I've done quite a bit on the tres since the last post.
First off, I finished the headstock face by gluing on a binding outline made of bent veneer strips.
I bent the veneers, like the ones I used in all of the inlays, with this soldering iron. I replaced the soldering tip with a brass tube, which stays cooler and won't burn the wood.
The completed headcap is glued to the headstock and used as a routing guide to shape the head. The area that juts out at the back of the neck is called the volute. It still needs to be shaped here. The fingerboard is also glued on. Once the volute is shaped, the frets are hammered in, and the nut is fit, that's it for the neck.
On to the body. I made a tail block which will glue to the ends of the maple sides. All the gluing surfaces are shaped to the outline of the tres. The curve in the picture on the right is way too extreme. It got flattened out a lot before gluing it to the sides.
The neck block came from the salvaged Fender and fits the neck already.
I had to angle the bottom edge of the block to match the arch of the back plate.
I also completed the bracing on the soundboard. This is how the blocks will fit onto it.
The two long braces run under the large center brace.
All the other "fan" braces are notched into the large brace as well.
Also, before the sides can get bent, the curvature of the back profile has to be cut. The side outline is marked off at 1-inch intervals, and then those points are plotted at the centerline. The depth of the sides is measured at each point on the centerline, then marked on the sides at 1-inch intervals.
With the depth marked at every inch, I just connect the dots and have the back curvature laid out on the sides. Here the sides are finally ready to bend. The missing chip right in the center will get bent separately and glued back in afterward. If I glued it in now, the heat and steam from bending would ruin the repair.
The first test bend was too thick and had a few splits. My second test bend went perfectly.
After the sides get bent I leave them clamped in place to cool and dry.
Now the clamps are off and the blocks are glued in.
I actually finished the tres about a week ago and it is now with its proud new owner.
I'll do one more build post before the final showcase.
