I spent a little time in the shop after work today doing some sanding on the guitar. It has been crazy cold the last two days so my finishing schedule got messed up. I was originally going to sand and start the finish coats of lacquer yesterday but the high temperature for the day was 7deg F and with semi-heated shop, that is just too cold to do anything. I decided to thoroughly sand the guitar so it would be ready tomorrow for the next coats, and to also see if I could try and clean up the blotches on the heal. I have it looking pretty good but I really won't know how it will look until I get some lacquer on it. One thing that I was a bit disappointed with is the small crack in the back I mentioned a week ago or so, has opened back up. It is right along the center glue joint but in a grain line, not the glue line. It follows up from about 4" from the bottom to about 6" from the top. It goes up pretty straight until it hits the grain curve in the middle. The crack follows the curve, that is how I know it is not in the glue line. I sanded the area down to wood, cleaned it thoroughly and then flooded the area with water thin CA again. I pushed up and down on the back trying to open and close the crack to help with the wicking. I hope it holds this time. If it doesn't hold I am not sure what I can do to fix it. Again, it is covered by the center strip inside the guitar so it is braced, but I don't like the idea of a loose crack no matter how thin it is.
Although I really like the look of Granadillo, I am pretty certain that I won't use it again. It is just too fragile when it comes to humidity. The RH has only gone up and down no more than 10% but that is enough to cause a lot of problems with this wood. I never had this problem with mahogany and I hope not to have it with the Rosewood I am building the next one with.
Speaking of the next one...... it arrived yesterday. After opening and inspecting everything all I could think was "uh-oh, I might be in over my head!" Not really, I am looking forward to making the parts that were previously done by others. The only part that I am concerned about is carving the bridge. I got a pre-carved one and a blank. I figure I can use the pre-carved one as a template and if it all goes bad, I can use it on the guitar. Here are some pictures:
If you look in the center you can see the hairline crack. It still has some white sanding residue so it is easier to see.
Look to the bottom right of the grain curve and you will see the crack where it bends following the grainline. You might need to click the picture to enlarge it so you can see it. It was hard to get a picture of it. I had to have the light reflect on it to make it visible in the camera.
I guess I should gotten to first things first, here is the pile of lumber that will soon be an OOO 12 fret guitar. Lots of rough wood here and nothing that looks like a guitar part to be seen other than the fret wire, bridge and rosette. Oh my, what have I gotten myself into?
Rosewood, Spanish cedar, bloodwood, and Adirondack spruce. It should look nice!
Back to the OM. This is the blotchy area of the neck. See the light areas? I have sanded the entire area level and it looks a lot better. I hope it stays that way after it has it's next coats of lacquer.
The other side. I am pretty sure it is the end grain that caused this but it could also have been some moisture in the finish.
This is the neck after sanding. I hope that it stays like this after some more finishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment