This meeting was very productive. The
camaraderie is growing... as each neck project makes
progress the guys are helping each other more and more. I am gratified
to see this, for this is the reason SCALe was formed. This particular
Sunday was special because it was Gary's birthday. Pizza was provided
for lunch and it was fun to get to know each other better. So far of
the members that are building instruments, there are 2 electric
guitars, 2 arch top hollow body electrics( one and 8 string), 1 cigar
box ukulele, 1 mandolin, 2 acoustic guitars, 2 electric basses. Since
some 6 of these instruments are going to require magnetic pickups, Gary
gave a lecture on magnetic pickups. We discussed how the pickup
designers are able to make subtle changes in tone by altering the
coil size , wire size, pole piece material and size, and variations in
the magnetic material formulas. We then got down to business.
Here
are the subjects that were
covered in the meeting:
Neck joints and heel shapes
Magnetic pickup construction
Bridge repair tips
Fingerboard to neck base gluing techniques
Changing scale lengths
More building techniques...
Sorry if you were one of those who missed the meeting!
The next regular meeting is on December 14th at 1:30 pm at Mercy Music.
Hope to see you there.
1. Our SCALe Mascots, "Rocky" Protector of the Attending Faithful, and his mighty side kick "Clifford" the soon to be "Big Red Dog" |
2. Richard repaired a uke's broken bridge, but could not find a clamp the correct size to hold the bridge in place while gluing. Gary showed us that a drill press can just be used as a press. It works great, as long as you provide some sort of alignment pins or screws so the bridge does not slip or move to the wrong position. A great deal of force can be applied with this setup so be careful not to over tighten the drill presses quill pressure.  |
 3. Note that the glue has swelled into the string retainer slots. |
4. Once
the glue has started to set up, it is important to wipe the excess glue
off. A cotton swab is a good trick to get into tight places. Richard
used a urethane glue so he had to clean of the excess with paint
thinner. This is usually not a problem because most finishes are not
chemically altered, etched or dissolved by Paint thinner or turpentine. The following observations are offered about urethane adhesives. * Fairly new wood glue, basically low expanding urethane foam * Excellent gap filling abilities (up to 3/8"), extremely strong when set * Moisture causes it to set, actually absorbing water from air or wood itself. * Drying time varies with humidity and porosity of materials bonded. Setting time can actually be reduced by dampening pieces before gluing. * Very strong joint with slight ability to flex under pressure, so joint gives rather than cracking under stress. * Glue does expand slightly as it sets, so clamp firmly until set so glue doesn't push joints apart. |
 5. The belt sander is used to flatten the gluing surface. |
 6. The neck should be moved as if the sandpaper were stationary. This allows the granules to cut like a knife edge but keeps the cutting surface cooler. |
 7. This is the correct way to hold the neck base so even pressure can be applied |
 8. This is actually the incorrect way to hold the neck base. Uneven pressure is being applied. |
 9. Here, Gary is applying pressure in a specific place on the neck base, but he is pulling the neck so as to shave the surface. In this manner a slight forward bow can be created. |
 10. Steve checks the amount of forward bow sanded into the necks surface. The forward bow is required to counter act the back bow pressure applied when installing the fret material into the fingerboard. |
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Neck joints and heel shapes
Magnetic pickup construction
Bridge repair tips
Fingerboard to neck base gluing techniques
Changing scale lengths
More building techniques...
Sorry if you were one of those who missed the meeting!
The next regular meeting is on December 14th at 1:30 pm at Mercy Music.
Hope to see you there.