# First go at a bent form wood project



## cabomhn

Up until this point I've tried some turning and some flat work, but I haven't tried doing any bent laminations. I found a really cool guitar stand someone had for sale that a woodworker on lumberjacks had previously asked permission if they could use the design so I am hoping to try to replicate it. Here's the link...

http://www.urlacherguitars.com/stands.html

I had never made a form before but here is my effort for the main arched back of the neck guitar support. I made it out of ¾" mdf and it's as smooth of a curve as I think I will ever get it. 



 

I'm pretty happy with the results. I'll post a pic of the piece of curly maple I got for the project, WOW it is a nice piece of wood and I think it will look phenomenal on this piece. I'm really happy with how this form came out and now I need to drill the clamping holes out of the middle and soon it will be ready to press the first form. More pictures coming!

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## Kevin

Matt it's going to work for sure. I'm glad to see you posting - by now you must have graduated. I'd like to have an update on your life maybe give us one if you're so inclined even if it's a bullet list - and if not that's understandable just know you have been missed!

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## David Seaba

Look forward to seeing some more pics. 
David

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## cabomhn

Kevin said:


> Matt it's going to work for sure. I'm glad to see you posting - by now you must have graduated. I'd like to have an update on your life maybe give us one if you're so inclined even if it's a bullet list - and if not that's understandable just know you have been missed!



Not quite! I just finished up my Junior year so I will be returning in the fall to finish up my forth year, I can't wait to be done. This summer I am interning at Duke Energy in charlotte working in the Probabilistic risk assessment group (PRA) for 12 weeks before I head back to Raleigh in the fall. I haven't really done all that much in the way of woodworking during the course of this past school year just a few little things here and there during breaks, but this summer I have a decent amount of time so I would really like to get a real project done! That's really the synopsis, I can't think of anything else interesting about me right now? lol. Glad to be back for the time being!

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## cabomhn

As promised here's a few pics of the wood I'll be using for the project. It's 42"x10"x 5/4. I'm hoping that there will be enough for another small project or two once I'm done with this one! It's a good chunk of wood and it's really got some nice grain. I've never owned/used a piece with curl like this for anything so I'm a little excited and nervous to start cutting into it, lol.

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## Kevin

Awesome Matt. You're on a great track keep it up.

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## cabomhn

Ok so day went far better than expected trying to get this bent form working. The first step I had to do was drill some holes for the clamps to grab into...


 

This wood was kind of intimidating to start cutting it up, so just in case I catastrophically ruined it I took one more picture of it just for good measure, lol


 

I ripped an ~2" strip and then took it to the bandsaw with a resawing blade and ripped for thin strips, sanding in between. The blade was brand new so there was almost no marking up of the wood from the saw blade and it worked out way better than expected. 



 

For the glue up I used unibond 800. It was pretty good but in my opinion kind of messy. I think the leftovers that I couldn't get to should clean up fairly easily. This was much more of a pain than I expected but I think after a ton of clamping and adjusting the result is pretty good. The sides are flush for the most part and I think with a little sanding it should be good to go. 



 



 



 

So that's where I left off for the day, I'm pretty happy with the results so far and I'm looking forward to taking it off the form in a few days!

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## Mike1950

Looks good- I made a male and female form but I was doing a wider panel. Did you allow for a little springback? I like doing bent lams. Somebody that is very good at this is @Lola Ranch - Brent has done it a lot.

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## NYWoodturner

Thats awesome Matt. Very methodical and very thorough, but I expected nothing less from you. Cant wait to see it progress.

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## cabomhn

Mike1950 said:


> Looks good- I made a male and female form but I was doing a wider panel. Did you allow for a little springback? I like doing bent lams. Somebody that is very good at this is @Lola Ranch - Brent has done it a lot.



