Fixing body top and sides together

[Bent]

One little trick you can do to make it as neat and invisible as possible is to use plugs instead of dowels. Then you get the same grain orientation.
Buy a quality plug cutter of the 4-pronged type that cuts tapered dowels.Use a piece of cut-off wood of the same type as your aprons of course. Cut the plugs in a drill press. Look for a spot on the cut-off that matches the grain the closest the cut the plug there. Putting the narrow end of the plug in the hole, make sure you line up the grains as close as possible then tap in with a little bit of wood glue. Leave the plug proud of the surface and trim carefully with a very sharp wood chisel. Finally, sand.

[richard37066]

A last thought or two on this subject.

Most modern wood glues have an ivory, off-white, or tannish hue to the color. This is fine for bonding two pieces of light colored woods such as maple. Gives an almost invisible glue line. For darker woods, such as the walnut that Bent used, there's always the old trick of mixing fine sawdust (sanding dust) from the wood to be used with the glue. Only the change in grain gives away the glue line. Doesn't affect the strength of the joint at all.

For finickey folks like myself, there's a thousand different (see Bent's instruments) inlays to be had for a modest price which - in addition to thoroughly hiding the glue line - adds a touch of decoration. A Dremel moto-tool with small routing bits makes the chore ever so simple. If I'm not mistaken, there's a reference to the major suppliers here on the forum. If ya want to go whole hog, then there's always Mother-of-pearl and Paua Abalone to be had for a premium price. Dave has used these materials for an exquisite look to his builds.

Yer off and runnin', my friend. Keep us posted with pics at various stages of the construction.

Richard

[Dave-M]

Just an idea from a novice ... if you seal the wood with the first coat of finish before joining, (except at the joint) the squeeze-out would not affect the grain, and could be removed with sponge and water.

[bluesteel]

Nice thinking, guys. I'm taking this all in.

Will C
Cambridgeshire UK

[Ophir]

Hi guys. I'm just wondering if plugging the holes is really necessary. The plugging will still be slightly noticeable looking at the aprons from the bottom of the guitar. Wires and other bits and pieces are always still visible so how important is it really to plug? Maybe a little plastic wood and a little sanding wood suffice. I aint no expert but just putting down what I think guys. The beauty of the guitar is seen when it's standing upright.

[johan]

Hi blue steel if you look at the bottom of my guitar picture you can see the screws in the front and back and you can choose 5 or 7 screws greetings johan.

[Ophir]

You made a beautiful guitar Johan. I see the screws in your picture and I really dont see any need to hide them.

Ophir

[bluesteel]

A fair point, Johan, although I would rather use plugs if I use screws - I prefer not to see the screws. The interesting thing about my Williams: the grain is so prominent, I don't think Williams used anything more than glue. If they used screws and plugs, the tiny changes in grain should be visible if you really look. I didn't but I can't see anything at all. Maybe glue alone is good enough.

I wonder what Dave Wheelhouse does?

Will

[maxi19]

Hi Will,

I used 'biscuit' joints in mine.

Ron Mc

[sheffield steel]

GLUE & SCREW! IS THE BEST WAY! Never just glue, Not strong enough. You could use glue & dowel, but screws are best. This is In my very humble opinion.
Dave.