Virtual Non-Meeting
Jan 15, 2021
Robbie Dummitt's Insepction Camera (Endoscope/Borescope)
6 adjustable led lights, zoom in and out, rigid cable to position camera just where you want it. No fussing with mirrors trying to see inside.
Tom Pafford's Fretboard Radius Jig
Woody McKenzie - Ziricote Guitar
Woody brought back the Ziricote wood fom his trip to Belize with Bookbag Santa.
Robbie Dummitt - Fender Coranado II
This is a 1967 Fender Coronado II Wildwood III. I played this guitar until 1973. Fender injected die in the roots to get the the colorful design. No two are alike. I've been cleaning the electronics, adjusting the neck, bridge and intonation. It sounds great and plays well.
Larry Sakayama's Compressor Cart
I use my compressor in the shop for spraying finishes, but also in the garage for putting air in tires and for stuff on the dock. Every year, it seems to get heavier as I drag it around, so I made this cart, similar to one I saw in Fine Woodworking Magazine, but modified for wheels instead of casters. I also put the tool tray between the posts rather than behind them.
Here's the one from FW Mag
Covid-19 Pandemic Virtual Non-Meeting 5
Here's what we're doing while unable to meet with our fellow luthiers. Hopefully we'll be able to meet face to face soon.
Happy New Year from Woody and Marcia McKenzie
We decided to perform a waltz as a facebook video each week on Wednesday ("Waltz Wednesday") this past March. We have now recorded over 40 consecutive waltzes.
Since we are contra and square dance musicians who really miss playing for dances, we thought that some of our dancing friends might at least be able to waltz to our music at home and this would be a way for us to still stay somehow connected. This has also been good for us, since it has given us an incentive to learn some new music and also just to see how varied we can make it. Interestingly, we have realized that a lot of songs we do are in 3/4 time and very danceable.
J45 Project Guitar
Tom Pafford came over to Larry Sakayama's shop to check out his fretboard radius jig. While he was there, we decided to grain filling on the J45 project guitar and get the neck ready for finishing. And yes, we were good citizens, wearing our masks and trying to keep some distance between us.
We got some Aquacoat grain filler from Woodcraft because it dries fast and would allow us to progress faster. After running a comparison test with the Aquacoat and Zpoxy on a piece of walnut, we decided to go with Zpoxy with a wash coat of Seal Coat (dewaxed shellac) underneath. Zpoxy needs 4-6 hours between coats but we thought the richness of Zpoxy over shellac was worth the wait. Zpoxy will also allow us to level some of the cupping on the sides.
Sanding the 1st coat of Zpoxy (as grain filler) reveals the cupping in the Amazon rosewood sides. Further coats of Zpoxy will fill them.
How to fix a warped neck
This video is self explanatory. A very effective way to eliminate the problems of a warped neck.
Eric Mosley Classical Guitar
Eric asked Larry to build him a classical guitar. Eric's been acquiring the parts. Here's the Rosewood back and sides and the torrified old growth red spruce top.
It will have some deviations from a traditional classical build -
- Bolt on neck and truss rod
- Cantilevered fretboard extension
- Soundhole at the cutaway
- Modified bracing which we haven't figured out yet
The neck shape will be modeled after the neck on Eric's Yamaha nylon string travel guitar. Photos below show how Larry measured the neck thickness at the 1st and 5th frets (without string removal) and the neck profile templates.
Larry Sakayama - 2 Parlor Guitars
Spraying was complete when I noticed I forgot side dots on the neck so I added them and resprayed the lacquer. This is what happens when your project gets ignored for a long time and you're not paying attention. Next up - final buffing, bridges, assembly and set-up.