I allowed for a little, but honestly this first time I really didn't know how much to expect in general so hopefully it will stay fairly stable. I was thinking with having more thinner pieces it would help instead of just two bigger pieces but I guess I will find out once I take it off! lol

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## Mike1950

cabomhn said:


> I allowed for a little, but honestly this first time I really didn't know how much to expect in general so hopefully it will stay fairly stable. I was thinking with having more thinner pieces it would help instead of just two bigger pieces but I guess I will find out once I take it off! lol




I think the only way to make it predictable is repetition- each wood seems different- as far as bending- I do think thinner slices help. Looks good though.

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## cabomhn

Well pretty small update today, but I took the piece off the form and cleaned up the glue edges for any small clamp marks and left over glue. After not too much sanding I think it was a success! (mostly) On the side the was facing the bottom of the form there is a couple small gaps on the outermost layer. Normally I would be worried but it's pretty shallow and I think I'm going to try to fill it with dust/glue and see what happens since the rest of the piece is pretty good. As far as spring back, little to none occurred. Once I placed it back on the form after sanding there is about ⅛" movement away from the form at the end with the sharpest curve and it fits the rest of the way pretty snug so it's really now too bad! I'm looking forward to getting started on the next bending form!

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## frankp

I'm not sure how well it will work with compound or multiple curves but I've found a 3 inch wide strap of leather make a great bending tool. It helps prevent "flat" spots where the clamping pressure is slightly different. Looks like your first attempt has turned out really well so far.


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## cabomhn

frankp said:


> I'm not sure how well it will work with compound or multiple curves but I've found a 3 inch wide strap of leather make a great bending tool. It helps prevent "flat" spots where the clamping pressure is slightly different. Looks like your first attempt has turned out really well so far.



Sounds cool! I'll have to check that out in the future, sounds great for something with a uniform curve all the way through.


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## frankp

Yeah it works well if you have a constant radius or a gradual change in radius that doesn't reverse directions. I've never tried it on anything that actually changed directions.

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## cabomhn

Well, I did a good bit of sanding to clean up the shape just a bit and to clean up all the sides. Got everything cleaned up to 320 and it's looking pretty nice so far, without any finish the grain still pops really well. Here's a couple pics. 



 

 

Now, here's where I would definitely love a little input. In the next pic I circled the part I am talking about. I was thinking about making this piece out of cocobolo instead of maple like the rest of the piece. I was hoping this would make a nice accent but I don't know if it would add or take away, what do you guys think?


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## frankp

Definitely would be a nice accent. It might be wasted if it's the only non-maple piece though. If doing that, I'd like to see the feet or some other part also be an accent wood.

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## cabomhn

frankp said:


> Definitely would be a nice accent. It might be wasted if it's the only non-maple piece though. If doing that, I'd like to see the feet or some other part also be an accent wood.



That's what I wasn't sure about. I thought it would be cool to make the bottom where the guitar sits cocobolo as well, but I feel like in general 4-5" wide cocobolo would be pretty pricey. If I did that, it would match since both parts that are holding the guitar would be cocobolo.


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## Mike1950

cabomhn said:


> Sounds cool! I'll have to check that out in the future, sounds great for something with a uniform curve all the way through.



Looks good Matt- I make a male and female piece and clamp in between- that way there is even pressure. 
Any darker wood would look good as a contrasting piece. How about dark walnut or cherry- they both are perfect with maple.

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## NYWoodturner

Matt - I think the coco will look fantastic there. While I understand what Frank is saying, I think the opposite. I think it will be a focal point. I think if the feet match it will not stand out as much. Nice work so far. That is an ambitious project!

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## cabomhn

Mike1950 said:


> Looks good Matt- I make a male and female piece and clamp in between- that way there is even pressure.
> Any darker wood would look good as a contrasting piece. How about dark walnut or cherry- they both are perfect with maple.



I might send you a question or two in making a male/female form for the other couple bends in the project. I've seen how some do it but I would love to hear a few tips from you before I go for it, it does seem a lot easier to get uniform clamping pressure for sure.

