My Current guitar project.

[Phillip Patton]

Well, not much to report. I'm in the finishing stages, which I've learned from past experience to not rush. Right now I'm pore filling. There's different ways to do it. I'm using the shellac method, which involves brushing it on, letting it harden enough to sand, sand, brush again, sand, etc. Lot's of waiting, which is a good time to work on knives.

Some pics.

Freshly brushed:

Dried:

Sanded:

 

[Infi-del]

I guess I'm not too worried, though it probably is something to pay attention to in the future. The strings on this one are going to be at an angle to match the saddle, so it should be ok. Thanks for pointing it out though.

I know Martin had problems with bridge plates there for a while because all the string balls ran along the same grain line and would crack the plates causing the spruce tops to bow upward. Staggering them like you're talking about will help with that.

It's a gorgeous build.

 

[amcardon]

LOL! It's not that hard. I have 2 or 3 good books on the subject, plus I'm a member of a great luthiers forum , which has a wealth of information too.

Hey Phillip, which books would you recommend?

 

[Phillip Patton]

Hey Phillip, which books would you recommend?

Cumpiano and Natelsons book is good. It covers classicals and steel strings, and is one of the first in depth books written. Some of the techniques are outdated, but rather than edit the book, Cumpiano has updates on his website.

I also have John Bogdanovich's book, which covers classicals only. There's probably others. Look on Amazon and read the reviews. Or, better yet, join the OLF and ask them. Most of them have been at this longer than me.

Phillip

 

[Phillip Patton]

Spraying begins today. The most humid day of the year so far. My timing is impeccable, no?

But first, I have to finish sanding the shellac on the sides.

With that done, I need to locate the bridge, and mask off the areas where the bridge and fingerboard extension will be:

Got to make sure the bridge is centered relative to the fingerboard. Actually, I want it about 1/16" off center.

Once it's located, I hold it in place and cut through the tape all around with a razor blade:

 

[Phillip Patton]

You can barely see the line here:

After the waste is peeled off:

Now the top is sanded for the last time. Mostly I'm just removing the drips of shellac from pore filling:

The fingerboard masking, and also the soundhole stuffed with paper to keep the inside clean while spraying:

 

[Phillip Patton]

Here's the handle bolted on:

And my sprayer:

A shot of my immaculate, dust free spraying room:

I'm first spraying a thin coat of shellac. This will seal any sand-throughs, preventing "witness" lines. Hopefully, it won't need any more sanding, and I'll be able to go straight to lacquer after this coat dries.

 

[SBranson]

This is fantastic. I've been watching this and am really thrilled to see such a detailed record. Thanks!

I can't believe you had the nerve to free hand rout the fleur de lis on a curved surface... scary stuff.

 

[Phillip Patton]

Now that the final coat of shellac has hardened overnight, it's time to lightly sand the body with 400 grit just to level any bumps and rough up the surface so the lacquer will adhere.

Before sanding:

With two coats of lacquer:

 

[Phillip Patton]

Now the neck needs some work. After sanding it smooth, the fingerboard is masked off, and a few thin coats of shellac is sprayed on to help fill pores and act as a sealer:

 

[Phillip Patton]

Some more shots showing it after 5 or 6 coats of lacquer:

 

[Phillip Patton]

Now it has to be leveled. I used 320 grit paper.

There were some dimples in the lacquer. I don't know why they're there, but they're too deep to sand out, so I drop filled them:

 

[tryppyr]

NEVER use that guitar for target practice with a BB gun!!! What WERE you thinking?

 

[Phillip Patton]

NEVER use that guitar for target practice with a BB gun!!! What WERE you thinking?

If I catch anybody near this thing with a BB gun-! Heads would roll.

 

[cbr900son]

Yes my daily dose of crack!!! MORE!!!

 

[Phillip Patton]

Yes my daily dose of crack!!! MORE!!!

Well, these next few pics are almost the last ones you'll see for several weeks. I hope the withdrawal symptoms aren't to bad for you.

I've got about a dozen coats of lacquer on now. I'll be cutting the masking tape off later today (good to do this before the lacquer gets too hard, because then it tends to chip), but I want to spray some more coats on the areas where I usually sand through, but wanted to take some pics first.

 

[Phillip Patton]

Now, to keep this thread active, I thought I'd post some photos of a re-build I'm doing. The guitar in question is the one I did in the other build thread, back in '09.

It has a lot of issues:

The top is developing a crack,
There's no rosette,
The bridge is in the wrong place,
The binding joint has gaps.

I was going to do some destructive testing on it, but the guys on the guitar forum
encouraged me to use it as an opportunity to learn some repair skills instead.

So, I'm putting a new top on it. I'll probably also take the back off, and re-brace it, since it's lost all it's curvature. It'll be getting a new neck, with a shorter scale length. It's also going to be a 12 string.


Here's the crack:

First step is to take off the old top. Actually first step is to take off the neck/fingerboard, but I didn't get any pictures of that.

After the neck is off:

I rout off the binding:

Then rout off as much of the top as I can:

 

[Phillip Patton]

I had to cut the rest of the way with a saw:

It's like a time capsule :

Here's the new top with all it's braces glued on:

 

[Mike Davis]

Looking most excellent Sir Phillip. When can i expect delivery? Haha, all kidding aside, i think i would drop my Gibson for that man, beautiful!

 

[Phillip Patton]

Okay, these are the last pics of the guitar until I start the polishing process a few weeks from now. I've removed the masking tape: