Tom Blackshear -> RE: The building of a Swedish flamenco guitar (Apr. 21 2008 15:21:28)
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Tom, you're right. I am getting older. Soon I have completed my first half century. Still waiting for the wisdom though... Are you still building? The dome in the top is very small and I use it mainly of climate protecting reasons. This guitar is going to the extreme north of Sweden where the winter climate is extremely dry. Laying a straight edge across the top show a rise of 1.5 mm across and almost nothing lenghtwise, exactly as the Reyes guitar I have had for pattern. The guitar sound and play well and I am satisfied with it. quote:
.............." Yes, I'm still building and I have decided to take a few orders but not over a year out since I don't prefer to be stressed on a regular schedule past that point. I understand what you are saying about expansion and shrinkage of the top but I have found that the top will take a lot of shrinkage due to its relationship with the cypress sides and back. It's not so much the shrinkage but a rapid drying out that causes problems. You practically have to fill the wood with water and then dry it rapidly to have a cracking problem. I have built guitars in 45 % humidity and they went to 0-20 % with no problems. But one player in Boston, with steam radiators for heat, had a cracking problem due to rapid changes in the humidity. Btw, that particular guitar had a slight dome in its top and was over 10 years old when it happened. I think that the reason for flat tops for the Reyes is that the 2003 Reyes I examined had it. It's no mystery that Reyes experimented with a lot of designs over the years but I think the main reason for his flat top now is that he sees a certain articulation with it. Everything I examined was flat in front of the bridge area, going across the top. And then of course there are different sizes, shapes, and tapering conditions on all of the fan braces that cause this certain articulation. I would also like to add that I really find your shop one of the most workable areas I've ever seen and I wish I had something even close to it.
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