Radio Jazz Box: January 2012

Welcome to my Archtop Guitar Project Blog

The Archtop, or "Jazz Box", is a unique style of guitar. It has a complex design, and a sound that one might say can only come from such a design. Having never built a guitar of any kind before (unless you consider a ukulele to be a guitar) I have decided to jump right in up to the neck and start with the archtop. When I tell this to people, the normal response is something like, "have you ever built a guitar before?" or "so, you have a pretty good idea how to do this, right?". My usual reply is, "nope". I do, however, make a point to assure them that I have built many kinds of things, using many different materials, and I consider all constructions to have a logical and understandable process.

So, if you're interested in "newbe" projects like this, then grab a fresh cup of coffee or tea and follow along. The earliest post shows the design I'm going for.

**UPDATE TO INTRODUCTORY TEXT** You will see as the posts progress from earliest to newest that a few modifications and compromises have been made. As with all learning experiences, this project has allowed me to work out any problems with a design that have not been foreseen on paper. I also welcome any input from readers/followers who have some experience in either building or playing guitars that will point out potential problems.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

The Inside Scoop

I actually started the guitar back some time ago. Even though I've been carving on it for days, the depth of the scoop is hardly apparent. It's actually deeper than it looks, but it's still going very slowly. This is the inside scoop... so to speak... I haven't started carving the outside contours yet, as I want the flat underside of the back in place for stability while I carve the inside.

The spoke shave I'm using is flat-bottomed, which makes the task ... tricky, to say the least. I'm able to use it somewhat here and there, but as the depth of the scoop increases the usefulness of this tool decreases. I'm looking forward to the arrival of a convex spoke shave. That should make this project go quite a bit faster. The brass round bottomed luthier planes are great, but they don't remove a lot of material at a time, and they get hard on the wrist when you use them for a while.

I decided to just update this post rather than make a new one. I've been working on that back for a few more hours, and it's getting to the point where I can actually see some progress.

As of January 27, I'm still carving. Getting into the tight little area inside the "horn" is made much easier with this awesomely tiny convex plane. The pictures don't show the depth of the carving very much at all. I'm a whole 7 mm down, believe it or not! It looks a little rough at this point, but there's still a ways to dig. I'll get more refined with my carving as I approach the depth I'm after. I can no longer use the flat bottomed spoke shave in the picture up top.

As of Jan 28.... down to 8mm depth. I figure 11mm is how far I need to go, so it's no longer as daunting as it used to feel.

January 30. As I carve this thing, I don't really see the progress. It's only after I take a photo and compare it to the previous photo do I see the changes. I admit I took advantage of some helpful lighting from the window across the room; the carved area is actually somewhat exaggerated in this pic due to the shallow angle of the sun, but wow! what a difference between this and the one up top of this post. I'm down to just touching 10mm depth. As mentioned before, I'm headed for 11mm. So close I can almost taste it... wait, that's wood shavings in my mouth. Darn things get everywhere! A little more digging inside then I can clean it up and start the outside carving.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Taking Stock

I just wanted to have some pics that give a sense of where I am with this project, and how many parts I have for finishing it. The chunk of guitar shaped wood you will notice is the back, currently being carved, but still looks like a chunk of guitar shaped wood.

I cut the truss rod cover from ebony. I'm not certain I like the size, I may narrow it down just a tad. The tuners are Grover Locking Tuners. The (as yet uncut) nut is bone.

The basic set-up with what I have made or obtained so far: Maple/oak/ebony tailpiece, twin DiMarzio PAF humbuckers, two sets of tone and volume "speed knobs". Still to come is the bridge, which will have to accommodate the flat fingerboard. I was going to make a bridge, but I want to see about the possibility of using a special kind, generally called a Tune-O-Matic. The only reason I'm not sure about that bridge yet goes back to what I said about it being able to be used with a flat fingerboard.

The laminated maple back, still in the process of being carved. This is a long, tedious part of the project, which makes me realize just how limited my tool supply really is. I'm trying to get through this without having to purchase any more than I have to, but I may have to break down and get a new convex spoke shave, or something similar, that will allow for deeper, faster cutting.

Pretty much the whole deal (minus the sides and back) as it stands so far. The tailpiece will be held in place by a "gut" cord, which will catch on the endpin jack. It's a special endpin that allows for the tailpiece to be attached, as well as the guitar strap, AND it's also the jack plug. Cool! The white packaging beside the neck contains the metal frets. There is a second version of the truss rod cover sitting on the floor, which I may use instead. I have yet to decide upon inlay for the neck, but it will definitely have something there.

Please feel free to comment on what you see. I will take any (reasonable) criticism seriously.