Official Luthiers Forum!

Hey all, wondered what the general consensus is on at what point in the build is it safe to remove the rims from the mold more or less permanently (assuming work will be ongoing, not left under a bed for a month)?

I have the rim assembly completed, aside from final carving and sanding on my side braces. Do I need to leave it in the mold indefinitely, until the back and top plates are on? Or is it more or less set once the linings and side braces are on and everything is radiused?

I guess I just feel like the mold is becoming a hindrance at this point, but don't want to endanger the build. What do y'all think?

adam

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

I leave it in the mold with spreaders until both top and back are glued on.

I never tempted fate by doing otherwise! Feel free to experiment and let us know your results if you plan to remove it from the mold.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I two leave mine in the mold until the back is glued on. Once that is done I take it out of the mold and rope the top on with rubber.

To me the most important thing before gluing the back on it to make sure everything is square. I mortise my neck block before I glue it in so I want the centerline of the back to be straight with the morise. I use a straight piece of wood with a tenon cut on one end as a neck subsitute. I put that in the end block mortise and check with a straight edge to make sure the center of the neck subsitute lines up with the center of the tailblock. Sometimes I have to shim the sides a little in the mold to make it line up. Then I glue the back on. The geometry is pretty much set now. The only thing left to do is true up the top of the sides so that the neck angle is correct.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

mmmm, some good points. Probably best not to tempt fate for the sake of expediency... isn't that the point where things start to go downhill?

Think i'll keep it in the mold

thanks as always,

adam

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

I take mine out to do the end graft, before gluing the top and back on. I'll leave them out sometimes a week or two if I'm working on something else. I always put it back in the mold for at least a day before gluing the top and back on though.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

As long as you have some reference marks that allow you to put them put them back exactly where they were, I see no problems. In fact, I draw reference marks on the rim (a white pencil line where it meets the mould's edge) on as a matter of course, even if I do not plan to remove it from the mould before the plates are on. This way I can see if it has moved accidently, and I can push the rims out for better access to work on something.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin