New Design Proto Build - Bone

As in every proto build I need to stop, walk away and think things over and over... and the first thing I noticed was the cutaway. In the blueprint on screen it looks nice but in reality I noticed, while holding the outline template doing air guitar, that it's not open enough.
I went back and fixed it. Remember I said that I'll be using the pickguard for something else earlier? Well... here it is...

I used the guard outline and flipped it to shape the cutaway. Not only that it came out as a great classic open cutaway that keeps the round corner free line flow, it has also created a nice yin and yang thing with the guard (-;



I now need to change the 3 body templates accordingly....

First the main Mahogany outline and then the inner Paulownia outline along with with its negative box hollowing pin router template





The neck core is identical to a 59 LP and I use the same Mahogany used for the body box for both tone and color matching.

Neck blank



center Slabbed body blank



A little flattening



Outline marking



band sawing on the line to prevent router mishaps (-;



Template is attached



and the outline is done cleanly



Like that



This is the most labor intense body I have ever done as it involves 2 body blanks, hollowing and gluing of the slab section... no way to avoid that I guess but it's a lot of fun (-;

Here's the inner featherweight paulownia section blank



It will need to be cut with the end grain rings opposite to the Mahogany with the ark facing up. this will add stability against warpage and the positive ark will spread the high frequencies sideways from the bridge adding to the warmth and midrange emphasis a little bit.



outline...



band saw...



rediculous weight... (-;



Here's the Mahogany before hollowing for comparison



secondary inner template..



flush routing



Done. It feels like building everything twice...



Time to hollow the Mahogany out. I leave about 1/2" thick sides and back. There's still a strong Mahogany tone present since it's about 1/2 of the body slab volume size.

I set the hollowing template on the bottom and place the body in the pin router jig



Depth is set



and the Z axis is zeroed to the face of the body



I now go slow in 1/4" steps (I can do it in one pass but I don't wish to break the box walls in the case of a router Kickback... YIKES!)



Takes a little patience and strong arms but it's finally done



I have to weigh everything when doing a proto in case I'll need to change the ratios in the future. Here it is after the hollowing



I check for a tight fit with the inner slab and put it in the freezer for a while.
This will shrink it enough for an easy fit and when it warms up again after the gluing the fit will be very tight. That's the only way to achieve a super tight void free insert.





As it slowly cools down in the freeze I prepare the 310 hide glue. This stuff is very strong. Feels like glass when dry but the open time is about 10 seconds... I need to work fast (-;



Sandwich jig is set for the Bone model



Hide glue is pored and quickly brushed in the mahogany (the paulownia is frozen and can not accept hide glue), sorry, no time to take photos...
I now hammer the insert in with a few heavy wooden mallet blows



and tighten the jig for a few minutes until the hide glue fully gels

 

Body is out of the jig and set to dry for a couple of hours.



The proud section of the paulownia is sanded flush with the Mahogany



The joint is super tight and the entire slab's tap tone is amazing. I also tap the back to make sure it's void free and it is! That was one of my main concerns but all in all it went very smoothly.







Diagonal wire channel is cut like on a '59 LP.





and here's the weight again. This is before the cavity routing... extremely lightweight!



Top is dry



outlined and cut



Thicknessed to 9/16" (the neck angle is only 4°)



I make sure the joint line is invisible







Body is heated to allow for a longer open time of the 310 glue



Thin and evenly spread hide glue. It has to be thin for a good and close bond between the maple and the slab.



Sandwich jig is tightened



and the joint is examined for possible gaps in case the glue has gelled too soon. It's OK.



The parts will need to rest for a few days before final truing and further machining.
Hope you enjoy the ride. I do... a lot.

Happy Kosher Passover everybody!

 

The less glue the better (-; No scarf joints...
The heel will stay the same. Nothing wrong with a little struggle once you get used to it (-;
The body is a little thinner under the heel so it will be easier on the palm when reaching the higher register.

 

That would be nice if it will actually stand to my expectations... it can also turn into a costly disaster (-; We'll see...

 

I'm also expecting your inputs.

 

Thanks Frank. I'm looking forward to seeing you friend.

 

You are very welcome. Better get some lemonade too... this is going to take a while.

 

That black 5 ply was my initial thought but I'll have to see how it looks in reality.
Not sure if to use black M69's as well.

 

It's the Passover !

 

I haven't seen this before but who knows...

 

Yes. But it takes 3 seconds to hammer the thing in and it will come in touch with the bottom (where most of the glue is) only after it's in place so no problem there. I also heat the Mahogany.

 

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