Official Luthiers Forum!

Anybody else a fan of this?

Mike

looks like a sweet idea! i had a hard time with my first soundhole lol

Not really, I find it tends to muffle the sound.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Sort of, I use a balloon to hold in a plastic lid that's a little bigger than the sound hole. You can sort of see it in this picture. I don't remember where I got the lid from but it's just slightly larger than the sound hole. Bend it to get it in. This way, no finish pools at the balloon/top interface.

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Paper bowls cut to size and held by a Waverly foam square. It's going to be difficult to have clean soundhole edges with the balloons.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I use the balloon approach and like it. I tend to move it a bit in between coats so that it doesn't get stuck to the soundhole with finish. Haven't had problems with that approach. Works best if the balloon is just a tad underinflated.

Got a whole box of latex gloves that Grizzly sent me for free with an order once. I blow one of those up and use it. They lay a bit flatter than a balloon.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Hey Laurent - that burst is a stunning!

+1 on the paper bowl and sponge

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Never Had a problem with edge effects around the sound hole. I size the balloon such that once inserted, it's not that much different than the sponge plate method. The ballOons contact pressure results from the balloon pushing against the back of the guitar,

I tried the balloon thing once, but I didn't pay enough attention & developed a ridge of finish that chipped away when I removed the balloon. Now I use a chunk of mattress foam & a disc of bristol board.
Another plus to this method is that you can remove the disc & measure the finish thickness after each session.

A nice Green use Todd.
And nice burst Laurent.

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I honestly had never thought of the paper bowl solution. I've been one of those who just packed the inside with paper towels. The bowl solution is one of the best ideas I've seen in a long time. Like so many other things in life, it's OBVIOUS--but only after someone else points it out to me.

Large drink lids and cottage cheese type container lids would probably also work with a piece of foam backing.

I use to use bowls like Laurent and Todd, but I found that I got terrible blowback when I passed the spray gun over the bowl. I now use a flat lid held in place with a sponge.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
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So, I'm like the only one who is using balloons?

Mike

I think im going to try and use the balloon method on my next one, just take extra care that the edges of the soundhole come out nice. Ill just keep in mind all of the other comments that were said by other pros about the soundhole edge

I think im going to try and use the balloon method on my next one, just take extra care that the edges of the soundhole come out nice. Ill just keep in mind all of the other comments that were said by other pros about the soundhole edge

So Cute!!

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Not if you count my blown-up latex gloves.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"