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Ramón -> Building a Flamenco Guitar - 3 (Apr. 30 2006 1:00:41)
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Whew....THIS IS HARD WORK! And I think stress adds a bit to being tired, as I am trying very hard not to re-purchase woods, measuring and remeasuring, checking and checking before cutting (and I STILL cut wrong, again, but saved it by having enough extra to re-center and reline the fretboard!).
So today, I cut the neck headplate veneers down to the square shape of the head, then used a fine Japanese backsaw to cut the slot for the nut at the head. Used a 'guide' to make sure the blade was 90° on the cut. That came out really good.
Finished, I then set up a table and jig to route a track down the center on the neck, what will be under the fretboard, to lay a hidden carbonfibre rod (all the truss rod talk). I like this idea better than a visible ebony strip, as it is a bit lighter, and it's hidden inside. I like this 'cleaner' look to a flamenco neck, without the worry of it bending up, or lots of added weight.
I begin on the fretboard. I squared my ends, and joined one side to have a clean, level side to measure from. Laid center, then my lines from the plan; 54mm at the nut, about 63.5mm (2 1/2") at the 12th. Checked my measurements, and then used a plexiglass jig from LMII.com on the table saw with a fretsaw blade. It's actually about standard blade thickness, and right before the teeth, it fines out to fretwire thickness. This keeps the blade stiff and strong, without wobble, but gives a perfect fret cut.
Used the 655mm scale from the plan, laid my finished fretboard on the plan....EXACT! Yes!...(whew...It's not so much buying a new piece if I had to...It just would be having to do it over; thickness sand, setups, cuts, etc)!
I then epoxy'd the track, fit the carbon strip in, cut about 3-4mm short, to allow the epoxy and air to escape one side. After I squeezed out the excess, I laid a cedar veneer over the top to level it to the neck. Bob does this, because sanding the carbon is like black coal dust, and it "gets just everywhere", he says. Bob came over with an old credit card and ran the top of excess epoxy, nice and clean.
Doesn't sound like much was done, but it's rather exacting work. Here's a pic of today's efforts, laid on top of the Reyes plans...The pic is a bit hard to see, but for my efforts, the lines and cuts are EXACT to the plans... I need a beer!
Cheers
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