I started on Tuesday building the mold using a scrap piece of 3/4" plywood. I first cut two roughly equal pieces from it and used a Forstner bit to recess a couple bolts to hold the two pieces tight together. I traced the top profile of the guitar, including it's center line, onto tracing paper and adhered it to a side of the board. Using a band saw, I cut along the traced line and finished off the shape with a spindle sander.
I have yet to file the neck portion of the mold in the picture.
Why bolt two pieces together? Well, the final thickness of the side pieces of the guitar is 1". Two plywood mold pieces sandwiched together will give me a thickness of 1.5", which will allow some room for error whilst laminating the 1" side pieces. After the sides are laminated and hold their shape outside of the mold, I can easily separate the mold, flip one side over, and connect them together to create a fully closed mold, which will be 3/4" thick. The 1" laminate side pieces will rise above the mold (1/4"), so as to allow the top to be clamped on. This will be much later on in the build.
Here is a sample piece of 1/32" 3-ply veneer (not what i will be using for the final build, by the way) i clamped into the mold just for fun. I placed the veneer into boiling water for 5 minutes and held it in place in the mold using a small round caul for the tight curve and 3 other clamps. This is the process i will use (I will use steam though) for shaping and laminating the 4-ply sides later on (4 x 1/16" veneer = 1/4" side thickness).I don't think I will get much further with this build during my break. The next updates will probably be for when I order/receive parts.
(-$0.00)
-Andrew
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