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I have my guitars (bought and built) set up with end pins. Why? I guess just because that's how it's "done".

I have my own method for using tapered end pins, I use a reamer to get a nice fit, until the collar is just tall of the guitar, make sure it looks great, then I throw the pin in the case and pull up a chair!

Huh. Well it looks like I may have screwed up the grain orientation on my first custom build. Silly me. I have the grain running vertical on both with end grain pointing to the top and back.

For the tail block, I used a solid piece of mahogany. But I ran a 1" wide dado up the center of the back side that you glue up to the rim. In the dado I glued a strip of Baltic birch ply. It's nice and hidden and that tail block should never split. Mind you I don't think I'll test this theory anytime soon!

Rob

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Rob Flindall
Flindall Guitars
http://www.flindallguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/FlindallGuitars

So what about a cutaway. Is it better to glue the top and back to end grain, or the trebble side?

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I did use Baltic birch for end blocks, al la lerivee. I now use a two piece mahogany block. Grain next to the sides running parallel, the pi
ece toward the neck running 90 degrees to it

Been using laminated neck and heel blocks for 20 years. Spruce and mahogany = 1/2 the weight of a solid hog block, no splits to worry about either.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Where do you buy your weightless spruce, Tim?

Just efficient use of waist waste.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Just efficient use of waist waste.



Yeah, but you're still bad at math...

Yeah, but fractions are still pretty tough [for me] to do with both shoes off...

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Well he did have a 40/40 chance to get it right !

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I don't know how Tim does it, but I just put my spruce in a collider, and knock all the Higg's bosons out of it. I thought that was standard procedure.

Knocking one out isn't enough. If you don't knock them all out, if you leave any mass in the spruce, you'll end up with the annoying upper partial known as the "boson's whistle".

I use waterproof glue and have steamed apart both M&T and Dovetail joints with no delamination issues. As far as weight is concerned, you be the judge. Granted one block has been beveled but both blocks are the same thickness and their overall sizes the same:

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

The beveling takes a lot of mass off...

Tim, we've made fun of your comment of "1/2 the weight" because it is physically impossible. You've replaced 1/2 the mahogany with spruce. That will lead to a lower weight block, but to be 1/2 the weight, the spruce would have to be weightless... In fact, even if you made the block entirely of spruce, it still wouldn't be half the weight of a solid mahogany block(because spruce isn't near half the weight of mahogany). Even western red cedar isn't half the weight of mahogany...

I think WRC might do it half the time, all wrc I have is in the 300-330Kg/m3 range, while mahogany often 600-650. Some are in the 500s though. Engelmann should be about 360-380, Sitka usually around 430-460 or so.

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Build log

Here is a block which cut in half and re glued to give avoid end grain top and bottom
[url]
https://plus.google.com/photos/10349537 ... 8246538449[/url]

J

This may be a good time to take another look at the thread that ran for some time a few years ago about "stress risers", or maybe take another look at the subject in general.
I constantly think about grain orientation and stress risers as being a force to be reckoned with, though I`m no engineer...
Coe Franklin

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