Anyone here building acoustic guitars?

[Treeline]

make sure it's flattened as well, stanley are really really poor quality thesedays, get an old one instead, and restore it, I recently picked up a 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 for not much money at all on ebay, it's all you need to start with.

I agree that Stanley took a quality dive over the last twenty years or so. Part of clawing their way back has been to re-introduce the Sweetheart line, which back in the 1930s was its premier line. It's really doing a pretty nice job of it. This plane is straight, flat, sharp enough to shave with. It really does compare with Lie-Nielsen tools at half the price. I think Stanley is dumping money into the line, because it's a clear turn around.

 

[Treeline]

Back plates together

So far, so good. The back plates jointed well and I think I have a good glue seam. No problems with glue adhesion using titebond. I'd prefer to use hide glue but I haven't yet learned how to manage it. The time will come though.

One side is a bit thicker than the other and both are way too thick to build with. So there'll be some planing, sanding, scraping to be done. This is maritime rosewood, a/k/a rose de bois. It has a clear tap tone and is tough stuff - takes forever to thickness the plates. It tends to dull tools but finishes exceptionally well. I've never worked with it before, so this will be interesting.

 

[Treeline]

I've been thinning the sides and back plates, and took the opportunity to wipe a little denatured alcohol on one of the sides, snapping a photo before it evaporated. It gives me a hint of what this may look like when finished. I like this stuff!

 

[Treeline]

Back is ready for assembly. Still have to rout the back for a center strip, of course. But it's at the right thickness. The sides are also at 0.08". . . finally. Next step will be to build some cam clamps.

 

[Treeline]

I've been making slow progress on the guitar; life keeps intervening. But here's a shot of the side bending form with a set of spring loaded cauls to hold the side tight against the form as it cools in place. Still need to install a steel mesh over the curves to combat kinks and so forth.