Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jonno on July 25, 2016 at 3:16pm

@ Darryl. Have to be idiot proof with me usin it he he.

@ Taffy. Would a rubber mallet be any good? This thread is introducing build tips. And thatz AOK with me. Need all the tips I can get.
On a test buld which never saw the light of day coz I muffed it, I tried the bending nails into 'U' shape staples and fitten them into small pre drilled holes along both sides of fretboard. I used a pair of pliers with the jaws padded with some wetsuit rubber and crimped the staples nice and flat with out damageing neck or fretboard. But I drilled a couple holes to close to edge and split fretboard edge. I might revisit that technique again but. Cheers all. Jonno

P.s I posted my build 3 in pic section if anybody interested. It looks ok. The sound is sweet

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on July 25, 2016 at 5:52pm

the wooden mallet was just an alernative for Pavlov a r t,as he has few tools and lacks space,I use a couple of Thor brand hammers,interchangeable heads,you can have varying degrees of hardness plastic type heads,brass heads hide heads and so on

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on July 25, 2016 at 6:25pm

Hi Jonno, as 99% of my fret work is on fingerboards of varying radii I have always used the dead blow hammer shown. When frets are being fitted to a radiused fingerboard they are normally pre [over] radiused so they have a high area in the middle. As the fret is tapped in the high spot goes down and the ends of the fret move out slightly as they go down, this drives the barbs in at a better angle and fit. The dead blow hammer works best to achieve a good fret seating. As mentioned above the rubber hammer eliminates bending, so may not easily make the over radiused fret follow the f/board radius.

However, we are talking slide guitars with a flat narrow fingerboard. I just put in two frets in the board shown, one rubber hammer, one fretting hammer, both worked in this situation fine.

So yes rubber hammer will work.

Cheers Taff

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Permalink Reply by Jonno on July 25, 2016 at 10:19pm

@ Darryl. Wow that hammer is a beaut.

@ Way. Hey man what is that thing called you posted a pic of. Looks nifty.

@ Hi Taffy. I get ya on the radius thingie. Does anyone put the convex curve on a cbg, is that just not worth the trouble. Do you have a machine in your work space that does that? Lovin learning more about all this.

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on July 26, 2016 at 12:30am

Hi Jonno, the radius on a fingerboard is there to aid better/easier fingering. The CBG's I build are built for slide playing so the bridge saddle is flat, so I make my f/boards flat also. On six stringers CBG's I build that have a radiused (recycled) neck and a flat saddle (for slide) the outside strings are higher off the fingerboard than the middle strings, and for me it creates tuning problems when I use a capo. But that's just me.

I radius my finger boards by hand using a plane and sandpaper on radiused sanding blocks. That's regular guitars not CBG's.
Cheers Taff.

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Permalink Reply by JL on July 26, 2016 at 2:27am

Its not heresy to build a classic neck electric!

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Permalink Reply by darryl kernaghan on July 26, 2016 at 2:57am

re the fretting,many disagree ,but i like curved wire on flat fretboards,if your kerf is correct,the set of the tang of the wire gets a 3 direction grip on the wood and works very well,as Taffy says though some timbers don't grip as well as others,in that case the curved wire can be a bit of a bitch

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Permalink Reply by Taffy Evans on July 26, 2016 at 11:45am

In my instrument work any task I do has to be reversible, either for me or the next person working on the instrument. To this end to aid in the removal of frets whilst still maintaining a good firm fret/slot fit, I file a very small angle on the top of the fret slot with a small three corner file. I have a special file.

When the fret is pulled out the barbs on the tang do not pull wood fibers/grain up and chip the fingerboard either side of the slot.

I believe that a solid fret job equals a stable neck, necks also contribute to the tone/sustain of the guitar. That's important to me as a CBG builder, because with such a small box/body I want to get as much as I can out of that baby.

Cheers Taff

 

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Permalink Reply by Matt on July 26, 2016 at 12:34pm

I do most of my work at the kitchen table, which means I often don't have a table to eat at. I don't build a lot, and only have a few hand tools-pocketknife, flush cut saw, miter box, a few rasps and a cordless drill-so this usually isn't a problem.
However, someone recently wrote a little article about me online, and I've gotten a little attention; I currently have eight boxes to build for an event in three weeks. Usually takes me 4-6 evenings to build a guitar.
I have a wife and two kids-5yo & 18months-and my wife is currently pretty unhappy with me.

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Permalink Reply by Jonno on July 26, 2016 at 4:46pm

Lol Way . Good advice he he. Thanx for info bout that clamp gizmo. Looks like the bees knees for a clamp job.

@ Matt. You are in the CBG army now dude. He he he

@Taffy. Thanx for info
Wow radiusing by hand must be intense.

Hmmm. I would dearly love to get away from superglue for fretting. But already I have muffed two pieces of tas oak fretboard tryin out some cut ideas ( plenty of test cuts in a scrap bit too). If I could find a better glue for me split pin fretting I'd use that.I'm startin to get requests for cbg gifts. I don't mind makin em. I just dont like the idea of em being played at a special moment and 1 or more frets fall off. Is there a good glue out there for bonding, that is rock solid and residue is cleaned off good. Mind you, I guess its askin a lot for a very solid bond to slick metal and wood. Cheers all. Jonno

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Permalink Reply by 3pefhwwnvfj2q on July 26, 2016 at 5:30pm

 I have gone through this. I have done creative work of various sorts all my life. My wife doesn't seem to mind me building because it keeps me out of the rv and making messes or spilling something, and yet I am close by to hang out with the dogs. However, I almost got married to another gal, and when I got an exhibition in an art fair for a month I worked until 7 am, woke up at noon, and started again. Then for four days I sat in my booth 12 hours a day. I was close by, but she wasn't happy with me. Now this is a different story, but I have gone through this a lot in my life. Most art forms took me to where I had to work in isolation, such as writing, painting, so I could see how those girls were unhappy, but another story, and they were unhappy with me no matter what. If you are at the kitchen table that means you are home with the family, not elsewhere. Let her complain, don't argue or explain yourself,maybe rub her shoulders a little, and build, build, build, and enjoy the mad creativity that is going to come out of you. It's going to really get those gears going. Congratualtions! 

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Permalink Reply by 3pefhwwnvfj2q on July 27, 2016 at 5:25am

Wait, to be totally accurate Matt my wife is unhappy with the amount of money I am spending. I am going to have to go out in the streets and play some of my guitars to try to get some cash together to cover some of this. I am not one to try and draw attention to myself, and am sort of dreading it, but at least if I look like a fool I'll be in another town. I am sure you are the type of guy who does a lot for the family. I would just say take a little extra time to do something extra nice for your wife and that part will calm down. I am sure you will sell some. 

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