Woah. I’ve been away from RUclips for a while, and now I can binge this new guitar build. I love it. Thanks for uploading. I love your ambition with the cutaway and all. I can’t wait to see it come together.
Stoked for the second guitar build brother! I definitely like the look of a Florentine cutaway. Way to spice things up! Love the part where you drive the bus!
Thanks so much! Oh, and I saw the thumbnail on your last video while on lunch break today and made a mental note to watch it later. Guess I’ll do that now! Looking forward to seeing the finished guitar.
The problem with forcing the sides into the mold to the point where you are worried about cracking is you are building too much tension into the body. When you take the body out of the mold after attaching the top and back, the force required to hold the shape will be transferred to the back and front. Coupled with humidity changes this could result in cracks later in the life of the guitar. Also, some luthiers believe that this extra tension inhibits vibration affecting how thevguitar sounds. The solution is to wet the sides and put them back in the bender. When the problem is less severe, you can spritz the sides and use a heat gun while tightening the spreaders. And keep in mind at the end of the day it isn’t important that the sides conform perfectly to the mold. Part of the beauty of handmade guitars is no two are exactly alike!
Thanks for the detail man! I probably should have tried to at least bend the waist a little extra by hand. I thought about it, but I was concerned I would put some uneven undulations in the sides and I was trying to avoid that since my first guitar sides were not perfect. It makes sense that build up of tension could probably lead to issues later with humidity changes. I guess at this point I’ll cross my fingers 😅 and try to do better on the next one! I really appreciate the feedback, David! Thanks for watching!
Thanks Ed! Still trying to decide whether to use the Martin top on this one or the next one. Question in my head is do I want to cut off part of if for the florentine section or use it on a non cutaway to be able to display the full top. Not sure what to do yet…
@@CMRWoodworks That's your call. Either way you go I can't wait to hear it make music like it should have. Did you say what wood you are using for back and sides on this build? They hint of Rosewood and or Shedua. Either way they are killer looking
Looking good brother! Looks like the side bender is a good investment, but maybe a little touch up needed on the lower bout with the iron to alleviate some of that spring back? Really like the look of your cutaway, think it’s going to look sweet!
Yeah, I should have manually bent a little more especially at the waste. I was so afraid of cracking and putting unevenness in the sides. Guess I know better for next time! Thanks for watching, Lou!
Neat. I am a little bit further along on a scratch built Tenor Ukelele. I think I have 100 hours in to it and it's nearly done. I don't know yet what you are using for steam bending the sides around your bending mold but I used an electric skillet with a lid plus a hot steam iron after pulling pieces out of the steam filled skillet. I was lucky in that I have a 6 by 48 inch belt sander on a Shopsmith for thickness sanding. It's not as good as by drum but faster than by hand. I aim on using a rub on finish. Maybe Otis Oil. Any ideas would be welcome. What do you intend to use? Take care and the best of luck...
I used tru oil on my first and it was pretty easy and came out looking pretty good. That is the only thing I have experience with so far. I plan on trying a french polish on this one. For steam, I don’t steam first. I spritz water on the sides and wrap them in the foil. The silicone heating blanket goes on that and makes the water on the wood steam up. Works pretty well I guess. This was the first set of sides I bent with that bending machine. For the first guitar I bent the sides by hand using a bending iron! This bending machine made it a little easier. Good luck finishing your ukulele! I built a tenor uke a couple of years ago to get my feet wet in lutherie, but it was a kit from StewMac, so most of the really difficult stuff was already done. But it was a fun build anyway. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
I poured thin superglue all over the entire surface of my sides and it seeped into all the small stress fractures and stuff I couldn’t see. It was insane how many spots showed up on the insides where glue had seeped through. Maybe try doing that? If they are visible cracks, maybe try clamping them as well with glue? I used wax paper for a few places. I just folded a small piece several times to make it thicker and sort of create padding so that it would conform to the shape if the side even with my clamp pressing down on it. Hope your build works out! Good luck!!
You should try laminating your sides to a second piece. Will make it stronger. No spring back and sonically it will make it better! Check out driftwood guitars build on the “3,000 year old guitar build”. They talk about why they laminate and the science behind why they do it
I definitely want to try laminating. I have a feeling that ultimately I will end up always going with laminated or structured sides. Just considering everything I’ve seen or read about them makes more sense and seems more consistent. I have seen the vacuum setup on Driftwood’s channel and will try to plan on moving that direction. Thanks so much for your comment! I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to type it.
Lamination is a good strategy, and actually will make the sides stronger and less prone to spring-back. However, the composition of the sides has negligible, if any effect on the sound--the only reason sides have to be thin is so you can bend them! As a matter of fact, the composition of the back has only a small effect sonically. The things that have really significant impact on the sound are the species of the top and how tight and straight the grain is and the positioning and carving of the top braces. The height and break angle of the strings over the bridge and the thickness of the bridge have some small impact too, I think.
Great job Chris!! They say a great luthier is the one that made mistakes and always overcome it. Don't give up. Keep on going!!
Thanks so much! And thanks for watching!
Woah. I’ve been away from RUclips for a while, and now I can binge this new guitar build. I love it. Thanks for uploading. I love your ambition with the cutaway and all. I can’t wait to see it come together.
Well, I‘m glad I have provided a few videos for you to watch since your time away. Thanks for the views and comments!
Stoked for the second guitar build brother! I definitely like the look of a Florentine cutaway. Way to spice things up! Love the part where you drive the bus!
Thanks man! It’s a challenge for sure, but I am hopeful that I can make it happen. Thanks for watching!
