Old barnwood project

[Rich Rice]

I received a plank of Pennsylvania barnwood the other day from the 1800's, with a request for a semihollow guitar. This has proven to be an interesting build so far, so I thought I'd share it with you. The guitar is not for sale, it's another custom build- but a little different approach. I hope you enjoy it.

I cut a length off, and ripped it to make a top and back.


The wood was so tight I had to wedge the cut open to get it through my saw


Eventually, all things succumb...

[Rich Rice]

Once the pieces were separated, they yielded a nice grain pattern


After some serious planing, I dampened them with mineral spirits, for a preview of the natural colors and grain



Then I traced a pencil line around my template, and marked both pieces (one for the top, one for the back)

[Rich Rice]

I was lucky enough to be able to lay out the faces to avoid the knot holes, and have only two tiny worm holes on the back, none on the top


Then I set the pieces aside- more on these later...

One of the things that sets this method apart from the norm is I will be using a one-piece top, a one-piece back, and a core of a different species.. This method can be applied to thinline style teles, and will give a cool twist to the resulting guitar.

[Rich Rice]

Although I haven't yet been able to determine the species of the old wood (guesses welcome), it is a medium soft, coniferous wood along the lines of pine or cedar. The wood is so old that the only smell I get is "old".. It has a beautiful tap tone, with a deep fundamental, and an overtone that rings a fifth higher- very lively, but deep and mellow- not as harsh as a hardwood like ash or maple. My concern is it could wind up too mellow if I made the core from the same wood, and not have any "spank". I chose to use ash for the core, for a couple of reasons.. The ash will add stability and strength, as well as giving more "teeth" to the tone of the instrument. We don't want anything wimpy- just a nice, sweet tone- with a capability of some edgy highs..

I took a rough ash timber with some spalting and started slicing and dicing it up


cut a couple of lengths


Check out the end grain on this stuff.. Should be really cool with the old barnwood.


Anyway, I started paring the timbers down to get them to a usable dimension, while preserving the symmetry of the end grain.. took a while-

[Rich Rice]

Once I got close to dimension, I made many passes through the planer to achieve a smooth surface and parallel planes. I did this to both pieces, so they were identical thickness


Once the pieces were consistent, I jointed the edges. Then placed them together and drew my shape in pencil. This way I won't get confused when gluing them up


I dampened the edges, applied glue, and clamped the two together. The discoloration is from wiping the excess glue from the joint. It will be sanded flat after the glue dries.


The bar clamps provide the squeeze for a tight joint, the cam clamps hold the two pieces in alignment.

[Rich Rice]

While all that was drying, I applied a few coats of oil finish to the back wood (on a part that will trim off) to get an idea of the looks- I like it. Looks like Grandpa's barn.. perfect!


I pulled the clamps off, and block sanded with 80 grit, front and back



then re-drew my shape on the core

[Rich Rice]

Here's where it laid out


then a visit to the bandsaw.


I cut plenty of relief cuts in the critical areas

[Rich Rice]

Then rough cut the shape


I cut out the top and back, as long as I had the saw set up for scrolling


then stacked the three layers together to check for fit. Looks good.


I'm going to leave this one a little deeper, for more air space in the chambers.

[martyb1]

Looks great again Rich.I hope I haven't started something with this old barnwood.Farmers all over will be finding pieces missing
The one thing I found with the stuff I used is that it was really dry and brittle.I had to be real careful when doing and of the edges because it wanted to splinter.
Not sure what kind of wood that could be.It might be fir also.Some of the boards I got from my barn had similar grain to those.

[Rich Rice]

Thanks Marty. This piece came from my customer's grandparents' barn. Truth be told, I'd like a hunk of some barn wood for my own.. hard to come by in Chicago, though. There was plenty of it around when I was growing up, but the old farmhouses and barns went down a long time ago.

[Rich Rice]

I designed the interior, and marked it out with a sharpie

This is getting a Pig Tail wraparound bridge, so I left a bit more wood in the bridge area. I left more in the tail section to help with weight, balance, and resonance. The barnwood weighs almost nothing, so the ash will determine the balance of the body. I don't want a neck diver, so this becomes important..