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## cabomhn

NYWoodturner said:


> Matt - I think the coco will look fantastic there. While I understand what Frank is saying, I think the opposite. I think it will be a focal point. I think if the feet match it will not stand out as much. Nice work so far. That is an ambitious project!



I think I agree, but maybe once I make the piece I can see what I think about it. Normally I wouldn't think ok cocobolo but I have a perfect size square leftover from another project that I think would work well here. I might post the piece before I glue anything and get some feedback, sometimes seeing it in final form helps make the decision more clear! I'm hoping that this project ends up working out, but I think so far so good and I am really enjoying the work for my first bent project.

On another note, I forgot to add that this is a project for my girlfriend for her birthday in August, so I have some time before it's definitely a slight time crunch! She is a guitar player but has mentioned a time or two that she doesn't have a stand for her guitar so I thought this would make a nice (and somewhat thoughtful) birthday gift!

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## Mike1950

cabomhn said:


> I might send you a question or two in making a male/female form for the other couple bends in the project. I've seen how some do it but I would love to hear a few tips from you before I go for it, it does seem a lot easier to get uniform clamping pressure for sure.




No problem Matt anytime. You did most of it for your first form. Glue up the MDF or? and mark your shape. When you do male and female form you just cut close to two lines and then sand to the lines. Then you can clamp the crap out of it and not damage the wood. I also use saran wrap to keep glue from getting stuck to form. Bent lams are fun. You can also alternate colors of wood.

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## cabomhn

Mike1950 said:


> No problem Matt anytime. You did most of it for your first form. Glue up the MDF or? and mark your shape. When you do male and female form you just cut close to two lines and then sand to the lines. Then you can clamp the crap out of it and not damage the wood. I also use saran wrap to keep glue from getting stuck to form. Bent lams are fun. You can also alternate colors of wood.



So I actually had a problem with this glue up relating to the multiple lamination pieces. I had the issue of the outermost piece that the clamps actually attached to was riding up higher than the other pieces and it was a real pain to get it in line with the other 3 layers. Is there any trick to keep all the lamination layers in line with one another? I had to kind of jerry rig some vertical clamps but I would imagine there is a better way.


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## Mike1950

cabomhn said:


> So I actually had a problem with this glue up relating to the multiple lamination pieces. I had the issue of the outermost piece that the clamps actually attached to was riding up higher than the other pieces and it was a real pain to get it in line with the other 3 layers. Is there any trick to keep all the lamination layers in line with one another? I had to kind of jerry rig some vertical clamps but I would imagine there is a better way.



I have had the same problem. I just start out with pieces 1/4 -1/2 wide and then cut to finished width when glued. The more layers you have the bigger the problem. But there is someone here @Lola Ranch that is much more of an expert on bent lams then I that may have better thoughts/ideas on how to do this.


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## cabomhn

Mike1950 said:


> I have had the same problem. I just start out with pieces 1/4 -1/2 wide and then cut to finished width when glued. The more layers you have the bigger the problem. But there is someone here @Lola Ranch that is much more of an expert on bent lams then I that may have better thoughts/ideas on how to do this.



How do you cut the final piece once you have it in the bent form? I was thinking about it but I couldn't figure out how I would get both edges cleaned up and square.


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## Mike1950

cabomhn said:


> How do you cut the final piece once you have it in the bent form? I was thinking about it but I couldn't figure out how I would get both edges cleaned up and square.



I gently did one side on the jointer to get flat. Then I thought about bandsaw but used the table saw. Which sounds bad and unsafe but actually was quite easy- here is a pic of piece I did. The door frame, box frame work were done this way. the panels were done on bandsaw. Because of the curve of the piece-hands are NEVER!!! close to blade.



