The slope-shouldered siblings are moving along quite speedily, with the box on this Tasmanian blackwood guitar being closed over the last week. The Acacia melanoxylon sides and back have been a joy to work with: it bends easily, sands well, and has a nice, smooth finished surface. The box has a tremendous tap already, and the top frequency came in right at 148Hz before gluing the back on. I’ve moved onto the necks and will return to this body to install bindings once the no 30 box is closed.
I often use solid laminated linings that are pre-bent and laminated, then installed in the ribs.
The solid mahogany linings make the rim assembly very stiff and also very stable. The Acacia looks great with a light sanding.
Using an X-brace on the back plate makes it easier to tune the plate to a supportive frequency.
The back braces are carved and the back is ready to install.
With red spruce bracing this stiff, the bracing has to be pretty minimal to allow the top the flexibility it needs.
The completed rim assembly is sanded using radius dishes so that the arched plates meet the sides to form a solid joint.
I’ve glued the top in place and checked the top frequency. The ribs are ready to accept the back.
The solid linings stiffen the ribs so that more of the soundboard can be used to make sound.
The body has been freed from the mold after both plates are glued in place.
The Tasmanian blackwood looks and sounds great so far.