Once I cut out the chambers, I set up to attach the back. Lots of clamps, glue, a damp rag-- the usual suspects


I dampened the wood, to open up the pores


then applied plenty of glue

[Rich Rice]

Then spread the glue, massaging it into the wood with a finger. This ensures there isn't any junk in the glue. I want the joints to be immaculate.


Once the core was prepared, I dampened the inside of the back- same reason. It cleans the surface and opens the pores for a deeper penetration of the glue/stronger joinery


You might notice the little spot on the back, I filled the worm holes from the inside with wood epoxy, then scraped them flush on the surface. Once the back is finish sanded, I'll touch up the pinhole size dot with a drop of amber dye. By filling from the inside, there will be no excess discoloration on the visible surface.

I started putting the clamps on, but not tight- the wood tends to shift around until there are several clamps in place. I constantly adjust the position of the boards until it stabilizes, then increase the clamping pressure.


I want to see squeeze-out all around the joint, inside and out. No voids allowed..

[Rich Rice]

As the clamps get tighter, I start cleaning up the excess glue with a damp rag and a screwdriver. Keeps everything nice and neat.


The spool clamps keep a great pressure on the perimeter, while the cam clamps really squeeze the flat areas.


I'm using the template as a gluing caul, which helps keep everything flat and protects the work from clamp marks. It allows me to really crank the pressure on with no damage to the work

[Rich Rice]

Here's the assembly after the interior is cleaned up..


I let the glue set for about 10 minutes or so, then remove one clamp at at time, to clean the glue from the outside. I'll pull a clamp, wipe the glue, replace the clamp, and move to the next one.. Just keep working around the piece until it's done. Then leave it overnight.


I'm a little obsessive about this stuff, as I will still be sanding the whole edge to get to my finish shape, but it is easier to sand clean wood than to clog up sandpaper with glue, and sometimes the glue will soak in too deep if left on- which can discolor the finish. Better to wash it off as I go.

Another thing to notice is the placement of the cam clamps, they are at the neck pocket area, the tail area, and the bridge post area. One more in the center of the beam, for good measure. This will ensure stability and no voids.

[Rich Rice]

While waiting for the glue to dry, I made a rough sketch to determine F hole shape, placement, and control layout. The control layout has changed from my initial drawing, but the F holes will stay as pictured.


I drew the first F hole, decided I liked the shape and placement, then traced it onto a sheet of vellum


then I flipped the vellum over, lined up the edge with the drawing, inserted a sheet of carbon paper, and traced the lines


I used the same carbon paper method to transfer the shape to a sheet of oak, and carved a template


I can now line up the edges and ends on the top piece, pencil in guide lines, rough cut the shape with a scroll saw, and finish the carving by hand.

[Telenator]

Another beautiful build. Man I wish I had the tools to build guitars regularly. I have some tools but a build like my last two Ric-type guitars took a good 7 months because of the amount of hand work and making templates for everything.

Your threads always inspire me to just buy the tools and start making more guitars. I mean, hey, the instructions are all right here! I don't come forward on this stuff often but wanted to say that I read all of your 'build threads" and they're greatly appreciated!

[boris bubbanov]

Looks great, Rich!

I'm coming up empty on the wood, so far. A closer view might help, not sure. How heavy is it for such a tight wood?

Bubbanov

[dtube]

Another cool project, Rich! My guess on the wood is Yellow Pine. A lot of old barns and houses over this way (Western, PA) are sided with the stuff. The density varies from medium to hard. My last house was covered in 70-yr old yellow pine; I re-sided it with foam board insulation and vinyl siding - running siding nails into that stuff was a real adventure. I kept a cordless drill with a pilot bit in the belt at all times
-Darren

[91xlntS-3]

Rich,

I've GOT to have you build me a guitar one of these days!! Just told my wife about this thread and told her "If you ever want to buy me a custom guitar, get it from Rice Custom Guitars"! She won't buy it, but she might allow me to buy it at some point! I'll have to be very, very good tho! Great build and great pics/info!

[Rich Rice]

Woah.. these threads are just trying to illustrate some different ways you can build.. there are so many things that can be done, and different methods- Nothing more, nothing less. I appreciate your comments, but don't want to jeopardize the thread. My hope is to inspire and help those who are interested in DIY projects, as others have. If you need any specific help, it will be best to contact me through PM or e-mail.

[unzari]

That's going to be one lovely guitar!