 



 

Ps Getting all pieces to line up while wet under pressure of clamps would be hard- clamps want to torque piece. If it is in a 2 sided mold the torque does not come into play as much. You did a great job considering how you did it- I bet you were sweating and fought keeping them flat-(  was cussing when he did the same)

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## cabomhn

Mike1950 said:


> I gently did one side on the jointer to get flat. Then I thought about bandsaw but used the table saw. Which sounds bad and unsafe but actually was quite easy- here is a pic of piece I did. The door frame, box frame work were done this way. the panels were done on bandsaw. Because of the curve of the piece-hands are NEVER!!! close to blade.
> 
> View attachment 53484
> 
> View attachment 53485
> 
> Ps Getting all pieces to line up while wet under pressure of clamps would be hard- clamps want to torque piece. If it is in a 2 sided mold the torque does not come into play as much. You did a great job considering how you did it- I bet you were sweating and fought keeping them flat-(  was cussing when he did the same)



That's for sure. I was really thinking I was going to have to throw out the whole first glue up attempt but with some clamps and some muscling of the wood and a little fighting it camp out real flat, just a few little variations and clamp marks that got sanded out without too much trouble! I'll definitely be trying to two piece molds for the next glue up.


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## Mike1950

cabomhn said:


> That's for sure. I was really thinking I was going to have to throw out the whole first glue up attempt but with some clamps and some muscling of the wood and a little fighting it camp out real flat, just a few little variations and clamp marks that got sanded out without too much trouble! I'll definitely be trying to two piece molds for the next glue up.




With a two piece mold you will have more time to get edges of boards straight- git yourself a little extra to trim /sand/? off What you have done is very nice.

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## cabomhn

Well today I didn't have time to get a whole lot done. I had two pieces of 5" square cocobolo but before I could really do anything I had to get everything flat and square on all edges. When I got them they were pretty uneven on both surfaces so I had to get one side and edge flat on the belt sander, then rip it on the bandsaw, and then finishing sanding that side and rip the other edges. Not it's ready to go and I got all my measurements down for the mortise/tenon joint to match up with the bent lamination. The one on the left is the one ready to get and on the ready was as it was before. 



 



 

I went home and I'm working on the design for the piece before I commit to any cuts, this stuff isn't cheap! I'm hoping I can get a decent amount more done on Sunday since I was pretty busy today. More updates on the way!

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## cabomhn

Got a little more work done on the project today, this is the bottom supporting piece that goes across the bottom and holds up the guitar. I made a similar type of form as last time but the curve is much less intense as last time and instead of using little wood blocks as spacers I actually ripped another strip, ¼" as the clamping piece that applied the pressure evenly across the the wood and there aren't any gaps this time and everything is nice and even. Hopefully I'll be able to get the main supporting arch done this coming weekend!

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## NYWoodturner

Matt - I love your patience and focus. Looking great my friend

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## cabomhn

Ok so here I actually have a question regarding making this stand able to be taken apart in a couple pieces. I would like to be able to make it separate at the line drawn in this picture...



 

I don't want this to be a wood joint I would prefer it to be a metal piece of hardware that I can install and maybe epoxy into the to separate pieces but I don't know what type of hardware I would be able to use and I would love a couple suggestions from you guys. I was thinking some sort of metal slide like they use in sectional furniture but honestly I don't know where I would find it or if it would work or not. I've looked online but haven't found anything yet that seems like it would work. Thanks for any help!

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## NYWoodturner

@woodtickgreg would be where I would start. Is that a flat on flat joint or is there a curve involved as well? Hard to tell from the picture.


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## ChrisN

Is that the piece that supports the entire guitar? I would want something strong, maybe 2 or 3 threaded inserts in the block, and bolts/washers up through the base.
Or how about putting a hinge on the front, and a latch on the back? That way it would fold up and still be just one piece. Just throwing ideas out there...:cool2: Nice project & gift, BTW!

