Day 9

I returned to the shop a week later to resume what I had started in my previous session- the neck.  My guitar's mahogany neck was successfully glued together, with its ebony accent strip running through the length of the middle- a nice contrast! 

Last week, Ned and I had marked some lines on the side of the neck, to indicate where the cut would be made, which would separate the headstock from the neck, to separate the pieces to make a scarf joint.  If you were to view the neck from the side, you would see two lines, about 3 or 4 inches apart, with a diagonal line  running from the top of one line, to the bottom of the other.  This was the indication mark for where to cut.  Before I began the cutting process, I ran both the top and bottom of the neck over the belt sander, to reduce the height of the ebony, making it flush with the mahogany- this also got rid of the now-dried glue squeeze-out.  

Using the pull-cut saw to remove the headstock from
the neck, in preparation for the formation of a scarf joint.

The headstock and neck, respectively- the pieces are now ready to be joined,
by way of a scarf joint.  That accent strip looks awfully sharp...

A scarf joint in the making- the headstock, glued and
clamped to the neck!  Why do they call it a scarf joint?
The answer evades me.

Next, I clamped my neck into a wooden benchside clamp, and Ned gave me a few pointers for the cutting process which I was to begin.  To make the cut, I would be using a Japanese-style pull cut paddle saw- I was fond of this tool, and Ned was, too, as he had a few different types of these.  As I begin the cut, there was much resistance, but upon getting the feel for the tool and its path through the wood, it became easier.  The initial cut was made, creating a trough for the blade to slide in and out of.  It goes without saying that I had to keep the blade completely straight, the whole time, so the cut would be as clean as possible.  The more the blade strayed from its intended course, the more sanding you'd have to do to correct the margin of error.  We had plenty of room to work with, margin-wise, but it's still best to aim high.  As I continued cutting at a steady pace, my arm began to tire- namely, my triceps.  I kept sawing, steadily, and felt the burn.  I stopped once or twice to move my arm around as Ned jokingly said things like, "Come on!  A strong guy like you shouldn't be having trouble with a light saw like that!"  I got a few good laughs, and continued sawing.  After much perseverance and concentration, the one piece became two.

Once the pieces were apart, I examined my work- the cut was impressively smooth, save for a tiny bit of roughness where I began the cut, and was becoming accustomed to the feel of the work the saw and I were doing.  To correct this
little bit of roughness, and to finish the surfaces of the cut, I brought the neck and headstock to the belt sander, and made them smooth.  I had to make sure even pressure was distributed on the sander, and compensate for any discrepancies which the belt or sanding machine may've possessed, which included keeping the surface being sanded moving on the belt, at all times, to avoid the formation of troughs or ridges.  After a few times each, of sanding and checking, I was left with two smooth surfaces, with a straight line across the neck, where each angle formed by the cut began.  The pieces were now ready to be joined.

As per Ned's instruction, I put the pieces together, dry, and made markings on each side of the headstock and neck, for alignment purposes.  Margins of error would be included in the placement, to account for any sliding/skating that would occur during the clamping (pressure + glue = slippery surfaces that want to move around), and also for the flushing of the convergent surfaces.  After the lines were made, I applied glue to the appropriate surface of the headstock, and placed it onto the neck, moving it around a bit, to spread the glue.  I lifted it back up, to make sure the glue was covering all points, and found that there was one spot that wasn't getting glue.  The reason for this was a height discrepancy, which meant that there was a spot that was an inch or two wide that was lower than the rest of the wood.  Ned quickly grabbed the piece, wiped the glue off, and did a very quick run on the belt sander- time was of the essence, as we had wet glue on our hands (not literally, haha).  I applied more glue to the surface, to make sure that the existing coat didn't start to dry, and Ned promptly returned with the second piece of wood.  We put them together again, and checked, once more- the glue was now evenly distributed.  I aligned the lines that I had made, and we began applying the clamps.  I believe we used something like six clamps to get the job done.

After the clamping was done, Ned presented me with a chunk of mahogany, which would be used for my heel block.  I ran one side of it over the belt sander, to make it flush and smooth, to glue onto the neck.  This didn't take long, at all.  A few measurements were made, to determine its location on the neck, and then I moved on to the next step.  Before gluing, Ned showed me a little trick of his- he pulled out some 2F Japanese pumice powder that he had, and showed me what to do to optimize the next step of gluing.  He put some powder on the
neck, spread it out a bit, and demonstrated.  By rubbing the heel block and neck together, where they'd be glued, with pumice as an abrasive force, the surfaces would become closer to each other, and be optimal for gluing.  Superior to sanding, as each surface received the same treatment.  Perfect!  I did as he showed me, for  a few minutes, then we cleared the pumice powder and I applied the glue, and the rest was history.  Clamps and the whole 9 yards.  Five clamps, I think?  A picture's worth a thousand words.

Now, it was time to let everything dry- this meant not working on the head or neck for a while.  If you have been following my progress, you'll now know that I have my soundboard and back completed, my sides dressed and ready to be bent, and now my neck, headstock, and heel block are in the works.  This being known, there was only one option left in the deck of "what to work on next" cards... the bridge!  I was a bit excited to do this, as I'd be carving the bridge, and forming a nice, aesthetically appealing shape out of a little chunk of wood.  It's a rewarding experience.  Ned presented me with a small rectangular piece of Indian rosewood, which I gauged to be about 7 inches long (I used my memory of 7" records as a reference).  It was maybe 2 inches wide, and maybe 1.5cm tall.  I realize the units I'm using here aren't consistent, but oh well.  I didn't measure the block, as it wasn't necessary- haha.  

