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I've now made four prototype arm rests and think I am just about ready to do one on a real guitar. One aspect with which I am not fully satisfied is the lack of uniformity in the bevel that I sand. It shows up most along the edges where the bevel turns over as it meets the top or the sides.

At the moment I am making my bevels free-hand with rasp and sand paper. Is this what everyone does? Can anyone offer any tips on how to get the bevels done so they end up flat with perfectly uniform edges?

Thanks,
Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

You may wanna try a concave plane and a hard sanding block.
Or even the end wheel of a belt sander.

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4 Prototypes! You're an expert Pat. Did you veneer and bind them also? I've only done 1 but I think that's where I could use the most practice.

I finished up the bevel with 80 grit glued to a chunk of MDF. It ended up flat enough to seat the veneer fairly well. What are you going to use on the bevel?

It's funny. Once you've played one for a while (the one I did I kept) any other guitar you play feels a little uncomfortable.

Cheers,
Danny

DEFINITELY need a hard sanding block.

Have you seen Robbie's tutorial?

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I have been using a rasp followed by hard sanding block. I've been able to get them flat enough to accept the veneers (I've tried rosewood, bloodwood and dyed pear veneers) fine. So, for the most part, I think I've got it figured out. It's just that the edges where the veneer meets the binding or purfling that I'd like to get more even. Perhaps I'm just not good enough at sanding. Part of the problem is that I find it hard to even see that my bevel has uneven edges until after I sand back the edges of the glued on veneer. I did try making a bevel on my disk sander and it worked pretty well but I don't have the nerve to try that on a guitar.

With respect to Robbie's video, I tip my hat to Jeff Bamburg whom he features making an armrest. One thing I have found is that you need to insert a thin strip of the bevel material alongside the purfling because it is extremely difficult to sand the veneer back enough to see the edge of the purfling without opening a little gap between the purfling and the veneer. Jeff doesn't appear to put in this strip, so he must be great at sanding back the veneer exactly right (or he's doing a small fix that's not shown in the video).

Pat

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There are three kinds of people:

Those that make things happen,
those that watch things happen,
and those that wondered what happened.

Hey Pat,

It sounds like your on the right track. I've found it helpful to use a scraper alongside the sandpaper once I'm done with the rasp. And I do use a thin strip of the bevel material alongside the purfling like you mentioned. This way you don't get the gap that you are talking about. The other thing to keep in mind (which is obvious) is that darker words are much easier to use for bevels. It is relatively easy to hide transition lines in woods like ebony and rosewood. The lighter you go the harder it gets.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
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It's beginning to sound like the actual EDGE is uneven, IE uneven side bending. If the sides are bent a little out then the interface won't be even when it's sanded perfectly flat.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Sounds like time for another jig!!

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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.

Try having a look at the Kent Everett DVD on this subject. He approaches it from a totally different angle than Jeff does and it makes life a lot easier.

Two weeks ago I did my first bevel.
For having a uniform bevel, I made this very simple jig-like thing.

The smaller piece is cut with a 40° angle and glued/screwed to the main piece.
The longer you sand, the deeper the perfectly flat bevel will be.

Worked for me.