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## woodtickgreg

I can see why you would make this come apart at the joint for transport. I don't think I would use a metal joint as it might detract from the look of the project. I think I would epoxy 2 threaded inserts into one piece and then drill 2 through holes through the mating piece. The fasteners would then be hidden. I would use stainless steel bolts or screws to fasten the 2 pieces together. And so as not to detract from the look you could epoxy some shop made hardwood knobs or wing nuts to the head of the bolts or screws to hide them. A couple of coco knobs might look nice. Just an idea. I thought of a sliding dovetail metal piece but it might loosen up after time and then you couldn't tighten it like you could with knobs and screws.

EDIT: Funny, I was typing as Chris posted, we had a similar idea.

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## cabomhn

Thank both of you guys! That's such a simple solution but I think it'll work perfectly. I think I have in mind what you are saying but I know what is in my head will work. I appreciate it!


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## cabomhn

Just another update today. Here's a pic of the piece that I made for form for and glued up last week. Needs a little more sanding but it is nice and clean without any gaps so this was a success.





This next piece was probably the biggest bend for the project. One of the pieces actually snapped a little bit but it was on the inside and there was lots of glue there to fill up its place once it was clamped tight. Due to the shape of the bend clamping it up was kind of a pain but everything is nice and even and I don't think there will be any gaps! Next week I hope to join all three bent pieces together and make the base for the guitar to rest in. After a lot of trying to figure things out I'm finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel!





I decided on this form that instead of drilling it out, I just cut the form with a second parallel curve so all the clamps can seat perpendicular to the piece and I think it worked pretty well! No racking of the outer piece and things didn't fight me so much like in the first glue up. Still not as affective as the male/female form but since I'm starting to need to really keep things moving this form is quick to make and pretty affective.

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## cabomhn

Spent a little time today this afternoon drawing up the design for the top piece holding the guitar. I ended up going with a chunk of maple instead of the cocobolo since the cocobolo kept moving and I wasn't sure if it would stop so I just went with the kiln dried maple. I think this shape looks pretty good but I'm open to suggestions if you guys have any recommendations!

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## cabomhn

Got a little more work done today, nothing groundbreaking but little steps at a time. I took off the curved support piece I glued up last time and did a really rough dry fit (without trimming the ends) to the other two pieces I had made. Things fit good and will fit better once it is trimmed to fit the existing support. The angle of the main vertical curve is a little off but that'll change once things are adjusted and actually fit to place but it shows a "proof of concept" for what I've been doing, lol. 



 

I'm a little ashamed to admit this as someone who has dabbled with woodworking over the past couple years that I have never done a true mortise/tenon joint. So today I tried my first mortise by hand. It definitely isn't the best work but I think it'll be functional. I bought a sorby corner chisel and it is great, definitely worth the investment. I got a great deal on ebay and I'm happy to add it to my tool list. Just a question for the pros here, how do you clean out the bottom of a mortise with hand tools? I tried for a while but I didn't want to bear down too much so I didn't mar up the edges on the sides of the mortise.

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## Mike1950

A swan neck chisel- it has a curve so you can scrape the bottom. Or just use regular chisel as a scraper-slow but what I did for a long time. Ebay or Maybe you can talk Roy out of one........ Looks Nice Matt.

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## Kevin

As I was catching up on this fantastic thread and got to the post where you were asking how to separate the joint I immediately thought of a knife threaded insert with inner machine threads also. Seems like a consensus.

BUT, if it we me making it this is I wouldn't be able to resist using persimmon or some other metal-like species and make a tapered sliding dovetail joint right there with a tapered locking peg. Talk about a really good finishing touch to a really cool piece that would be it IMO. I wouldn't let a piece of metal touch that thing.

Matt this is a great thread and I agree with Scott about your patience and your talent. That's going to be a wonderful chair for your guitar.

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## Kevin

cabomhn said:


> how do you clean out the bottom of a mortise with hand tools?



Matt I clean out my mortise ends simply by using a firmer chisel and twisting it. You can use a regular beveled chisel too but I prefer the heft of the firmer chisel. Also, if you drill your mortises that helps hog out material as we all know, but it also sets the depth and going in after the rough clean-out with a firmer makes that part even easier.

