Summer Build Off 2022 ThumbRay

[AudioTaper]

1/8" wenge stripe. I tried Bubinga, Purpleheart, Brazilian Cherry, and Bolivian Rosewood and Wenge is the best. So just picture two of these running down the center.

I cut the 2nd slab to get the center piece. I made the 1st cut with the circular saw again, but this time I finished it off with a sawzall. It worked fairly well! Now I have to drag out the table saw.

 

[AudioTaper]

This is just a small piece of the 2nd slab. Hopefully it's wide enough to make a control cavity cover for the back. Sanded to 150, pictured with a little water and in the sunlight

 

[TFM94]

1/8" wenge stripe. I tried Bubinga, Purpleheart, Brazilian Cherry, and Bolivian Rosewood and Wenge is the best.

Wenge always wins!

 

[AudioTaper]

The other day I tried to cut one of the big slabs down. 1st cut on the table saw and the rest with the sawzall... but the piece was a lot thicker and the blade wandered. Hopefully I can still use it.

I'm too mad to take a post a photo

 

[AudioTaper]

On the other hand, I dipped out of work a few minutes early to do some browsing at my local Woodcraft. I didnt get the Wenge pieces I need, but they had a lot of great stuff on sale. I'll go back after payday.

A nice piece of burly bubinga followed me home for $11

 

[AudioTaper]

Measure once, cut twice?
This worked out, actually. The slab is uneven, so I cut each side and finished the center off with the sawzall and a 24tpi metal blade.

Not too shabby, if you like really thick kerf cuts...

 

[AudioTaper]

I didnt like the Wenge prices, so I thought I would try a piece of the Brazilian Cherry I've been sitting on for the past 16 years. Since I'm adding wood, heres another build pic

Cut and cut again

 

[AudioTaper]

Mocked up with the template

And traced (poorly)

I might swap pieces around to try to get more of the figuring on the body. Probably wont get much better, but we'll see

 

[RichterScale]

Bartle do

 

[AudioTaper]

Bartle do

No idea what you mean here....

 

[RichterScale]

No idea what you mean here....

Yeah, I don't really know what it means either. I use it as "that'll do it".

 

[AudioTaper]

Yeah, I don't really know what it means either. I use it as "that'll do it".

Yeah that's pretty much all I found when I googled the phrase...

 

[RichterScale]

Sometimes I'll finish up a task and tell the dog, "bartle doo". As in, that'll do it, or, that's good, etc.
Yeah, I spend a lot of time working alone and with the dog and talking to the dog about the work I'm doing. So, talking to myself.
That red maple is killer. I like the matching center stripe with the thin borders.

 

[2groggy]

... finished the center off with the sawzall and a 24tpi metal blade...

I consider myself a low-tech luthier, but you sir, have my respect in that respect.

 

[AudioTaper]

I consider myself a low-tech luthier, but you sir, have my respect in that respect.

Umm, thanks? It's due to the severe lack of the proper tools.

 

[Flamingo21]

Is it just me, or are the two laminates not the same width?

 

[AudioTaper]

Is it just me, or are the two laminates not the same width?
View attachment 4738186

They're not, it was a rough cut and my table saw sucks. I really wanted to buy/make a drum sander for this build. I'll have to rig something together before I can glue these up.

 

[boxerrider]

They're not, it was a rough cut and my table saw sucks. I really wanted to buy/make a drum sander for this build. I'll have to rig something together before I can glue these up.

You can joint and plane with your router and jig. Probably a better tool at this stage than a drum sander.
Loving that maple!

 

[TFM94]

You can joint and plane with your router and jig. Probably a better tool at this stage than a drum sander.
Loving that maple!

Agreed. I do all jointing and thicknessing with a router. A simple jig with two parallel strips of MDF (and the workpiece in between) would be sufficient here.

 

[AudioTaper]

On today's episode of 'Low-Tech Luthier', we build a drum sander out of common items found in your garage and yard waste!

Gather your scrap wood and Blammo brand log. This log is walnut (probably butternut) and the white thing is a UHMW cutting board we didnt like.

It wouldnt be a Low-Tech Luthier build if a machete wasnt used somewhere in the process

Axle is a drill bit extension, made 'bearing' blocks from the cutting board.

Router and a spoilboard bit cut the log as the drill made it rotate. The drill doesnt have a trigger lock, so I had to use a clamp to keep it on.

A little sanding

And wrapped in 150 grit. It's all I had. I need to use some sort of adhesive because it bunched up on my test piece. The thickness control needs a few tweaks (as in completely rebuilt) but overall it works pretty well.