It's the 3rd of December, and the clamps around the soundhole have been applied and taken off for the third time. I'm glad to report that the delaminated layers have been "reunited," so to speak. Admittedly, there are a few rough edges here and there, but a little sanding should take care of that.
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| Lower Soundhole - Image 1 |
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| Lower Soundhole - Image 2 |
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| Upper Soundhole - Image 1 |
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| Upper Soundhole - Image 2 |
Right, then. What remains is to reinforce the reglued areas with wooden braces. As luck would have it, I've somehow misplaced the braces I'd fashioned earlier, and have had to make new ones. Now comes another round of gluing and clamping, and this should be the last time as far as the soundhole is concerned.
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| Custom Soundhole Braces |
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| Fourth Round of Clamping |
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| Upper Soundhole Brace Glued in Place |
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| Lower Soundhole Brace Glued in Place |
With the warped soundhole having been taken care of, let's get back to that bulging belly. It's December 6, and I've utilized the usual nyatoh planks I keep around specifically for this job, securing the jig with four F-clamps. This time around, there's no need to seal the soundhole or humidify the inside of the body as it's raining 24/7. Let's fast forward to December 21, then. As you can see, the belly bulge has virtually disappeared.
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| December 6 - Belly Bulge Treatment Commences |
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| December 21 - Top is Sufficiently Flat |
Next on the list is the bridge. There's a substantial amount of wood slivers and splinters to be removed, and the bottom also needs to be flattened. For the first task, I've utilized a rectangular metal scraper, and the second, a sanding block and abrasive paper. The bridge should fit snugly onto the top now.
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| Unwanted Wood Splinters and Slivers |
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| Scraping Off Splinters and Slivers |
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| Flattening the Bottom |
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| Bottom of Bridge Fully Prepped |
Prepping the bottom of the bridge for regluing is only the first chapter of this story. I also have to "ramp" the bridge in order to lower the action sufficiently. To this end, I'll be (1) lowering the area around the saddle, (2) Cutting slots to achieve sufficient string break angle, and (3) lowering the saddle itself.
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| This Area Will Be Lowered |
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| Rotary Tool/Sanding Band in Use |
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| Slots Cut Into Bridge |
Folks, it's now time to reglue the somewhat modified bridge back onto the top. And, of course, the area of the top directly beneath the bridge has already been tidied up and flattened with chisels and abrasive paper. The implements used for this reglue include Titebond Original Wood Glue, small wooden cauls, and four StewMac Soundhole Clamps. It's the 26th of December today, and the third wave of the monsoon has just begun. That being said, I believe we'll be needing a little more time than usual for the glue to cure.
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| Top Prepped for Regluing |
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| Bridge Reglued and Clamped in Place |