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## cabomhn

Mike1950 said:


> A swan neck chisel- it has a curve so you can scrape the bottom. Or just use regular chisel as a scraper-slow but what I did for a long time. Ebay or Maybe you can talk Roy out of one........ Looks Nice Matt.



Those chisels looks pretty awesome I'll definitely have to take a look for one on ebay maybe or just buy one. Thanks!


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## cabomhn

Kevin said:


> As I was catching up on this fantastic thread and got to the post where you were asking how to separate the joint I immediately thought of a knife threaded insert with inner machine threads also. Seems like a consensus.
> 
> BUT, if it we me making it this is I wouldn't be able to resist using persimmon or some other metal-like species and make a tapered sliding dovetail joint right there with a tapered locking peg. Talk about a really good finishing touch to a really cool piece that would be it IMO. I wouldn't let a piece of metal touch that thing.
> 
> Matt this is a great thread and I agree with Scott about your patience and your talent. That's going to be a wonderful chair for your guitar.



Thanks for the tips Kevin. I might have to go more basic on this one just simply due to the time crunch but if I ever make another one like this I will definitely but utilizing some of the input from you guys. In case I didn't mention it before this guitar stand is actually for my girlfriend's birthday on August 21st! So I'm starting to get closer to crunch time and really need to be finishing things up, lol. So I would expect the frequency of my updates to increase.


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## Kevin

I wish I was set up to do video - the joint I am talking about is so easy to make and the method I would use for it is fool proof. But I understand your dilemma. Whatever method you use for breakdown will not detract from the beauty of the piece.

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## cabomhn

Got just a little more work done today. Got this piece glued up and it will be sitting for a day or two. After that I will be drilling out two holes and plugging them with dowels and then doing the work to get the main support attached and pinned. Once that is done I will be making the base and doing the final work and then finally, doing a finish. A lot of work but if I can keep moving like this I should get it done within a reasonable amount of time!

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## NYWoodturner

Matt - Miles and miles of respect for having the nerves and resolve to take this on as first time project and the moxie to see it through 100% step by step. I just continue to be floored. 

P.S. - Easy on the cool whip there pal

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## cabomhn

NYWoodturner said:


> Matt - Miles and miles of respect for having the nerves and resolve to take this on as first time project and the moxie to see it through 100% step by step. I just continue to be floored.
> 
> P.S. - Easy on the cool whip there pal



Thank you for the kind words! I've definitely made a few mistakes throughout the process but I'm just working hard to try my best to hide them and keep up with the progress. Thank you guys for watching my progress and giving me feedback along the way, it's definitely appreciated!

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## cabomhn

Soom pretty good progress tonight. My first thing that I did was to pin the back connection I glued up last time with two oak dowels. Hopefully these will look pretty good once I get them sanded flush. 



 

The next step was to create the "right angle" brace to support the main arched back to the bottom support. This was tricky because all sides were curved and there was a lot of hand work needed to get the sides to match up right. The first picture is the piece standing along and then followed by the setup how it will be positioned. 



 


 

Here's just a quick overhead shot of the general form and how it will look. I glued the small component to the frame but the other piece is just resting in place with clamps in order to ensure proper alignment. I want to be able to only have to glue two areas when attaching the final piece. I'm really happy with how the shape is looking and I think it's going to work out! Hopefully it's done sooner rather than later, lol.

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## Mike1950

Lookin good Matt- maple sure is nice!!

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## cabomhn

A little update today. I'm really happy with where it's at right now. I might go over later tonight once the glue is set to pin the connecting places but we'll see what happens. I got the dowels I put in last time sanded down and I think the oak was a good choice to contrast with the maple, both with grain and color. 



 

Doing this tenon wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The cut-ins on each side was about 3/32" so I just cleaned it out with chisels. After that I cut out the holder at the top on the bandsaw and cleaned everything up and glued the pieces together. 



