(NB: I decide to bring this section out into a post by itself)
I am planning to build a guitar with a elevated fingerboard design, and thus the solera would need to be changed.
Anyway since I had plenty of MDF, I decided to make the solera out of the MDF
Though I had 1" thick MDF, it's very difficult to cut it.
So instead I glue 2 pieces of 1cm thick MDF together to form the main board.
And I cut a piece of upper bout out of cutoffs and use my block plane to plane it into a wedge.
The upper bout piece sloped down all the way to the waist.
Recently I just upgraded the block plane's iron to a IDC replacement which is a cryogentically treated A2 1/4" thick iron.
(In short a harder and able to hold an edge longer but also harder to sharpen)
The block plane now works like charm.
Even though I sharpened the original Stanley blade, the feel wasn't any good.
This is probably what they termed as plane iron chatter?
Finally, I use my compass plane to plane the dome and touch up using the sandpaper.
I didn't really use any curve stick to guide but rather's use my eye as the judge for the curvature.
It's a complex curve with a deepest portion of 5mm.
For the edge I use my Stanley block plane to remove the material and to smoothen out the curve.
Also I try to make the wedge portion transit smoothly into the dome depression and use a MuJingFang bullnose plane for that purpose.
I also got around to make the template out of 2mm acrylic sheet.
The plantilla I used is the Torres FE19 plantilla which I enlarged from the Romanllios book.
The size is slightly smaller than the previous Hauser plantilla which I used.
This time round I will coat the solera with a finish.
Inhaling too much of the MDF dust is really toxic.
Even with 2 layers, the solera also bends quite easily at the neck joint portion.
So I would need to reinforce the bottom with a piece of pine wood.
The idea of the raised fingerboard is actually to make the upper bout dipped down.
Thus the fingerboard portion would be exposed, making the access to the high frets easier.
The upper bout for the raised fingerboard portion
Removing the waste portion with my block plane
Can see wedge shape forming nicely
On the solera
Another view
The acrylic template showing the raised upper bout.
If you invert it the front upper bout would dipped down thus making the fingerboard "raised".
Side view.
Making the dome depression with my MuJingFang compass plane
Using the bullnose plane to make sure the curve from the raised upper bout transit smoothly into the doming depression
Using the block plane to smoothen the perimeter of the doming
All the tools used in the creation of the doming.
The MuJingFang compass plane and the Stanley block plane are really very useful.
The curvature of the topboard.
5 mm depression
The depression curve
Cutting the centre part for the neck. The centre cut out will be inserted when the neck isn't glued to the topboard yet.
Gluing the raised part to the solera
My solera after the raised upper bout is glued.
Closed up. I drew the outline of the plantilla to the solera
From the neck view
Clamping 2 piece of pine to get the correct width
Glue the pine to the solera to support it.
Now it's much stiffer
Added 2 wing pieces to stablise the solera
Drilled the center hole too.
Glue 2 pieces of plywood for the top piece of go-bar stand.
(I did spread the glue even)
They will be supported by 4 pieces of threaded rod.
Saw to fit using the ryoba
Next to come is to drill the holes for the supporting blocks and make those supporting blocks.
After a long dilemma, I finally decide to make the side support.
But not blocks but rather a full side frame mould.
Sawing the pieces is really a hard job especially since I don't have a bandsaw.
I had to do it by a jigsaw.
The trimning part will be done by my trimmer with a trimmer bit.
Well one of the reasons why I didn't do a block is because I hate to cut the slots onto the beautiful solera ...
Sometimes it's better not to make a good looking jig...
After vigorous saw of the individual piece using the Jigsaw, it's really tiring.
Next to come will be trimming the individual pieces to the template using a trimming bit.
That will be another noise generator but because I cut quite closely to the line the dust and noise generated should be minimum.
Before that I should be drilling some registration holes to align the pieces together.
Stay tune...
I continue with the side mold. Drilling those registration hole did not seems to be that easy.
In the end when stack up some of them didn't align properly..
I had to do some trimming again.
I did the trimming of the main pieces with the template using a trimming bit.
Then I proceed to glue the spacer block to the 3 main pieces.
After they dried sufficiently I drill those registration hole thru' the space block and then finally bolt up all the assembly.
I had to re-drill the reg hole again thru' the assembly as they didn't align properly.
After bolting up I resurface the protruding area and glue them up.
Next to come is to drill those holes into the solera and install some T-nut for holding down the side mold to the solera.
Well I need to find some bolts that is so long...
The side mould, not yet trim and glued
How the side mould would look on the solera
The side mould
Another view
Ready to do the trimming with the trimming bit.
Triming in action
Glue the center spacer block
Well a cheap way to gain more height and also to make the side mould lighter
Glue up
The complete side mould
Trimming the spacer block.
The side mould trimmed to size
Drilling the holes onto the solera
Another view
Drilling thru' after marking.
Realigning the holes after drilling thru' Without a drill press it's very hard to drill with precision.
Now to find long enough screws to fasten to the solera
Now I need to make the bridge caul to press down the top into the doming of the solera
and also the part to hold the upper bout.
For the caul, I made it from the spare pine wood which I obtain from IKEA.
I trace the curvature form the solera and plane it accordingly
After that I simply drill the hole for the central part.
