Hide glue can be tricky to get just right. The bridge on my first guitar started lifting after a few months thanks to old hide glue. If you’re going to use it, I’ve found it’s best to make it fresh at time of use and don’t reuse old stuff that’s been sitting around for a few days.

It could also be that you needed to spread your clamping forces out more evenly. I use cauls that span the entire bridge and wings, but are slightly undersized to allow for cleanup.

Additionally, I find that on oily woods like rosewood you may need to rough up the glue surface with low grit sandpaper to achieve better mechanical adhesion as the oils may prevent glue from fully penetrating.

Regardless, when do we get to hear a demonstration? 😉

Looks amazing!

Bummer about the old bridge. Indian rosewood is usually a pretty safe go to.

I’ve got some theories as to why it may have let go, but I have some questions first:

•what kind of glue did you use? •did you cut into the finish before gluing or just glue directly on top? •how did you go about prepping the mating surface on the bridge? •how did you clamp the bridge during glue up?

It is a beautiful piece and I especially love the rosette work. Great work.

Tools are just tools. The “right” ones will make your work quick, but you can always make the “wrong” ones work if you’re patient and clever.

Start by getting it home and acclimating.

Let it sit in the environment you plan on working it for a minimum of 2 weeks (I’d suggest 6+ if you can swing it.)

Remove the bark first, if you plan on storing it inside. If not, debark it after your acclimation period.

Run it through a bandsaw to sort of square an edge, but beware that a round log will spin if you’re not careful. A simple clamping sled can offer a bit of peace of mind. Trim off your exposed end grain to help prevent splitting.

This is where you’d bake it, if you have access to a kiln.

Keep in mind that as you cut/cook your workpieces you’ll release some internal stress grown into the tree. Oversize your cuts and be prepared for your boards to cup/curl.

Sneak up on your final dimensions and don’t be afraid to let things sit if it still seems too wet.

And most importantly, share your progress with the community so we can enjoy the adventure too 😉

Just relax and put this in your mouth

Varathane is decent. I tend to prefer water based stains, but I’m also finishing guitars which usually don’t feature as much end grain.

Checking for left over finish/glue depends on what they had on previously. Many wood glues glow under UV. Sometimes you can wet out the area with naphtha and see residue. Deep penetrating stains are a different beast though and your best bet, as suggested by others, may be to go with a paint rather than a dye.

I am truly at a loss

I haven’t read anything about it, so I can’t say for sure, but I work in the Lewiston area and I’ve heard both the bowling alley and bar to be more “local” oriented businesses.

The Walmart distribution center is a weird one though, because it’s not really a store front.

Whatever his motivations are, it breaks my heart to see it happen in our neck of the woods.

I would second this guess.

If not a grill, could be a good work surface for a pot or pan

I believe the suspect that the police have identified was a firearms instructor at a military base down in Saco.

Yuck. That sucks.

I hate to say it, but your best bet is probably to strip it and try again. I’d agree that it looks like some residual sealer/glue is preventing your stain to penetrate.

Out of curiosity, what are you using for stain?

Pro luthier reporting in.

If you’re using a 3 axis CNC router for carving both the pockets and the inlay pieces themselves, do yourself a favor and get a small diameter end mill (.03125”-.020”).

I do the majority of my pocketing with a 1/16” down cut bit and then reestablish the outer profile with the smaller cut.

Keep your RPMs high and your feed rate low. Take small DOC bites even on cleanup cuts. Those small bits break when you breath on them wrong, so be gentle and don’t overload them. I run mine at 18000rpm, a feed rate of around 10ipm and never push my depth passes past 1/3 of the cutters OD.

Additionally, you may want to resize your pocket a little tighter. I like to oversize my pockets by about .0025” depending on the material, and don’t be afraid to leave your pocket on the machine while you do your test fits so you can open it up further for a better fit.

Also, ebony dust and thin CA glue are great at hiding gaps.

Sorry for the info dump. I just get fired up about this kind of work since it’s my bread and butter.

I love the design so far and look forward to more progress pics in the future!

Flattop acoustic guitar cutoffs

Mostly tops

Handful of backs

Thanks for the love Cookie Monster. My world is crumbling and I legitimately needed that.

I highly recommend working through the process at least once. There’s a lot guitar building can teach you about woodworking in general, but my favorite part is learning about the crazy custom tools, jigs and fixtures that different luthiers use to achieve essentially the same goal.

Awww shucks… I’m gonna blush.

Eventually you just run out of space

Thank you very much! It’s still in need of some voicing and shaping, but should be ready to glue in an hour or two. I’ll snap some more detailed pics of the braces before I box it up.

I’ll wax the ends for you 😉

I try to whenever possible. We make 2-3 boxes a week plus whatever we make at the sawmill.

Waste management could be a fulltime job that our small team doesn’t have the bandwidth to handle.

I do what I can, but some times you just need to make space

1962 fender brownface pro-amp