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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on September 22, 2018 at 4:10pm

Looking nice Cause, first song you have to play must be "Knocking on Heavens Door".

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on September 23, 2018 at 12:08am

don't understand why that song but OK. Took a listen to Dylan's version and it's very doable on a GDG. But have to fake the second chord. And the song is heavy on the slide so when playing just the chords it sounds a bit flat. It's a great four chord song. I'll have to post a how to. 

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on September 22, 2018 at 6:44pm

Thanks Paul. I might just do that.

I'd of gotten done sooner. A friend turned me on to a Japanese Anime. Didn't realize it was a full length movie. Incase someone is interested "Bakemono no Ko". 

So here's where it's at so far. Still need to glue up the rest of the box itself. The long piece behind everything is the back access plate. 

This is the front of the guitar. Along with the 'pick guard'. It's easy to tell this will be a 24.75 scale and not a 25.75. That missing inch really shows up between those pickups. 

That bit of practicing I did on cutting straight lines with a scroll saw really paid off. Not perfectly straight. But at 20 feet and me jumping around no one will ever notice. : )

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on September 23, 2018 at 12:55pm

And here's the final glue up. Be a lot of sanding and shaping. Going to round up the edges. Lesson learned from my Cosmic Glider. Sharp edges are no fun. : ) 

Those home made clamps work great. Allows me to clamp both the sides and what's inside the guitar supporting the top, pickguard and bridge at the same time. 

And a change of plans. going to use the Probora pickups. Their black. So this will have a black neck. Black pickups. Black knobs and a black bridge. No, the box isn't going to be black. Or bright pink. : ) 

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on September 25, 2018 at 3:13pm

Top looks great. I was making a poor attempt at humor on the song seeing how the wood came from an old door. Nuk Nuk Nuk

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on September 25, 2018 at 3:17pm

I like those clamp, easy to make, effective and inexpensive to make.

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on September 25, 2018 at 7:39pm

OK now I understand. That joke went WAY over my head. : )

These clamps are both easy to make and use. Finger tight first. Making sure they're level. Then ease them down. I use a ratchet wrench.  Hold onto the threaded rod till it's hard to hold wile tightening down. You don't have to crush to clamp. 

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on September 26, 2018 at 12:19pm

Hi, my first thought when I saw these clamps was good idea [and I've used something similar in the past myself], but then I thought they may put more clamping pressure on the ends near the rods, than in the middle. I could be wrong and your in the best place to judge Cause.

I the picture of the system I used to clamp the tops of hollow neck slide guitars, I only needed the pressure over the edge of the sides. I set the photo up to illustrate.

Also shown is my much more laborious method. Your clamps save the need for deep throated clamps. so long as the clamping pressure is also in the middle of the job. Easy to check really. I'll have to give that type of clamp a try.

Cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on September 26, 2018 at 11:07pm

Ya, if you get really crazy tight you'll bow the clamps. Loose pressure in the middle. If you know your going to need a lot of pressure  (if your working with warped wood ) you could always slip a very thin shim under the center. 

It's best to get used to working with this kind of clamp. I've used those old two handle wooden screw clamps for years. Absolute favorite clamps. So I'm used to how they work. Put one in place and, after finger tightening, check to make sure it's flat all the way across. Check to make sure it's flat after fully tightening the clamp as well. 

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Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on September 29, 2018 at 4:51am

A hardwood like oak or similar would be less likely to bow and thickness would also play a part. Probably needs to be at least 1 & 1/2" square. Of course they'll get heavy to handle that way too.

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Permalink Reply by Cause the Blue rat on September 29, 2018 at 7:37am

I used what I got free from work. Pine. That's why their chunky. Just a 2x4 cut in half. 

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on September 29, 2018 at 2:05pm

Hi, if weight is a consideration as well as strength in a length of timber, may I suggest keeping in mind the following. Its what one does when working with the bracing of guitars.

Braces are, in the top anyway, higher than they are wide. This is to get the maximum strength with a lot less mass [weight]. Going wider does not add as much strength to a beam as going taller or thicker. 

With guitar braces I keep in mind that 20% off the height equals 50% less strength. I suppose the reverse would be true. 

The clamp pictured  [I made a dozen or more of these some years ago] shows the sort of dimensions that give a good strength to weight ratio, 1 1/8 x 13/16.

Cheers Taff

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