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Scarf Joints........arghhh

Greetings Again Nation......

Another question for those who dabble with scarf joints for the headstock/neck: I don't use power tools exept my dremmel and drill so all my cuts are by hand. But my scarf joint cuts are uneven and require a lot of extra work to make them look decent. Any suggestions on the best type of hand saw to get a straighter/cleaner cut? I've tried a coping saw, laminate saw, a Stanley "Fine Finish" hand saw, and even a hack saw. The only thing left to try that I can see would be one of those Japanese style double-edged saws, or possibly a box saw (which look a lot like the aforementioned Stanley saw). A miter box doesn't give me the angle I need/want for the cuts (looking at 12-15 degree angles). Any thoughts? Unfortunately I don't have access to a table/band/scroll saw- otherwise I'd make my cuts and call it a day!

Any and all comments welcome and appreciated!

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Permalink Reply by Bob Lumpkin on January 30, 2012 at 7:20pm

Man I like that body shape. Looks like one of those Russian watchamacallits. Got to try one this spring when my garage (wood shop) thaws out. Cool neck but I'm dangerous with a chainsaw.

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on January 31, 2012 at 2:57am

Hi Bob,

The Russian balalaika looks quite a bit different in that it has a "rounded" backside and a slanted transom (i.e. the side that we often attach a tail-piece onto rather than on the sound board). The "rounded" backside is built from usually 7 staves, with the pieces fit together at odd angles (look up "stave construction" and "Oud" for more details).

What Randy S. Bretz has is a regular trapezoid shaped box with the shortest side approximately the width of the neck, making it appear like a triangle. This design likely makes it easier to attach the neck or possibly yields a stronger neck-to-sound box joint.

I have built one triangular box guitar and I really like the shape and size, easy to hold. I think I have posted some write-up on it under my Home Made Resonator Boxes 101, v.2.0 discussion group. The triangular box guitar is still one of my favorite builds. Here's a photo:

If the balalaika still sounds appealing, there is a free set of detailed plans for building In the form of a .pdf file on the Internet. I have a copy, and with a bit of research might be able to find the URL of the original site. We should have a balalaika build-off (after a seminar on stave construction techniques). Just kidding about the build-off... I'm not ready for that.

-Rand.

P. S., I Googled "Building a Balalaika" + "James H Flynn" and got 2 hits, but could not find the .pdf file link. I did find this info:

"Building the balalaika, a Russian folk instrument"
by James H Flynn, Jr

Vienna, Va., U.S.A., 1984.
ISBN: 0961325801

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Smith on April 25, 2012 at 3:09am

here is the link Rand,

http://www.luth.org/downloads/Flynn-Balalaika-GAL.pdf

Tom

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Permalink Reply by David "Gitz" O'Corley on April 17, 2012 at 4:07am

I really like this design

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on January 30, 2012 at 3:21am

I agree with rand, IMHO slotted heads are lower risk and can be just as astectically pleasing and structurally more sound although there is nothing wrong with a well executed scarfed head a poor one can put you in all sorts of trouble

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Permalink Reply by HOGS GRUNT on January 30, 2012 at 7:36am

I agree with John on the deeper saw being a 'tenon saw'.

The narrower saws are called 'back saws' I believe. That's what my dad called then and it's good enough for me.

Hogs.

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on January 31, 2012 at 2:10am

You guys are probably right about the saw names. I've been messing around with wood working for less than 2 years, so what do I know? Or maybe Yanks call them differently, has happened before.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on January 30, 2012 at 8:27am

I've done a couple of scarf joints, most recently on my "Resolution" build, the neck was made from laminated strips of hardwood and the neck American Oak, i used a hacksaw to start off the angled cut and completed it with a full size hand saw, a little smoothing was needed but not much. (-:

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Permalink Reply by Leo Anderson on April 13, 2012 at 8:54am

Hi Donny Bell

My names Leo and i know its a little bit two late to answer this messege but i always cut my scarf joints by hand using a normal irwin jack saw. At first my joints where uneven untill i made a simple jig it only taken an hour and has saven me from hours of stress.

Leo

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Permalink Reply by Donny Bell on April 16, 2012 at 4:49pm

Leo, it's never to late! I am always looking for ways to improve my process. I bought a Stanley "Fatmax" hand saw that seems to do really well on the 1 1/2" wide pieces for the neck but not so good on the 3" pieces I cut for the headstock. Do you have any pictures of the jig you made?

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Permalink Reply by Swamp Dawg Primal Music on April 13, 2012 at 9:44am

I use a hacksaw and clip fretboard pscraps to the neck as guides, they come out straight. Go slow, the cut takes me 15 minutes or more.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on April 19, 2012 at 3:22pm

wow well aint this the thread that just wont go away..

ok so ppl got other suggestions, but i thort id tell you this cos noone else did, to make a successful scarf join its essential that your neck is nice and square to begin with, this is far more important even that a nice clean cut..