Solid Linings
Solid Linings Part 3
At the belt sander, I sand out this overhang and then on the bandsaw I run the lining through with that sanded edge against the fence and cut the whole piece to 5/8” (or whatever height you want). Now you have a lining piece perfectly mated in both ways to your side. Once this is completed for both lower lining pieces, I sand a triangle shape into them on the belt sander. The first time I did this I was very nervous about it but I quickly realized it’s not a big deal. I use a coarse belt and try not to get too picky with making the triangle too pointy at the peak. It is easy to give it an elegant final shape later once it is glued in. Once I’ve sanded them to shape, I tack the vertical braces with cyanoacrylate into the top lining piece.
Once they are in, I do a dry fit with the lower lining piece locked into the vertical braces. When the piece is snug, I mark the overhang of the vertical braces and trim them off.
Here is another dry fit completely prepped for install. You can see the taper in the lining of the piece not installed.
Now I glue the pieces in. I use fish glue here. LMI white works very well too. I use all of the clamps to be safe and get a tight fit as best I can, even though it will pretty much sit in there perfectly without any clamps. I use little cauls on the inside and outside for the vertical braces. The wet spots shown here are cleanup of the fish glue. I brush a little water over squeeze out and it dissipates very well and sands out with no trouble later.
To finish up, I shim at the tailblock and sand everything smooth. Sometimes with the fish glue I’ll see a little gap that didn't get tight in the original lamination and will go in and tack those spots. Here are some shots of a guitar just about ready for final sanding before the top and back go on. The large solid piece next to the neck block is to anchor a bevel cutaway.
And here is a close up of the vertical brace as it nests in the linings
I hope you found this tutorial on solid linings helpful. Writing the article helped me to review my own process. I came up with a little list of pros and cons to creating solid linings. I hope it will help you in your decision to use them.
Pros:
- very rigid stiffness introduced to the rims (this could be a con too depending on your building style)
- perfect mating to the sides/template
- ability to change the lining thickness (i.e. make it thinner/more active in the lower bout)
- clean look
- vertical braces extend the full width of the side
Cons:
- more time consuming than most other linings
- rigid stiffness (see above)
- slight weight gain from kerfed linings
Thank you for reading! Again, if you have any questions or other feedback, don’t hesitate to
Back To Previous |
-
Burton LeGeyt
Brookline, MA
617-415-1677
-
article
03.25.2009
NEL Members
The New England Luthiers is an association of professionals and amateurs brought together by a common love of making stringed instruments