1959 ES-335TD proto build

[deaconque]

Originally Posted by kwerk

I was cringing watching the guy at the router table with the rabbeting bit.. I forgot to count his fingers...

Was there a reason he was holding the guitar at an angle while making a pass through the router? I'm sure it has something to do with the carved top but the angle he was holding it at didn't seem to follow the angle of the top.

[telemcCaster]

Originally Posted by thegroover

Ken, wow..... thanks for going to all the trouble of taking pics of the process, and explaining things. Makes me appreciate all your work even more than before. Definitely anxious to see Preeb build this.
Mike aka captainbraindamage

Hey there Captain. You are welcome. I think it is important to get this technology out there because it is such a good design and there really are differences between the modern and old ES guitars.

[telemcCaster]

Originally Posted by Fred_Garvin

Fascinating stuff, guys. You two are birds of a feather when it comes to meticulous R&D.

Ken, are cellos & doublebasses made with laminates in a similar fashion? A violin or viola is one thing, but I imagine finding a single piece of good lumber big enough to carve plates so large is next to impossible.

Hi Fred,
You are certainly welcome. Can't wait to see the 355.

Cellos and DB are made similarly and almost always from big factories. I have never seen a small scale laminated bass made. Aarnold Schnitzer is making the New New Standard but I think he gets his plates from Germany where a lot of this laminated construction happens. Big sheets are not a big problem if the big equipment is available. It just gets sliced off the log and if wide enough then it covers that size. The cross grain is endless.

[telemcCaster]

Originally Posted by Bob.M

Another thanks. I have a barely-healthy love for my Heritage 535. This is making me appreciate it even more - and appreciate the contribution that you guys are making to this great forum.

You are welcome.

[telemcCaster]

Originally Posted by Ryden

Could the springback be calculated, CAD'ed and a new mould carved by CNC?
Just curious, I like to see this done the traditional way.

Yes I think so. There are formulas for it. But they are based on radius and this has changing radius so it would be complicated.

[telemcCaster]

Originally Posted by deaconque

Was there a reason he was holding the guitar at an angle while making a pass through the router? I'm sure it has something to do with the carved top but the angle he was holding it at didn't seem to follow the angle of the top.

It should be held flat, parallel with the rims. Not sure what was going on there.

[landsharkey]

Originally Posted by telemcCaster

Once cured, I take the mold out of the bag and flip it over and drill the registration holes through the plate for future jigs.

Really a great tip! If it is not difficult, can you do a similar sonic test for a completed 3 and 4 ply bodies? It would be nice to know when they switched to the 3-ply - possibly late 60's?

[exluthier]

Originally Posted by kwerk

I was cringing watching the guy at the router table with the rabbeting bit.. I forgot to count his fingers...

Gibson kind of excels at that. You should see the huge shaper bit that puts the open book headstock shape on the top the the reissue LPs. Thing sounds like a hurricane when it starts up.

[jglenn]

Man there are some talented folks here!I would be lucky if i could build a lap steel,and you guys are doing es335s!

[zx1012r]

Originally Posted by deaconque

Was there a reason he was holding the guitar at an angle while making a pass through the router? I'm sure it has something to do with the carved top but the angle he was holding it at didn't seem to follow the angle of the top.

I really think the router level was adjusted to the thickness of his fingers. That way it stays level on the plastic rim around the router bit, and the top arch stays off the table while the edge is resting on his fingers!

[jonal335]

I'm so glad to see this thread start up, many of have been looking forward to it for quite a while. The 335 is my favorite of the many,many guitars I've played over the years...

[Maricopa]

I really think the router level was adjusted to the thickness of his fingers.

There was a pretty large bearing surface on that shaper bit, and a UHMW plastic 'donut' at the bottom that sets the depth of cut. I'm sure the side ended up parallel when he routed it.
Amazing to watch how fast these people work. In my building 'career' I've maybe bound 20 guitars, they probably do that every day.

[Nick JD]

Originally Posted by Maricopa

plastic 'donut'

All about the donut! Although the folks at the scraping bench will yell at him if he's too far off 90 degrees, I'll bet. I think he's flush trimming the sides as well.

[telemcCaster]

Originally Posted by landsharkey

Really a great tip! If it is not difficult, can you do a similar sonic test for a completed 3 and 4 ply bodies? It would be nice to know when they switched to the 3-ply - possibly late 60's?

Hi P
I have not made a full body with the 3 ply plates. I do testing on the finished bodies and will be showing the results. I have several now to compare and most are the same but I did compare one with a hard maple block to a soft maple one. I will show that later.

Can we go public with your drawing yet?

[telemcCaster]

Originally Posted by Maricopa

I really think the router level was adjusted to the thickness of his fingers.

There was a pretty large bearing surface on that shaper bit, and a UHMW plastic 'donut' at the bottom that sets the depth of cut. I'm sure the side ended up parallel when he routed it.
Amazing to watch how fast these people work. In my building 'career' I've maybe bound 20 guitars, they probably do that every day.

I will show you my ledge router soon.

Anyone else having trouble with the forum software freezing?

[Daintree]

Thanks for taking the time to post this build, much appreciated!

Gonna sit back and watch some real talent at work...

[telemcCaster]

Ok I had an unresponsive script message freezing up my old mac. I should be able to post now.

First thing I want to show tonight is my VINTAGE vacuum pump

[telemcCaster]

After about 30 plates, the mold looks like this. I use the same plastic and bleeder cloth until it falls apart.

The veneers have to stay in a humidity controlled environment.

[telemcCaster]

There were plenty of "factory seconds" for various reasons.

[telemcCaster]

The shop is really small and cramped but has a tremendous ability to get things done. Thanks to a combination of drawers and drawers of hand tools and a few important stationary tools. This combination machine does many things with ease. It has a huge shaper, planer, jointer, cross cut table saw. And the band saw is another frequently used tool. I spend a lot of time at the drill press.