After a bit of time re-establishing the routine with getting kids to school and doing homework with the kids, I got back in the shop. I had left off finishing the install of the binding and purfling on guitar 3′s body. I had done a little clean up and wanted to finish that up. I [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Luthier’
Guitar 3 has been bound!
Today, I’ll show you a little about how I improved my binding and purfling install. Below you can see that the first half is finished. Before finishing the 2nd half, you need to square up the ends so that you can get a flush joint. In my case, I usually overextend the glue joint for [...]
It’s a good day!
Today was a good day! I decided to try a new approach to the initial glue up. In the previous glue ups, I run into a problem that the purfling is not pre-bended (it’s just too thin to even try) while the binding is pre-bended. This aggravates the nature of thin pieces of wood getting [...]
Less Swearing…
I got back to my shop yesterday and returned to working on building 3 guitars. The step I’m on (installing purfling and binding) is not fun and actually quite frustrating. Yesterday, I was swearing a lot. In fact my wife, Kathy, came out to check on me. I’ve broken the job down into 4 installs [...]
Back To Work
A few hours ago I got back to my shop. As many of you might know, my current project (or projects) involve building 3 guitars from scratch. To date, I’ve built 3 bodies which include 2 with cutaways and 1 with full body. I’ve roughed 3 necks out including the headstock. Right now, I’m working [...]
Motivated or Frustrated
I haven’t been to my shop in a few weeks. To me (and probably most of us woodworkers), that’s just sad. The problem, though, may be self inflicted. Those of you who have read this blog on a regular basis know that I’m working on building 3 acoustic guitars. If you really remember a while [...]
Purfling…what a funny word!
Purfling is a word that defines material between the binding and the top or back wood on a string instrument. Binding is a word that defines the outer most material surround the top and back wood on a string instrument. The purfling is decorative but the binding actually provides some function. First the binding provides [...]
Guitar Building – Back at it!
It’s been a while since I worked on my guitars. Now it’s time to get back to it (not that I’ve exhausted all my distractions but really…I need to finish these babies!). On the right you see my second guitar body. I had already finished the purfling and binding though I don’t consider it a [...]
Bending Bindings
Today, I turned to Guitar #3. This guitar is a full body (no cutaway) OM sized guitar. My intention for this guitar is to give it to my youngest son, Mitchell. Mitchell is currently 10 and is learning piano. I have offered him the choice to change to guitar when he is 12 and he [...]
Hobby vs Job
As a full time Dad, many might think that I have ample time for woodworking (my greatest passion outside of my wife and kids)…but they are just wrong. Yes, it would probably be possible to carve out time with some rules for the family – much like work at home parents… but that would be [...]
Mitchell as a Luthier
In my last post, I talked about my experience with Mitchell, 10 and Xander, 12 helping me install my bindings and purflings on the top of my second guitar build. I was very happy with both their help and focus. Anyone who has children knows that when you get your kids to help you, you [...]
A True Luthier Experience
Today I wanted to tackle the other half of my 2nd Guitar build, specifically the binding and purfling. The first side/back side went fairly well and lessons were learned. I was very hopeful on tacking the second side/top side. As I was going out to my shop, I asked my oldest (Xander, 12 years old) [...]
Guitar 2 – More binding and purfling install
Now continuing the efforts to install the binding and purfling on the second guitar build, I found that using a rubber hose to add additional clamping pressure beyond the tape gives a better result especially at any tight curves like the waist or cutaway. In addition, I add clamps to those key areas. I may [...]
Guitar 2 – Binding and Purfling repair
My first attempt at the binding and purfling went fairly well though I had some issues at the waist (the skinny part of the guitar body). The purfling twisted and the binding and purfling didn’t glue tightly against the body. I had to carve out a small section and remove the bad piece around the [...]
Guitar 1 – Year 2
You might remember that my first guitar project was from a kit from US Guitar Kits. I was happy with the resulting guitar so I gave it to my Mom. Let me explain though cause that sounds a bit weird. I grew up around musicians and the primary reason was my Mom. My mom decided [...]