 


 

Finally, I glued the main piece together to the frame and got everything clamped up. The way it's designed is that the glue up is under tension so when the guitar actually sits on the stand, the tension will actually let up a little bit instead of add to the frame which will prevent sagging over time, I hope, lol. 




I feel like at this point I'm single-handedly using a lot of WB's bandwith but I hope the updates/pics are enjoyable for some. Hopefully I'll get a little more done tonight!

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## Kevin

This is a great thread. Fantastic looking stand. "Stand" sounds so . . . inadequate though. Piece of art is more appropriate.

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## NYWoodturner

Matt - I am just floored. The thread is informative, and enjoyable. My own personal takeaway is that I get too rushed and don't think things through enough. This is a stark reminder of why I should slow down. I'm super impressed, but more importantly she will be too!

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## woodtickgreg

This is a great thread, you better keep posting pics! i am very much enjoying this, I cant wait to see it with a finish on it.

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## Kevin

It has inspired me to build one like it, but first I need to build a guitar in order to need it. And if I build a guitar I will need to learn to play it. And if I learn to play it, I feel I need to be the best guitarist on the planet. And I might as well learn to sing. So frankly, my coming international stardom and numerous platinum albums are all going to be due to Matt sharing this thread with us. Matt I will be sure to credit you on all my albums.

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## cabomhn

NYWoodturner said:


> Matt - I am just floored. The thread is informative, and enjoyable. My own personal takeaway is that I get too rushed and don't think things through enough. This is a stark reminder of why I should slow down. I'm super impressed, but more importantly she will be too!



Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad my somewhat OCD process of picturing taking can be appreciated by others, lol. This has definitely been a learning experience for me, I'm not really the type to think of things outside the box; literally, I like making boxes! So this type of form where you can't really draw it out on a diagram before you start creating something has been a completely different experience in woodworking for me, and it's definitely forced me to be more open minded about the process and spend more time sitting and thinking about what would look good and just going for it instead of spending forever trying to diagram things. It's been really cool to see a project come together without really focusing on the numbers and the math.

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## cabomhn

Kevin said:


> It has inspired me to build one like it, but first I need to build a guitar in order to need it. And if I build a guitar I will need to learn to play it. And if I learn to play it, I feel I need to be the best guitarist on the planet. And I might as well learn to sing. So frankly, my coming international stardom and numerous platinum albums are all going to be due to Matt sharing this thread with us. Matt I will be sure to credit you on all my albums.



Sounds like a chicken and the egg scenario to me! I look forward to that dedication label on your platinum record 

After doing this I've seriously considered researching some methods for actually making an acoustic guitar. In my mind that's one of the ultimate challenges for fine tuning bent form projects and I think it would be just awesome to be able to do. That'll probably have to wait until graduation though because I absolutely won't have time this year, thank god it's my 4th and final year

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## cabomhn

Well pretty successful day. For the bottom section that the guitar rests on I was having trouble getting the curve how I wanted it freehand. So what I did was I took a classical guitar diagram and scaled it in photoshop according to where I wanted the base to hit the guitar at and then printed off the template on two sheets of paper and joined them together with tape. After that when I was at the shop I cut out my pieces of MDF I was going to use and used some spray adhesive to adhere the template I had made so that way I could make a nice clean cut and even curve. 



 

The next thing was to finish making the actual form. After I cut out the top piece I added two more layers and then routed them with a copying router bit. Added on two more layers and then did it again for the final form. Then I glued a base across the bottom and then cut it to be more parallel with the top curve in order for the clamps to have a good flat connection. Here you can see the form as well as the three pretty thin sheets to be laminated in the background. 



 

The glue up was kind of a pain. I ripped about a ⅛" piece as a top board in order to even out the clamping pressure for the curves. It took way more c-clamps to get everything pressed down than I expected but it looked like for the most part that it was a good clean connection. I just used regular tight bond on the piece but there isn't that much of a curve and I honestly didn't feel like mixing the resin glue today, lol. Tightbond should work just fine. Hopefully I'll be able to take everything off the clamps tomorrow and get things sanded and attached to the main form!

