Back to woodwork!
Next steps on the Salter
Although the tuners for the Salter are not 100% complete, I had a huge urge to get back to some woodwork. After all, the tuners are great but not much use without an instrument to go onto!
Here is my todo list for the body.
Finish rib structure (flatten top and bottom, chamfer linings)
Join the wedges for the front
The back is one piece so no joint required
Flatten the underside of the top and back
Transfer the outline onto the back and front, including marking the overhang
Cut out the outlines (don’t forget the button!!!!)
Rough arching on the back
Final arching and fluting on the back
Rough arching on the front
Final arching and fluting on the front
Carve out inside of back
Carve out inside of front, being careful around the F-holes (flame-holes?)
Fit the bass bar
Normally I’d then close the box, but since the Salter’s neck joint had a nail, I need to make and attach the neck before closing the box.
I had completed the rib structure a couple of months ago, but I hadn’t chamfered the linings or completed the flattening of the top and bottom edges.
Joining the front was tricky. My first attempt I got a good join but messed up the gluing and clamping and this resulted in a visible glue line that I wasn’t happy with. I cut it open and redid it and second time was much better. My tutor Arnaud has a trick he learnt from another luthier (who learnt it from Tilman Muthesius). Basically once the join is done and clamped, use plenty of hot water and a small blowtorch to “steam” the wood around the joint (on both sides). This swells up the wood and really closes the joint beautifully. I forgot to do this the first time…
I use a simple jig to hold the back and front during carving:
I like that I can turn the work around very easily and quickly.
I always carve the back first - partly because it is harder (harder wood), and partly because the front is more important to get right and so I want to be in practice when I tackle it. The arching of the front and back is very similar on the Salter so that helps.
It was pretty easy to cut out the outline of the back, because I had a flat single piece of maple, so I used the bandsaw. The front was the normal wedges, so that doesn’t work and I use a fret saw with a No. 8 skip blade.
I’m still improving my carving with every new instrument and I found the Salter’s very voluptuous curves and deep fluting a new challenge. Here is the top nearly finished:
One big hint I got from Shem Mackey is always to look under the least flattering light… in this case very low raking light that is showing up some issues in the C bout! Getting there though!
Plenty still to do before I get to close the box….