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Double Sevens

So... I swear I have been doing things... just very slowly. The maples in my front yard have so many leaves. But that's over now. As of yesterday, [I think] my yardwork/whatever outdoor stuff I had to do is done for the year, except hanging this thing:

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I still need to flip that over and paint the Z on the back and let the paint cure, but it's going to be in the 20's out by the time the paint's dry, so I'm not really sure I'm in that much of a rush on it...

I did get to use the jointer and dust collector when I worked on the gate and they both work nicely. The jointer is not loud at all. I wouldn't have needed hearing protection if the dust collector wasn't running at the same time.

I've used the dust collector several times now and there is not a spec of sawdust that made it to the bag. It's all in the dust deputy bucket, which is fine with me. Easier to empty, I think.




This is what my dining room looks like right now:

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Guess what I'm building?



Workbenches!


Well, I started the first one anyway. They’re very narrow (slightly wider than a guitar body) and I’m having issues with not being able to get the drill in there to drive in the pocket hole screws with the 6" long driving bit the pocket hole jig came with, so I’m ending up doing a lot by hand which is making it take a lot longer than it should and blistering my hand at the same time. I want them done so I can go back to working on guitars!

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I bought a shop light. I just got it the other day and forgot to buy mounting hardware, so that's why it's leaning against the wall. It's LED, so it doesn't get hot enough to hurt anything.

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A few more pieces to go on that one (that's an under-exagerration), then I can hopefully build the others on top of that instead of crouching/leaning over the floor the whole time like I have been.
 
I love the idea of the small table! I could see using that for everything as long as it was very stable. How will you make it stable? I guess it could be put up against a wall, but that would keep you from being able to use either side. Hmmm. Thinking seriously about one of those :)
 
You have a lot of exciting things going on, that's really fantastic!

That's a helluva shop you have going on there. Can't wait to see more beautiful guitars coming out of it!

I love the idea of the small table! I could see using that for everything as long as it was very stable. How will you make it stable? I guess it could be put up against a wall, but that would keep you from being able to use either side. Hmmm. Thinking seriously about one of those :)

Thanks guys!

It's pretty stable already and I have some more cross pieces to add and the bottom of the inside of the legs. There's going to be 1x4's screwed onto the bottom to make a shelf and obviously the top will be added too. I think it should be plenty stable. The only problem could be from the floor being uneven, which it is.
 
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I hadn't done anything on it for a couple of weeks. I ordered a 3" bit and flexible extender and they didn't come the weekend I was expecting them, so I didn't work on it that weekend and I was busy doing other things last weekend.

A bit of progress for today:

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I forgot to buy pocket hole screws for holding the top to the frame. Luckily the Kreg jig came with sample packs so I could figure out what size I need and put a few screws in for now. I just ordered a pack of them, so I can secure the boards down better. Aside from that, I need to attach the 1x4's to the bottom to make a shelf and add on the little extensions of the inside of the legs that go below the shelf supports.

I'm debating whether to keep going with the other workbenches so I can get the lumber out of my dining room or to "test" this workbench by finishing up the guitars on it before doing the other benches...
 
I got the 1st one mostly done. I'll have to wait on the shelf boards until I have room to get the bandsaw out (when I'm done with the miter saw). I need to make cutouts for the legs for the shelf. So, I started on the 2nd bench.

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It kind of looks like a weird chair or bed right now.
I suppose you could always convert it to one one these....

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Although...Personally....I'd prefer it if you pulled your finger out, got the workshop finished, and got on with making beautiful instruments.....:whistle::)
 
Okay, so thinking back on the guitars... I'm looking for some thoughts/advice on a few things to wrap up the builds.

1. My original plan was to have the neck pocket extending through the pickup route, but the pickup routes ended up being much deeper than I originally planned and in the end there is just a little sliver of the neck wood left in the pickup route and I even have to drill or route some of it away to make room for the cable coming out of the pickup.

So, question: does this small amount of neck pocket worry anyone?

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It's obviously had no issues so far, but there's no string tension yet.

2. Should I reinforce the back of the top inside the control cavity on the spalted tamarind guitar? It seems pretty solid, but I do have to make it a bit thinner still and I remember people suggesting reinforcing the buckeye burl in the cavity on the 5 string bass I made. The tamarind does not feel super soft to me and there are stripes of katalox too, so it's not just solid spalted wood.

3. The bodies are thin and I used a 5/8" roundover on front and back, which leaves the jack cup looking a little weird (visible from all angles). Sorry I don't have a better picture example than this right now. Any thoughts on whether it is okay or if I should do something else with it? I think the football/oval jack covers would stick out worse and that's the thinnest style I can think of.

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Just shelf boards and finish left on the workbenches and tool stands. I don't have a lot of room to move them around in there, so I haven't figured out how I'm going to get all the way around each one to put finish on... I'm thinking about only putting finish on the top boards and leaving the 2x4's as is, but I'd still need to get around the edges of the top boards. I'll wait until I'm done with the miter saw and get that out of the room and probably move/stack some other stuff to make some room.

I did finally do some work on the guitars...! Just little things, but it's something. Here's what I have left to do before starting the finish:

-Route pickup routes on tamarind guitar to final depth
-Drill pilot holes for the pickup screws for that guitar and bigger recessed holes to make room for the pickup cables
-Plug/re-drill a pot hole that I accidentally just drilled through the front today when I was only trying to recess the hole in the cavity a little bit :-/
-Make truss rod covers
-Fine sanding
... I think that's it