The bodies of these Brazilian beauties-part 1
Welcome to the third post following the journey of these soon to be Brazilian rosewood guitars. It is time to turn a few pieces of wood into a curvaceous body. This is a much less CNC intensive process, we use it slightly for the top and to join the back. The main tools we use to get the shape of the woods right are a fox style bending machine and a go-box. The Brazilian rosewood has a rich smell that is delightful to work with. We are excited to hear the first sounds!
To get a precise join both pieces of the back or top are placed in a shooter board then a ¼” bit runs down the side. The CNC has to movie in a straight line, so it gives us a clean, flat and straight surface. This makes for excellent joins.
The CNC routing out the rosette and pin holes. We do not cut the final shape here because it’s useful to have extra space when placing the braces.
Amboyna burl is used for the rosette and a black white black border frames it.
The side before it goes into the heating blanket. A few layers of aluminum with a heating pad run the length of the side.
Into the bend-o-lator.
Bent curfing. Easy compared to other woods. Fun to play with. So bendy.
The curfing gets glued into the side with wood glue and clamped on.
After the glue sanding must be done to eliminate the squeeze out. Even though no one will see it, It is important to Jay.
To glue the sides together a heel block and tail block must be used so the sides have something to attach to.
A completed and incomplete frame. In the top left are both blocks used.
Jay at work sanding the frame. The edges must match the curvature of the top and back, A board that matches that curvature is inset in the board so that the frame can be sanded to fit.
Love during the build makes the guitar sound better.
To get a precise join both pieces of the back or top are placed in a shooter board then a ¼” bit runs down the side. The CNC has to movie in a straight line, so it gives us a clean, flat and straight surface. This makes for excellent joins.
The CNC routing out the rosette and pin holes. We do not cut the final shape here because it’s useful to have extra space when placing the braces.
Amboyna burl is used for the rosette and a black white black border frames it.
The side before it goes into the heating blanket. A few layers of aluminum with a heating pad run the length of the side.
Into the bend-o-lator.
Bent curfing. Easy compared to other woods. Fun to play with. So bendy.
The curfing gets glued into the side with wood glue and clamped on.
After the glue sanding must be done to eliminate the squeeze out. Even though no one will see it, It is important to Jay.
To glue the sides together a heel block and tail block must be used so the sides have something to attach to.
A completed and incomplete frame. In the top left are both blocks used.
Jay at work sanding the frame. The edges must match the curvature of the top and back, A board that matches that curvature is inset in the board so that the frame can be sanded to fit.
Love during the build makes the guitar sound better.