Next came the pickup holes. I’m installing mini-humbuckers, which I envisage being mounted straight into the top. So again, I create an MDF template for the pickup hole and the mounting screws. The template has to be fairly big to straddle the width of the body and to clamp in place.
The router bit can’t get those sharp corners so they’ll have to be finessed by hand.
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
Next, the ƒ holes.
Traditionally, the little points in the middle of the ƒ hole line up with the bridge. In a perfect world, I’d also have the top of the ƒ hole aligned with the waist and the foot aligned with the widest point of the lower bout. Maybe next time...
Again, the ƒ hole was cut into an MDF template as well as drawn onto the top beforehand, just to confirm positioning.
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
Meanwhile, on the inside...
The internal bridge block is now glued into place.
The pickup routs and the pickup flange screw holes are a weak point in the top, so we need to add a couple of straps to re-inforce it.
We used the the original mould underneath and Go-bar Deck* on top to apply pressure evenly in several dimensions whilst the straps were glued in place.
*Until now, I had assumed that the Go-bar Deck was some kind of extension for Magic: The Gathering
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
Well, it’s been a while but the album is out, the website has been updated and I’ve entered the Scottish Album of the Year Award.
Where can we hear it James?
🎸🙂🎶🙏
🗝️ "Life's what you make it"🗝️
Well, it’s been a while but the album is out, the website has been updated and I’ve entered the Scottish Album of the Year Award.
Where can we hear it James?
😮
Has he “encouraged” you to post that @russ?
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
Where can we hear it James?
All the usual places, Russ. From Bandcamp to Youtube via Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, etc..
Embedded Bandcamp player and other links listed on this page: https://www.jamesbisset.com/music/james-bisset-volume-1
But don’t wear it out!
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
Another minor complication: Once the back is glued in place, there’s no way inside other than through the pickup routs or the ƒ holes. so my graceful mini-humbuckers mounted straight into the top don’t look feasible.
You’d need some sort of suction tool to grip and hold the pickup (magnets are probably a bad idea) while fixing in position. How do you get a spring or silicon rubber tube between the pickup lug and the top for controlled pickup height adjustment, never mind passing a bolt through all three in the first place?
It’s all potentially feasible (maybe) but so much simpler to rout ears for the lugs into the body, and then just screw a mounting plate in position. So that’s what I’m doing.
BTW, the lug cutouts on the body were sawn freehand with a Dremel. Which was exhilarating.
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
@jamesbisset Oh, Dremel and freehand are things that usually don't mix well when I am involved. 😀
Great progress, looking forward to see the finished guitar.
I might - occasionally and quite subtly (so you've probably missed the comments) - tease JimmyB about this build, but it's a beautiful thing in the flesh/wood, and the amount of thinking and planning that's gone into making it real is scary. One determined man!
I'm also currently listening to Fontaine Blue, with Elderberry Black next up, so I've doubled the number of Spotify plays this week, month and year and Mr B is now well on his way to multimillionaire recording artiste status.
Don't forget us Jim ...
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
Meanwhile, the frets can go in. I opted for an ebony fingerboard because archtops/jazz guitars always have ebony fingerboards. Obvs..
I also opted for stainless steel frets, but Mr Bailey really didn’t want me to do that. They’re three times harder to work and he doesn’t like the sound. So instead I chose his recommended alternative, EVOgold.
It might not be as hard as SS, but I still had to use both hands on the fret nipper to cut the stuff. And of course it kept twisting as I tried to cut across the crown.
I had to hammer quite hard too, to persuade the tangs into the ebony. Of course, Mark gave gentle encouraging taps and the frets smiled at him and slid coyly into position. I thumped one end and the opposite boinged back out. I’m beginning to realise that these delicate, artistic fingers are not made for the rough and tumble of luthiery. And yes, at one point I hit my finger with the hammer.
But the end result is gorgeous.
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
the amount of thinking and planning that's gone into making it real is scary. One determined man!
Oh yes. The Cunning Plan.
Another reason for building this guitar is the attempt to smuggle an electric guitar into all those Acoustic Bliss / Folk Night / Open Mic sessions. As we know, all acoustic guitars get plugged in - almost like they were really electric? So I need to be able to plug this one in and still sound kinda ’coustic, for when the host looks worried.
And this is sixty years after Bob Dylan got called traitor for strapping on a Strat!
But also, who wouldn't want their semi-hollowbody to sound a bit like Joe Pass in 1973 - half electric and half acoustic.
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
And that’s why I’ve got a K&K Big Twin to fit inside the guitar body.
https://www.kksound.com/big-twin
Two pickups - where should they go? I’ve run a few tests just to see.
I stood an electric guitar on top of the guitar body, approximately where the bridge will bolt into the bridge block, and strummed it. Whatever resonance is transmitted through the bridge, ash body and strap pin will carry on through the laminate and bridge block. It won’t sound great, but it will be consistent, and therefore comparable.
Jack of all trades and master of my own destiny. It’s only a small destiny.
And this is sixty years after Bob Dylan got called traitor for strapping on a Strat!
That must have been quite something to have seen @jamesbisset - quite jealous of you oldies sometimes.
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk