... the deeper down the rabbit hole you go...the scarier it gets...

Measure twice, cut once...


   
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Bill Flude
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@markbailey

I can only echo that both of my guitars were very close to perfect intonation once action was set - and both play really well!

Measure once........
Measure again.........
Sod it - make tea!


   
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darrenking
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How about "I've only ever been wrong once.......and that was when I'd thought that I was wrong, but I wasn't!"


   
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