Recent content by amilford

Thanks all for your comments - some things to mull over....

We could - but would have to be a separate inverter etc as we already have full amount of PV allowed for FIT payments. Ours was installed 13 years ago and we benefit from the very generous FIT payments at that time. Also to put on flat roof would raise issue of penetrating EPDM.

Don't know if anyone here has dabbled with diy solar thermal? We are extending and remodelling our house and as part of it will be re-doing hot water system. We will have a hot water cylinder in loft space (bungalow) heated by immersion heater(s). I have also acquired a second pressurized hot...

Thanks for the feedback - always good to have. I think all my parts are a bit thick - back, sides and front. I get nervous about strength when making wood so thin and also have trouble keeping the thickness even. I watched loads of you-tube videos about carving the front bracing and tuning the...

So now, all those fret slots need some frets: they then need cutting and filing to length getting really close now! Last 'major' part to add was the saddle, had to improvise a bit here to clamp it. Fortunately I had not drilled the pin holes completed so could screw into the body with some...

So to the fingerboard. The book I was working from gave distances between the fret slots to 0.01mm resolution! Really? That accurate. I have trouble seeing to 0.5mm now! So: Digital vernier for measuring distance. Magnifier to see the position. Wood block to push saw against to get a straight...

The neck is made from a plank of hardwood, with the ends built up in layers to reduce the amount of waste wood: the some carving and shaping later (I knew I'd find a use for the spokeshaves I bought many years ago!) On the practice one I shaped it before cutting the tapered dovetail at the...

So the back too has some strutting, but a bit simpler: then we add some struts to the sides: then we glue on the back, no getting inside now! with the clamps off, ready to trim with guided router bit:

After the front is glued up from two book match bits of sitka spruce, on the back of it there are loads of struts to glue: and here they are after shaping The front and back are fixed to the sides using kerfing. Here it is being glued in for the back on the "practice" item. Thanks Mrs M. for...

Here is another jig in the making - for marking the taper on the sides for the back. The guitar is thinner at the neck end. This jig allows me to mark the taper on the sides.

So once the sides are bent they go in the jig and the end blocks are glued in. This is the "practice" one from pine. Don't seem to have any pics of the final one at this stage. all the cross members of mdf are temporary clamps to hold the sides in place.

First thing to tackle: bending the sides. Put together a steam box powered by wallpaper stripper: Had loads of attempts to steam and bend some scarp pine planed and sanded down to about 4mm. Lots of broken bits of wood resulted. So after more research seemed like an iron was needed. Too...

So first thing - make a jig to hold the body during construction, out with some mdf four identical parts off the drum sander (home made for this job!) note the nod to H&S with the dust extractor nozzle! Then we assemble the jig: glued up, resting on some newspaper so it doesn't stick to...

Hi all. I've been lurking on this forum off and on for years. So now finally a post of a project. Hope it is of some interest. From this: to this in just under a year - off and on. But I almost made two. Since there were so many new techniques for me and things to work out, jigs to make...

was I the only one that noticed that the "relishing" machine was made by "Pickles" :) If this were April 1st.....