The router, and one of the channels in the bridge that I made with it.

Ned pulled out his book of notes to retrieve the appropriate measurements for the bridge, and provided me with the proper dimensions.  I marked two lines on the surface of the bridge, which separated the central bulk of the bridge from its two wings.  Next, the router was to be used.  Ned readied the router, calibrating it to the right height, with the appropriate bit attached.  I hadn't used a router before, so he also gave me a few safety pointers, and general user information.  Once the setup was ready, it was time to make the first channel.  The Indian rosewood was wedged between two pieces of wood, which served as tracks for the router to move across.  Ned did a few test runs on a scrap piece of wood to make sure the tool was calibrated properly, and then it was my turn.  I did a test run, then started the real thing.  I made one continuous trough, across the length of the bridge- slow and steady wins the race, in the router world.  I examined my work- it was a proper thing.  Ned re-calibrated the router for the next channel to be made, and I went ahead and did my thing.  There were now two channels going through the length of the bridge.


Since these channels were only needed in the centre of the bridge, part of the top of each side of the bridge's wings was to be chopped off.  I did this on the bandsaw.  Essentially, two cuts were made on each side of the bridge, stopping where the tie block would begin.  The cut began at the bottom of each trough, and in effect, the result was having three prongs of wood protruding from the center of the bridge, on each side.  Hard to visualize, perhaps, but hopefully pictures will help to illustrate.  Once the cuts in the side were made by Ned, I took the bridge, and cut the unneeded prongs off, with the bandsaw.  The bridge was starting to look more like a bridge!  Still very angular, but getting there, nonetheless.

Filing the wings of the bridge

 Now that the crude shape of the bridge had been defined, it was time for me to carry out the shaping of it, by hand.  This was to be the fun part!  I clamped the bridge in a vice, and started filing away at the wings of it, with a bastard file. I was to give it an arched profile, similar to that of a fingernail.  The vertical of the sides of the wings was to measure only about 1mm tall.  I filed away at both sides of the bridge for a period of time, and was then satisfied.  I would later be going back over it to finish it off with a milling file, and maybe sandpaper.  

A beautiful, beautiful bridge... not done yet, but it looks
wonderful, so far- a proper thing.  Chiseling next!

Once I finished the preliminary shaping of the wings, I moved on to the chiseling of the core- the three chunks of protruding wood were to be the tie block, and the two pieces of wood which would house the bone saddle.  I began chiseling on the middle piece of wood, closest to the tie block.  It is very rewarding to create such pleasant shapes and curves with basic hand tools- try it, if ever you get the chance, or have the desire.  Ned has taught me the basic principles and importance of tactile feedback, when using hand tools.  Good stuff to know.  Technique is very important!


At about this point, the neck/headstock glue joint was dry, as was the heel block's.  The clamps were removed, and I examined the crude shape of the headstock, neck, and heel block.  It was interesting.  I was to shape these things into a curvy, beautiful instrument, soon enough.  I thought about what I now held in my hands, and what it would soon be.  It's a very interesting process.  Making something out of nothing, is how it feels.  It's great!  Here are a few shots of what I was left with:








After I finished looking at the complete glue joints, I finished the chiseling that I had started on the bridge.  Once I was satisfied with the shape that I had created, I used sandpaper and a fine milling file to smooth any nuanced ridges or other textural discrepancies in the work I had done.  I still had more chiseling to do on the next section, but that would be saved for next time.

 The day's end was drawing nearer, and there was still one step that Ned wanted me to complete, before I left- we had to wait for the glue on the headstock/neck to dry before we could complete it.  I put the bridge aside, and moved to the other workspace where my neck was.  This step would consist of applying the headstock's laminate- I had decided, without a doubt, that I wanted to use African wenge wood, simply because of the intrinsic beauty of its grain.  In addition to the the piece of wenge, there would also be a piece of maple laminate that would go between the mahogany headstock and the wenge laminate, that served solely as an accentuation- the light colour of the maple would make a nice contrast between the mahogany, and the darker wenge.  The piece of wenge was reduced to a thickness of about 2mm, and the maple piece had already been cut to a final thickness of 0.6mm.  I applied glue to the mahogany, spread it out, and placed the maple onto it.  Next, I applied more glue, on top of the maple, and then placed the wenge laminate on top of it.  As per usual, clamps were applied- this time, eight were used- just to be thorough.  This was the final step of the day! 

The gluing/clamping of the headstock's African wenge laminate, with
the accentuating maple sheet, beneath.

A lot was accomplished: I successfully joined my headstock to the neck, and the heel block, as well.  I started my bridge, getting the wings shaped, and one of the protrusions surrounding the saddle, chiseled.  I had now also glued the laminate to my headstock.  All of the basic components of my guitar were now done- the soundboard and back had been completed, the sides were ready to be bent, the bridge was almost finished, and the neck, headstock, and heel block were now assembled;  SUCCESS.

End transmission.