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RE: hijos de vicente tatay (in reply to mecmachin)
Ahhhh...I just thought of something else, more a helpful tidbit than anything. In guitar making, especially design, everything flows from the bridge. In this case you're kind of stepping into this element so it doesn't hurt to consider this stuff...
If your goal is classical action, the string height above the top at the saddle is generally in the neighbourhood of 11mm +/-1mm. For flamenco, people like to see 7.5mm but I caution that this number is too low for your purposes. Aim for 8 to 8.5mm to give yourself some wiggle room. Once you've chosen your target at the bridge you can work from that number and weigh it against your desired string height at the 12th and use that information to determine a spot on the side of the bridge to aim your straight-edge while you work. That's pretty well how I was taught. Again, it's hard to put into words, and that's where an elevation drawing can really come in handy.
Just a thought, but these drawings really do help clarify things and give confidence. I still resort to them, anytime I feel the need I'm not embarrassed to draw it out and confirm.
Now, before you go much further you could team up with sildxx and take a crash course in French polish touch up. That top is a prime candidate to learn on and would likely clean up nicely. But, practice on scrap wood first (important).*
yes this is an art of its own. For sure I won't polish like that.
Just to keep the story alive: I renounce on planing the fingerboard. Sanding instead with a shortened macons ruler...and abusing of my new foam case as a luthiers bench.
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RE: hijos de vicente tatay (in reply to mecmachin)
Fun stuff...I'm actually doing the same to one of mine because the neck didn't pull into enough relief.
I don't know how much advice you want but seeing as you're making pretty good progress I wanted to weigh in on a couple of things, just in case.
You'll probably want to dye the fingerboard back to black when you're done. I've used the Feibings (sp?) leather dye stuff before, the toxic variety (they make two), and it works well, but it really does stink to high heaven and the smell lingers. Whatever dye you choose, it's probably best to apply it after the slots are prepped but before the frets go on. You'll still have to touch up the edges of the FB after dressing the frets, but if you use any glues to seat the frets or fill the gaps on the sides, you don't want them blocking the dye, which could lead to a mottled appearance near the frets.
The second thing, just in case you haven't fretted before, is you need a reasonably sturdy metal block to support the underside of the top before hammering in anything in the portion of the fingerboard that sits over the body. Basically some weighted block that you can slip through the sound hole and prop against the underside of the top with your free hand whilst hammering with the other. There's a danger of cracking the top if you don't. If you've already fretted and know about this, then pls ignore. I won't mind, because I got to use the word "whilst", which is reward enough.
I didn't even think about teinting the fretboard. I orderd a fretsaw which I hope will match my frets (0.5 mm tang width dunlop 6210 if I remember well, and a pax saw from UK which should work out fine.) But I wondered,( as I have seen in a vid) about the necessity of glue on the fret ends. Also if I should better precut the frets, or hammer in the entire wire and cut it in place. But maybe just wait and see what works best for me.
yes thanks, seen that too, counterweight when tapping near the soundboard...
RE: hijos de vicente tatay (in reply to mecmachin)
I just looked at your photos and realized the original board wasn't dyed black to start with. Don't know why I thought it was, maybe the dark spot in the sanding pics gave me the impression. I guess it's a judgement call that can be made after the board is prepped, but if it wasn't dyed black to begin with then it doesn't make sense to do it now. I generally default to keeping with the original spirit of a guitar.
Fretting...if you're working from a length cut from a coil then it can be economical to not pre-cut, just tap in, cut in place, then move on to the next. Sometimes the curve from the coil can make it awkward, however, and if it twists or makes seating a new fret vertically difficult then it's best to pre-cut. Also, when working over the body pre-cutting is easier and there's less chance of scratching anything. But, you're right, it comes down to doing whatever feels comfortable at any particular moment.
A spot of glue at the ends can help fill any extra slot gap not filled by the tang, so in addition to holding the fret it's also cosmetically pleasing. I generally put a spot of CA at the ends as a matter of course, and if I need to do some gap filling I'll use some thicker stuff. It's a good idea to put a very slight bevel along the fret slots during prep and also brush a small bead of water along the slot before hammering the fret in, especially if you're working with ebony (doesn't apply here, but it's a good general rule). The bevel helps avoid chipping both on install and removal, as does the water. Following on that, I always run a bead of water along the fret and heat it with a soldering iron when removing frets, operating on the assumption that there may be glue in place and there's no harm done if there isn't.
Yeah, the weight absorbs the impact of the hammer, which spares the wood. Which is also why necks are often rested on bags of buckshot for fretting. To transfer the energy. Kind of like what's demonstrated by those clickety-click swinging ball contraptions people like to keep on their office desks.
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