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Martin Guitar Kit (It's First Public Outing!)

This is where we don't want anything but evidence of your finest wood butchering in all its glorious, and photograph laden glory. Bring your finished products or WIP's, we love them all, so long as there's pictures, and plenty of 'em!

Martin Guitar Kit (It's First Public Outing!)

Postby Malc2098 » 13 Mar 2018, 14:47

It's arrived!!

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Last edited by Malc2098 on 01 Jan 2021, 16:53, edited 17 times in total.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby selectortone » 13 Mar 2018, 15:07

Woohoo! Looking forward to progress reports. 8-)
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Rod » 13 Mar 2018, 16:37

That’s a bit of a tease - a cardboard box!

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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 13 Mar 2018, 16:51

Rod wrote:That’s a bit of a tease - a cardboard box!

Rod


Look at the parcel tape.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Andyp » 13 Mar 2018, 17:16

All you need now is a nice dry warm and drought proof workshop to build it in. ;)
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Deejay » 14 Mar 2018, 10:14

Morning Malcolm

You may have seen this ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzD9APh4Amg

but it's interesting, even to who aren't making guitars.

Cheers

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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 14 Mar 2018, 11:46

Deejay wrote:Morning Malcolm

You may have seen this ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzD9APh4Amg

but it's interesting, even to who aren't making guitars.

Cheers

Dave


Thanks, Dave. Rest of the morning viewing.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 14 Mar 2018, 11:51

Teasing over. Here goes!

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Lots of editions of the Republican Herald keeping everything safe!
(363.35 KiB)


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A cardboard sandwich containing the fretwire.
(265.16 KiB)


IMG_1582.JPG
....and the binding.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Rod » 14 Mar 2018, 12:46

If the enormous stacks of timber are a years supply, how many guitars do they turn out?

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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 14 Mar 2018, 12:57

Rod wrote:If the enormous stacks of timber are a years supply, how many guitars do they turn out?

Rod


Loads!


I, too, have a year's supply! :D
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 14 Mar 2018, 13:08

From Wikipedia

Martin built its 500,000th guitar in 1990, and in 2004 they built their millionth guitar.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 15 Mar 2018, 10:33

IMG_1586.JPG
Another cardboard sandwich with a pre-sanded spruce top and some rosette inlay and other bits.
(198.67 KiB)


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Bookmatched mahogany pre-bent sides and book matched mahogany back and CNC routed one piece mahogany neck with rosewood veneer on headstock.
(249.43 KiB)


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Spruce top and back braces, and truss rod.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 18 Mar 2018, 15:59

More stuff; neck block with the dovetail part cut, end block, binding, machine heads, strings, bridge, brdige pins and other bits and pieces.

IMG_1593.JPG
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 18 Mar 2018, 16:00

And finally.......

The supplier's local newspaper has for its main story on February 1st 'One of the worst years' for potholes.

Now where have I heard that before!! :D

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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 19 Mar 2018, 11:07

Right, that's it for now.

The project will be undertaken in the new workshop, and as you will have seen from the 'shop thread, that isn't quite finished yet.

I also have one or two projects promised to Mission Control first before I start.

But like a big kid, I couldn't stop myself from getting the kit as soon a Is could, so I could see everything in it.

I'll be back!
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 21 May 2020, 22:05

Right! We're off! I'm taking some time off from the balustrade, the steps, replacing the long term temporary doors and all that, and going to start on this kit!

I snuck out yesterday and bought some mdf and ply to start making the mould and jigs. I traced half the guitar body shape supplied in the kit onto some pdf from a pattern supplied with the kit, cut it on the bandsaw and sanded the edge smooth. This will now be the template for all the other pieces, the negative template, the mould, the sides the guitar, its top and its back.

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It was at this point that I became a little disappointed with the supplier. The kit comes with a half body shape drawing onto one of the cardboard protections sheets for the soundboard. This shape was not the same shape as that which was marked out on the half back of the guitar, and then the supplied pre-bent sides would not fit either the front or the back. it would seem that the back, sides and front template came from three different size models.

Several emails back and forward to America didn't really resolve the issue, except to say that the materials supplied were all of sufficient size for me to be able to complete the build. This cost me quite a bit and with import duty and other tax on top, but I was not going to try and send it back and demand what was supposed to be supplied. That was just going to be too much hassle. So I just had to think about how to get the best out of this situation and got on with it.

The only things that couldn't be changed were the overall length around the two bouts and the waist of the sides and the length of the body. So, carefully, I encouraged the springy sides onto the top of the positive template and had Mission Control pencil round where they came inboard of the edge. I re-sawed and re-sanded a couple of times until they matched, and marked out the negative template from that.

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I cut out and sanded the negative to the pencil line, fitted the side into it, adjusted by sanding some more here and there till it fitted perfectly.

I was then able to mark from the negative on to six pieces of ply to form each side of the mould, the piece in each.

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Unfortunately our forum doesn't support video format, but if you pop over to my FB or Instagram pages you can see a nice little time lapse/stop frame video of me cutting one of plies on the bandsaw. I ended up with these six.

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And when you lay them out three a side in mirror image, you've almost got a guitar mould.

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(287.5 KiB)


As you can see, my freehand bandsaw cutting isn't terribly accurate, so tomorrow, I'll fix each ply to the negative template and run them on the router table with a bearing guided straight cutter fitted to replicate the exact shape of the template on them before fixing them together.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby DaveL » 22 May 2020, 00:16

Now this looks interesting! Does the kit contain all the parts precut and formed to shape?

I have bought a set of plans for a Fender P bass, just big drawings on a CD, I have started to collect different bits ready for a build but still lack any wood for the body.
Last edited by DaveL on 22 May 2020, 06:26, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby DaveL » 22 May 2020, 00:18

Oh well, should of scrolled up and looked at the start of the thread.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Pinch » 22 May 2020, 07:46

Very nice Malc. 8-)

It seems so long ago, but if memory serves, this is your proper work.

I'm looking forward to see this progress.

:text-bravo:
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Andyp » 22 May 2020, 07:53

Malc, does FB or Instagram allow you to copy the URL of the a video and paste it into a post here?
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 22 May 2020, 10:56

Andyp wrote:Malc, does FB or Instagram allow you to copy the URL of the a video and paste it into a post here?



https://www.instagram.com/p/CAdWecIBmAR/

This is the link to the series of photos which includes the video. I don't know if you have to be logged on to instagram to see it, or if I've just let you in to my account!! :o
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 22 May 2020, 10:57

DaveL wrote:Oh well, should of scrolled up and looked at the start of the thread.



I have days like that, too, Dave. In the end I ask Matron and she tells me what day it is. :D
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 22 May 2020, 10:59

Pinch wrote:Very nice Malc. 8-)

It seems so long ago, but if memory serves, this is your proper work.

I'm looking forward to see this progress.

:text-bravo:



It was two years ago. I had to build a workshop to build this kit! :D
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Andyp » 22 May 2020, 12:17

Fear not Malc, i was just able to see the vid before Instagram wanted me to open an account in order to see more.
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Re: Martin Guitar Kit

Postby Malc2098 » 22 May 2020, 21:05

So today I screwed the rough cut plies one at time to the negative template and using a bearing guided cutter created six exact replicas on the router table.

IMG_3728.JPG
(277.02 KiB)


Shame you can't see the video here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAgMPjdhlle/

They came out like this.

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(249.52 KiB)


I then glued and screwed so that tomorrow I can carry on making the mould.

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IMG_3739.JPG
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