As always, you've got your hands full!!! I'm looking forward to watching this one come together. -Greg
Thanks for watching, Greg!!
Great job, this one is coming together pretty quickly. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Florentine cutaway works out.
Thanks so much! Oh, and I saw the thumbnail on your last video while on lunch break today and made a mental note to watch it later. Guess I’ll do that now! Looking forward to seeing the finished guitar.
The problem with forcing the sides into the mold to the point where you are worried about cracking is you are building too much tension into the body. When you take the body out of the mold after attaching the top and back, the force required to hold the shape will be transferred to the back and front. Coupled with humidity changes this could result in cracks later in the life of the guitar. Also, some luthiers believe that this extra tension inhibits vibration affecting how thevguitar sounds. The solution is to wet the sides and put them back in the bender. When the problem is less severe, you can spritz the sides and use a heat gun while tightening the spreaders. And keep in mind at the end of the day it isn’t important that the sides conform perfectly to the mold. Part of the beauty of handmade guitars is no two are exactly alike!
Thanks for the detail man! I probably should have tried to at least bend the waist a little extra by hand. I thought about it, but I was concerned I would put some uneven undulations in the sides and I was trying to avoid that since my first guitar sides were not perfect. It makes sense that build up of tension could probably lead to issues later with humidity changes. I guess at this point I’ll cross my fingers 😅 and try to do better on the next one! I really appreciate the feedback, David! Thanks for watching!
I anit gonna lie, I just wanna hear u play it. Great videos Chris!
Thanks again, man!
Looking forward to this build.
Thanks for watching!
Great job on this second guitar. Moving right along.
Thanks Ed! Still trying to decide whether to use the Martin top on this one or the next one. Question in my head is do I want to cut off part of if for the florentine section or use it on a non cutaway to be able to display the full top. Not sure what to do yet…
@@CMRWoodworks That's your call. Either way you go I can't wait to hear it make music like it should have. Did you say what wood you are using for back and sides on this build? They hint of Rosewood and or Shedua. Either way they are killer looking
Looking good brother! Looks like the side bender is a good investment, but maybe a little touch up needed on the lower bout with the iron to alleviate some of that spring back? Really like the look of your cutaway, think it’s going to look sweet!
Yeah, I should have manually bent a little more especially at the waste. I was so afraid of cracking and putting unevenness in the sides. Guess I know better for next time! Thanks for watching, Lou!
Neat. I am a little bit further along on a scratch built Tenor Ukelele. I think I have 100 hours in to it and it's nearly done.
I don't know yet what you are using for steam bending the sides around your bending mold but I used an electric skillet with a lid plus a hot steam iron after pulling pieces out of the steam filled skillet.
I was lucky in that I have a 6 by 48 inch belt sander on a Shopsmith for thickness sanding. It's not as good as by drum but faster than by hand.
I aim on using a rub on finish. Maybe Otis Oil. Any ideas would be welcome. What do you intend to use?
Take care and the best of luck...
I used tru oil on my first and it was pretty easy and came out looking pretty good. That is the only thing I have experience with so far. I plan on trying a french polish on this one.
For steam, I don’t steam first. I spritz water on the sides and wrap them in the foil. The silicone heating blanket goes on that and makes the water on the wood steam up. Works pretty well I guess. This was the first set of sides I bent with that bending machine. For the first guitar I bent the sides by hand using a bending iron! This bending machine made it a little easier.
Good luck finishing your ukulele! I built a tenor uke a couple of years ago to get my feet wet in lutherie, but it was a kit from StewMac, so most of the really difficult stuff was already done. But it was a fun build anyway.
Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
It's looking good already Chris. I'm still on my first build and the sides have some cracks at the waist. Do yo have any tips to rescue it?
I poured thin superglue all over the entire surface of my sides and it seeped into all the small stress fractures and stuff I couldn’t see. It was insane how many spots showed up on the insides where glue had seeped through. Maybe try doing that? If they are visible cracks, maybe try clamping them as well with glue? I used wax paper for a few places. I just folded a small piece several times to make it thicker and sort of create padding so that it would conform to the shape if the side even with my clamp pressing down on it. Hope your build works out! Good luck!!
You should try laminating your sides to a second piece. Will make it stronger. No spring back and sonically it will make it better! Check out driftwood guitars build on the “3,000 year old guitar build”. They talk about why they laminate and the science behind why they do it
I definitely want to try laminating. I have a feeling that ultimately I will end up always going with laminated or structured sides. Just considering everything I’ve seen or read about them makes more sense and seems more consistent. I have seen the vacuum setup on Driftwood’s channel and will try to plan on moving that direction. Thanks so much for your comment! I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to type it.
@@CMRWoodworks I’m on my first build. Watching your videos have helped me move along in many places in the process
Lamination is a good strategy, and actually will make the sides stronger and less prone to spring-back. However, the composition of the sides has negligible, if any effect on the sound--the only reason sides have to be thin is so you can bend them! As a matter of fact, the composition of the back has only a small effect sonically. The things that have really significant impact on the sound are the species of the top and how tight and straight the grain is and the positioning and carving of the top braces. The height and break angle of the strings over the bridge and the thickness of the bridge have some small impact too, I think.
What kinda wood are the sides
It’s called ovangkol. I think it’s a tree in west Africa.
Very good Chris, 👍👍🎸🎼🎹🇺🇸👨🏻🦯👨🏻🦯
Thanks Scott!
👍👍🤝
Why didn’t you leave it non the mold and just flip the moss or place the mold upright and work on both side simultaneously? Think it through man.
Which part in the video are you talking about? I’d have to go back and watch it to figure out why I did what I did.