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Rob Zelk
Aloha
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 09/08/2005 : 5:45:12 PM
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What are the minnimum tools one would need to successfully craft say a weissenborn/ lap steel, or just regular acoustic. I have lots of tools but looking at stewmac.com it seems there is a plethera of tools that make me scratch my head; what are the required ones?
I have many tools at my disposal but none of the fancy specified instruments. For those experienced craftsmen, how much more difficult is building a weissenborn than a regular acoustic?
The tools that seems to be a must have is that heated wood bender, are there ways around investing this something like this? I'm just curious as to what i'm getting myself into, hehe. 
Thanks all,
Rob Zelk (new member)
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 6:36:04 PM
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A good book is probably the most important tool, but none I know of address the peculiar features of a Weissenborn. Obviously, a solid body electric lap steel is an easier project to start.
For a steel guitar you can ignore all the issues related to frets, obviously.
You can bend over a pipe heated either by an electric element or a torch, rather than using a mold/side bender tool.
Fran
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E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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Rob Zelk
Aloha
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2005 : 7:44:23 PM
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Thanks Fran, any suggestions for a good book? I'll let you know how this new project unfolds.
Rob |
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
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Gary A
Lokahi
USA
169 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2005 : 12:09:53 PM
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Rob,
I built a Weissenborn. Some details are here.
Before the Weissenborn I built a ukulele. Some details are here including a list all of the tools I used.
A ukulele is a good beginner's project.
You don't need a lot of specialized tools for a Weissenborn. You do need a good plane for thicknessing the top, a set of chisels for trimming the braces and the top, and a lot of clamps (which you can make with long screws and dowels). A Wessenborn is easier than an acoustic since you don't need any specialized tools for doing the frets. An electric side bending iron is nice although you can get by with a pipe heated with a torch.
It's unfortunate that building instruments does require an investment in tools. It's best if you can hook up with someone local to you who will let you borrow some tools. If you were in the Bay Area I'd let you borrow some of my stuff.
The "Guitarmaking" book by Cumpiano is probably the best book available. It's also good to look around and see how other people do things. There are many ways to build a guitar. The "Guitarmaking" book has a more "handmade" approach. For example, it describes carving the headstock by hand while an alternate approach would be to cut out a template and use a router.
EDIT: Fixed bad links.
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Gary |
Edited by - Gary A on 04/12/2006 4:43:59 PM |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 09/15/2005 : 08:35:53 AM
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Rob,
The side bending seemed to be the biggewst obstacle to me, but i got a scrap piece of 2" steel pipe about 2 ft long, packed one end full f clay dirt, clamped that end into a bench vise and taped a small propane torch to a chair and aimed it into the open end of the pipe. i used a scrap piece of 1/10" thick walnut about 3 inches wide to practice on. I kept a spray bottle of water handy to keep the wood moist. I found it quite easy to bend the wood around the pipe. It takes patience and a little time and yo cannot rush the process, but with gentle, constant pressre, judicious application of water and constatnly moving the wood over the pipe surface to prevent burning, yo should get a good result. I was amazed and delighted when, after ony 15 minutes i had bent a side (using my tmplate as a guide) to the correct contours. And, even more delighted, when i came back an hour later and found the wood had not "moved" at all. No memory. Now, sefveral months later, that same piece of wood is still the same shape i left it in.
I m waiting until i get heat (electricity) in my shop before i begin to work on the actual guitar, but am no w confident the sides will not be nearly the problem ihad originally thoght.
My main reson for building a Weissenborn over a guitar, (other than sond and wanting to learn to play one and not having any money to buy an original) is that there is no neck to join, no frets to set. Those two operations seem to be very time and tool consuming:)
Forge ahead, my man, and let us know how you are doing. |
Karl
Frozen North |
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 09/18/2005 : 6:53:08 PM
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Rob,
Everyone has given you good tips about getting started. As a hobbyist/dabbler in ukes, here is my basic tool list:
Some sharp utility and Exacto knives
Coping saw and small straight saw for cutoff jobs
Some sharp chisels, preferably with long handles
A small block plane and a very small block plane like modelers use (by Exacto)
A spokeshave or drawknife to help carve a neck, if necessary
Sanding supplies, various grits and sanding blocks
A ton of clamps, 1/2"-12"
One of the most handy tools I use is a small benchtop belt sander. When you need some small part straight and/or smooth, it does the job in a matter of seconds.
Remember that if you wish to harvest and resaw wood down to the thicknesses necessary for tone woods, you need a huge investment in expensive tools. Woodworkers often brag about their stashes of birdseye maple or flamed cherry, but exotic woods are only as good as your ability to cut them them when you're a luthier. At a minimum, you need a resaw (large bandsaw with a good fence), a heavy duty planer (suitable for hardwoods) and a thickness sander. It's easy to spend $2000 and up on those three items. Suffice it to say, if you buy your woods already thicknessed for building, you've saved a bundle in tools.
I've built three tenor ukes from mahogany kits from www.hanalima.com The kits are very complete and come with plans, but you still need a the Cumpiano/Natelson book or the hanalima instruction book. The ukes came out sounding great!
If you choose to try a uke, study the Cumpiano book's description of the classical guitar (not the steel string) and you'll find Hanalima uses that method all the way through. Just like Karl said, bending the sides manually is cheap and simple, albeit a little nerve wracking.
Good luck with whatever project you decide to tackle.
Jesse Tinsley
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Edited by - hapakid on 09/18/2005 7:00:22 PM |
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Karl Monetti
`Olu`olu
USA
756 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2006 : 11:34:46 AM
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Rob,
Now tha i have completed my Weissnborn guitar (pix posted under Talk Story) i have some more advice for you.
Again, i chole the weisenborn largely to avoid the neck/body junction. That seems to me to be the hardest part of a regular guitar. Also, not needing the 100% accuracy on the fret markings is nice.
the only tools i got from Stewmac were a bunch of the cam clamps. I got 18, could have used 24-30 when gluing on backs and sides. I do have a small exacto kit including a small back saw for fine cuts. I ordered one bridge clamp, figuring i could use 2 of the cam clamps for the sides of the bridge (I had done that on a previous repair for a friend), but the depth, or lack of depth, in the weissenborn did not allow for the cam clapms to be placed. So i would advise getting 3 bridge clamps.
My side bender woked just fine. Practice on some scraps before you begin. For some reason, when i bent the side for real, they did not maintain shape a well. I needed to clam them in place after spraying them lightly with water. Leaving them clamepd for 48 hours set themm up nicely.
Jesse's suggestions reagrding chisels and planes is adequate. Other than that, no special tools required.
I got a set of plans from Stewmac. I also had the opportunity year ago to trace and measure the parts of a disassembled vintage Weissenborn. Thoe mesurements were very helpful, as was having a real vintage one here in town to look at once in a while ( he even let me touch it!). I have found that the specs varied a ot from model to model, year to year regarding spacing of strings, spacing and size of braces, shape and thickness of the bridge, etc., but none wer so far off as to have caused a problem.
I used a bone saddle. The plans call for fret wire saddle. I just strung mine up last night and played it for the first time. Sound a bit dull, o i will try the steel rod idea Konabob mentioned in another post.
Good luck, hope this info is not too late. |
Karl
Frozen North |
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