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Good Morning Y'all...

I'm building some cutaways off the OLF plans. The cutaway radius is somewhat tighter on the horns than my other cutaway model. I'm wondering how thin you take your sides down in the cutaway area?

I normally build larger mahogany guitars at around .085, but I'm thinking that due to all the structural strength the curves will give that I could probably run it partway through the drum sander to just past the horn down to .075 or possibly even .070 and feather in the transition to making bending happen without any compression lines. Same for rosewood.

So, how low do you go?

I do all my sides at .075 you can go to .070 just remember that your do need some sanding room. The key here is the bending technique. Keep the cutaway well damp till you get there to bend

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Thanks John...

I have been doing double sides on my cutaways and archtops. That almost eliminates breakage. Otherwise I'm around .070 on a solid side.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Wow. You guys at definitely thinner ha I normally go..l

I meant for the cutaway. .080 otherwise

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Ah...

Well, I took the sides to .075, then ran the first foot of the cutaway side through to .070, then stopped and feathered in the two heights. We'll see if I win or not...

Whaddya know, it worked!




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Yep! It worked.

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Good for you my friend.


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Looks spot on!

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Yeah, the whole shape conformed to the mold within a few millimetres. Well pleased. This is also the first time I've used an insert in the mold for the cutaway, and it is surprisingly helpful.

John, do you use water when bending all mahogany or just the cutaway portion? I've had better luck bending mahogany dry. Just curious about your technique. Thanks in advance.

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sweat the small stuff.

So far so good!

That looks great!

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Why thank you!

The cutaway was drawn out by mishmashing the OLF MJ and SJ shapes together, and a lot of looking for the exact right size roll of tape and glue bottle to trace around. There must be a formula....

I use a little water just enough for damp heat not steamy.

_________________
John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

I'm a little late in here, but I have gone much thinner on sides, as thin as .06" for the whole side. That was once with bloodwood, and once with mesquite. I'd say .07" should be good for mahogany, but I wouldn't hesitate to go thinner if the piece was difficult to bend. Mahogany usually bends easily, but I've read there's some out there that doesn't like to bend.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I've definitely seen my fair share of mahogany that just wouldn't bend. We' re recently had a batch of Padauk that would just shatter and rupture with just a bit of pressure. Some woods just won't.

I'm considering double sides for cutaways. To me, .070 feels too thin for my liking. In fact, I prefer heavier stiffer sides. Especially on big 16 1/4 guitars like this one. I feel like flimsy sides can lead to a mushy bass response...