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## cabomhn

Well the piece I glued up yesterday turned out great in my opinion. Once I took it off the form I found the center and where it should have been and then trimmed it up and cut the corners. Finished sanding and now it's all good to go. I sanded the bottom just slightly flat in the middle in order to seat flat with the base of the main piece. 



 


 

Now, here's where I had my stupid moment, really really stupid. I was trying to figure out a way to add risers to the base piece above on the sides in order to leave separation between the guitar base and the support in case there is a strap attached or a guitar with a knob at the base to add a strap. Now I tried cutting out pieces on the bandsaw, sanding, etc etc and I just could not get pieces to match up well with the base. Then, lightbulb duh moment, I already have a form that perfectly matches the curve I'm trying to match. I can't believe it took me that long to figure that out but hopefully this will come out good once I trim the pieces up and get them glued on.

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## cabomhn

Ok just a little more done tonight. I got the main base for the guitar attached and will be pinning that tomorrow night to the frame. The two blocks fit pretty good and those will be getting glued on tomorrow night after I pin the main piece. Good progress I might even be able to finish it up this weekend!

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## NYWoodturner

Continues to be an overwhelmingly compelling thread... hurry up and put some finish on it

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## cabomhn

Got some more shop time in today. I was able to make the riser wedge that goes in between the upper assembly and the base piece. I'm going ahead with it and so far things have been working well. I decided to make the piece separate right at the point where the wedge meets the leg piece. Here is the wedge piece which was surprisingly challenging to make to get the angle crisp and clean on the table saw without any tear out. 



 

Here's the bottom view of how it connects to the block the will eventually have the legs attached to it. The wing nuts won't be seen unless you look at the bottom but I still might make some sort of foam plug to go here just for a finishing touch. 


 

Next, before I went to work this morning I created a pattern for the legs in photoshop. I printed out a copy for each leg and when I got to the shop I used some spray adhesive to glue the pattern to the board. After that I ripped the legs on the bandsaw and then sanded them on the spindle sander attached to the drill press. This next pic gives a view of what things should look like once they are glued. The main upper assembly isn't glued to the wedge and the legs aren't attached yet. 


 

I had to come home tonight to cut the carriage bolts down to size but after dinner with the family I plan on heading over to the shop to glue the upper assembly to the wedge so it has some time to dry. I need to epoxy the bolts at the top so they won't rotate as you try to tighten the wing nuts on the bottom.

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## cabomhn

Well the glue up was successful. After cleaning up the piece a little here is how the upper main assembly will look when separated at the connection. 



 


 

I got a first coat of finish on the top section of the build tonight and will continue putting on the finish is the time goes on. Not picture is I sanded down the legs and got them all cleaned up and then got the bottom connecting piece and the legs glued up together. After that the woodworking is essentially complete and it'll be on to finishing and then adding on the necessary leather pieces I am putting on. This project is finally coming towards an end!

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## cabomhn

Well, today's a big day in the progress for this project! The stand is remaining upright all on it's own and things are really looking good. The top has one coat of finish and the bottom still needs a touch of sanding around the very back. The pic below is from a real camera and not a cell phone for a change. On to finishing! The next post I make about this project should be in the completed projects section.

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## NYWoodturner

Matt - That is just outstanding!

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## woodtickgreg

I am looking forward to seeing a close up of the figure when the finish is done. Very nice work indeed Matt.


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## cabomhn

woodtickgreg said:


> I am looking forward to seeing a close up of the figure when the finish is done. Very nice work indeed Matt.



Here's a little sneak peak after I got the next coat of poly on tonight

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## frankp

Man, I don't check in for a while and look what happens. Excellent work.

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## cabomhn

frankp said:


> Man, I don't check in for a while and look what happens. Excellent work.



I don't know if you saw but it is posted in the completed projects forum now!

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