There's been a ton of work going on in the makeshift workshop. One instrument is already in shape and some other pieces are in the making. Venezuelan Cuatro #8, known as Ask (like in the Nordic Myth of the creation of humans) found her owner in my former partner from Estudiantina Universitaria "Francis Ant贸n" (one of the musical groups from UDO).
The pieces of the instrument ready for assembly
During this entry, let's take a look at the making of the pieces of the instrument.
Correcting Mistakes
When I started my first project on my own, I made some huge mistakes on a neck. It was silly, but understandable since it had been almost a year since I had my apprenticeship at the workshop. I glued the fretboard too soon and some other details were really bad. The structure of the neck was still solid but I needed more experience to get all the stuff working.
Someone had told me about this trick. With an iron and water we can dissolve the glue. Then, using an spatula the fretboard comes off easily. The catch is that the fretboard gets bent. So, this piece of wood won't be usable after it. It's not a problem since the marks on the fretboard didn't work at all.
Neck
The neck gets worked with the usual aspects. First, we need to thin it out since it wasn't straight on one side. Then, we go about making the side cuts, shaping the heel and correcting the headstock.
Sound Board
This is my first time using this wood for a sound board. It is called White Cedar, the species is Simarouba Amara. After thinning it a little, we can get the drawing and cut the sound hole. We move on with the reinforcements. First, we get the bridge reinforcement. Then, the joint of the pieces. Last but not least the bars on the upper part. Once all this is done, we can shape all the reinforcements.
The sound board isn't at it appropriate thickness. Once the instrument is put together, we can use sandpaper to trim some of the material.
Back
The back is an overlooked piece in the construction of the instrument. Antonio de Torres once conducted an experiment making a classical guitar with a cardboard back and sides. The material isn't as important to make this but the shape of the back can affect the projection of sound in the instrument. This principle is about unparalleled surfaces. It cancels out some of the vibrations that might affect harmonics and other sounds. The results is an instruments with a lot of volume and clear notes through all its register.
It might not be considered important it regards to materials, but making a slightly curved back is a challenge. The reinforcements need to be shaped with a radius of your choice and the measures need to be repeated thrice. However, though the work is hard, the results are worth it.
The last pieces to get ready are the sides. This are not very flashy in terms of work. We just need to reduce its width the around 1mm to be able to bend them. With all this ready, we are set to put the instrument together. That will come in the next entry.