Portland Guitar Co.

( 001 ) 7-March-2014

I start a new project by selecting a set of wood for the back, sides and top.

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Sides

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Sides

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Sides

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Back

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Back

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Back

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Top

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Top

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This is a picture of the drum sander with a side blank in it. This tool is used to gently and accurately sand the blanks to a prescribed thickness.

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I reduce the thickness very slowly, passing the blanks through the machine several times.

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The sides end up about 100 mils thick. 1 mil = 1/1000 inch.

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Here the top is getting sanded to about 150 mil to start. In the end the top will end up about 100 mils thick, but there is a lot of work to do before it gets there.

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The back blanks get the same treatment as the sides.

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These calipers are perhaps my most useful tool in the shop. I am a measurement fanatic. I am always looking for another tool that will help me make accurate and precise measurements.

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Here I am using the table saw to trim the edges of the top blanks. The sweet spot on these blanks are in the middle, so I need to remove the outside edges.

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After prepping the edges so they will meet up perfectly, I use this joining table to press and glue the two halves together.

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After the glue sets up overnight the top blank gets the guitars outline drawn on it.

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The back blanks get assembled on the joining table with a decorative center strip.

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After the glue has set.

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And a close up of the center strip.