New Tools/Some progress

Today some tools came! It only takes stew-mac 2 days to deliver to my house, its amazing. I also got the f-holes sanded to final shape and started to sand the top to thickness. Theres still a fair amount of work to do until just the top is done. Pictures:::

Just have to sand out some valleys and the top will be ready to thickness and bind the f-holes.


Brand new Sloan Bending Iron. I'll use this to bend the sides to conform to a mold


Lots of spool clamps and a precision straight edge.
Total = 310$

After some time off..

So I just got back from vacation with literally my entire family. It was awesome and i already miss you guys! (mostly ethan and his incredible shoulder kissing abilities). But anyway, during this vacation i came across a large sum of money. Unfortunately it wasnt in the form of pirate's gold or anything but it was still pretty sweet. This being said i had the oppurtunity to buy some tools that i would otherwise have to save up for. I just ordered them the other night so i'll have a few pictures up of them when they get here. Today i got a little work done, thanks to my new orbital sander! Heres some pics.


Here's the view from the roof of the house we stayed in on vacation.


New Dewalt orbital sander. =D

rough cut the f-holes just for fun.

Homemade Calipers + F-holes

So i made some calipers to check the thickness of the top. Since the really nice ones cost 100+ i decided to make my own. I also chose what type of f-hole to use. I went with the standard shape and i'll bind that with Black/White/Black plastic strips. (as soon as that stuff gets here)

ange got a picture of me smiling, darn.

i slide the top in between the two wooden dowels, and on the top of the one stick is measurements equivalent the to the gap between to the two dowels.

that last picture is of the measurement stick on the calipers. Measures in 16ths of an inch.

Top Cont'd

Tops just about done, started carving out the inside today. Just a little more sanding, and i'll be on to cutting the f-holes. after the f-holes are cut i brace the top and start on the back. Heres some pictures.
1: flamed maple back ready to be cut and carved. 2: outside of the top, just about done. 3: inside of the top, roughly carved 4: where i spend 5-8 hours on my days off. (notice the wawa hat i keep on the wall as motivation to one day do something i love, and NOT make hoagies for unsatisfied customers.)

New Toy!

I got a new spindle sander today, AWESOME! Im getting near to having almost everything i'll need for guitar building. I still have to buy a bending iron, and a lot more clamps. Here's some pictures. My top is almost done on the outside.

:-D

Lots of Progress, but still not done

Alright so today a few toys came in the mail. (finger plane, scraper, and 2 cam clamps). the finger plane really helped me get into the contours of the body and really clean things up. I spent about 4 or 5 hours today carving away with this tiny thing. Im pretty sure i'll have a huge blister or two, and im also pretty sure typing wont be as bad once my hand un-cramps. Needless to say it's loborious work, but its enjoyable and i like to see how the arch is taking shape. Here's a few pictures of the guitar and the new plane and scraper.


from far away it looks almost complete, but theres still plenty or planing and sanding to do.

Slowly but surely

I worked for a couple of hours today just scrapin away at the top. it is definitely starting to look more and more like an archtop witch is really motivating.



the holes help act as a guide as to how deep to carve. as you can see i still have plenty of work to do still. then i get to do it all over again for the back.