Curious..One Piece Backs..

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Ramón

Posts: 440
Joined: Feb. 23 2005
From: La Jolla, Ca

Curious..One Piece Backs..

I noticed a link on Bernabe's guitars the other day (he will be missed), and I kind of liked that one-piece back....

Pros and cons??

http://www.classicguitar.com/07Bernabe_lg.html

R

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 1:24:53

nhills

Posts: 230
Joined: Jul. 13 2003
From: West Des Moines, IA USA

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

I doubt that this is one piece - it's almost certainly two pieces without the usual inlay between them (or at least covering the joint).

I like it too.
Norman

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 2:20:43

Ramón

Posts: 440
Joined: Feb. 23 2005
From: La Jolla, Ca

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

Oh! I know it's 2 pieces, I just sort of called it 1-piece.

I'm kind of drawn to the look, as the grain is the draw, not the dark strip down the back..

Just kind of afraid of that cheapy, knockoff look you see in department store guitars, etc...

But I liked it when I saw it!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 2:34:29

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

I like this look better than the traditional with a glued center strip. With no strip you only have one gluing edge, if you sandwich a center strip, you now have two gluing edges. I would say a back with no center strip would be stronger. But what do I know?

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www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 3:06:51

Ramón

Posts: 440
Joined: Feb. 23 2005
From: La Jolla, Ca

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

So NOW I'm wondering what the heel strip would look like.....!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 4:34:54

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

Your heel strip can a piece of rosewood which would be easier. It'll be a bit more difficult to do it like Bernabe did in the photo but if you can pull it off it would be nice.

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www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 14:06:50

Jim Opfer

Posts: 1876
Joined: Jul. 19 2003
From: Glasgow, Scotland.

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

Just my opinion but I don't like it.
Looks weak and strange with the grain clashing into nothing really.
There's an aesthetic basis for traditional detail, same in Architecture. Not to say it can't change, just that it has to be understood before it can be messed with and this one doesn't do it for me.
Sorry!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 22:55:12

Patrick

Posts: 1189
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Portland, Oregon

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

DeVoe does it on his negra's with a simple ebony heal cap, but uses a center strip on his blanca's.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 29 2007 23:18:19

r0bbie

Posts: 160
Joined: Feb. 11 2007
From: Holland

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Ramón)

I am not a luther but I have build 2 1/2 guitars so far and I wonder why you would need a center inlay in the first place.

I read in a lot of documents that the glue is stronger then the wood and I have tested it. Just glue two peaces of wood together and try to break it (from dictionary) in the glued seem. It wont happen. Its always in a weeker part but not the glued edges.

The top is also glued and there is no reënforcement in centerseam. Also with repairing cracks, people use patches but why? The crack is stronger with the glue then without.

Maybe its the (old) hide glue thats week and has to have the patches or the inlay in the back but with the strong modern glues? I just dont understand.

I am not ignorant because I did use the patches for a crack that I repaired on my own guitar but it makes me wonder if its realy necessary.

Maybe I have to build 100 guitars without the patches and then wait when the first one comes back with a crack to see for myself that you need them but for now I dont understand why I am using them.

I have a 8 years old guitar just like the one that shown above and the first crack was in the side, not the back...

Anyone that can shed some light on this?

Rob.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 30 2007 0:03:47

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to Jim Opfer)

I think the look of the one piece back looks much nicer on a negra. Especially if you have some really nice figure. Cypress is kind of boring to look at so it does look plain with no center strip.

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www.instagram.com/tanunezguitars

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date May 30 2007 1:51:58

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: Curious..One Piece Backs.. (in reply to r0bbie)

quote:

I am not a luther but I have build 2 1/2 guitars so far and I wonder why you would need a center inlay in the first place.

I read in a lot of documents that the glue is stronger then the wood and I have tested it. Just glue two peaces of wood together and try to break it (from dictionary) in the glued seem. It wont happen. Its always in a weeker part but not the glued edges.

The top is also glued and there is no reënforcement in centerseam. Also with repairing cracks, people use patches but why? The crack is stronger with the glue then without.

Maybe its the (old) hide glue thats week and has to have the patches or the inlay in the back but with the strong modern glues? I just dont understand.

I am not ignorant because I did use the patches for a crack that I repaired on my own guitar but it makes me wonder if its realy necessary.

Maybe I have to build 100 guitars without the patches and then wait when the first one comes back with a crack to see for myself that you need them but for now I dont understand why I am using them.

I have a 8 years old guitar just like the one that shown above and the first crack was in the side, not the back...

Anyone that can shed some light on this?

Rob.

r0bbie,

The patches are used to counter act with the pulling of the wood. The grain on the patches is going the opposite way as the grain on the top so when the top starts to pull, the opposite grain on the patches will help counter this. Things are done for a reason. I think that since these patches have been used for decades, there is probably a good reason for it.