Yup, I was right there with ya' Matt. It's not structural, the rest of the body wood will hold it as flat as it needs to be. Also, it's easy to say "I'd have done it like this..." but if the press is the tool you have, that's the tool you should use. 😎 Lovely piece of wood!
Hi Matt, I would build me a small vacuum press. Use a flat metal plate as the base. Then make an airtight metal frame. Cover The frame with transparent silicone rubber mat, at least 2 mm thick and top it with another frame. You can use regular silicone sealer ( the stuff you get at your local hardware store that you use for installing sinks or bathroom elements) to get that airtight. Stabilize and join the frames with s couple of bolts. They must be sunk into the lower frame, so you have an flat surface. Drill a tap through the lower frame underneath the silicone rubber and insert a shut off valve. Use moss rubber tape to cover the flat topframe as a airtight seal. Place your moistened warped material between the base plate and the cover. Connect a vacuum pump to the valve and just watch, what happens. There are a number of advantages to do it like this. A, it is dead cheap to build. B. Silicone rubber will withstand high temperature. So you can either heat the baseplate or install some infrared beams above the rig, or do both. C. All moisture will be dissipated in short time because the boiling point of water is dependent on the atmospheric pressure. D. You can use this rig to laminate curved surfaces. Give it a try. Cheers.
Hey Matt, I’d like to see a recap on blind fret slotting. I’m sure you’ve done it before, but now that Pennsylvania has gotten dry for the winter my contest guitar has gotten some crazy fret sprout and it’s what’s on my mind at the moment. Lol Maybe some tips for minimizing future problems due to a new build “curing out”
Glad it worked. The stickers (spacer boards) were a great idea. So was the use of melamine. Matt, did you measure the moisture content in the wood before joining? If so, what humidity level were you looking for in the wood prior to gluing/joining?
Do the Icon tops have bracing?? It would be something that sat in the back of my mind, that it just may cup once again in time. I have never uestioned what you do, but I would be more inclined to use it as a solid body top. But that is just me. I am sure you will nail it as usual 💜💜💜💜 Sarah xx
The Icon guitars are, as I like to say, acoustic guitars built by electric guitar builders. They are quite a bit different from say a Fender Accoustasonic or whatever they call them.
Yup, I was right there with ya' Matt. It's not structural, the rest of the body wood will hold it as flat as it needs to be.
Also, it's easy to say "I'd have done it like this..." but if the press is the tool you have, that's the tool you should use. 😎
Lovely piece of wood!
Always learning from your tips. My favorite was the 7/8 round over for shaping necks. Worked great. Thanks
It still works great
Hi Matt, I would build me a small vacuum press. Use a flat metal plate as the base. Then make an airtight metal frame. Cover The frame with transparent silicone rubber mat, at least 2 mm thick and top it with another frame. You can use regular silicone sealer ( the stuff you get at your local hardware store that you use for installing sinks or bathroom elements) to get that airtight. Stabilize and join the frames with s couple of bolts. They must be sunk into the lower frame, so you have an flat surface. Drill a tap through the lower frame underneath the silicone rubber and insert a shut off valve. Use moss rubber tape to cover the flat topframe as a airtight seal. Place your moistened warped material between the base plate and the cover. Connect a vacuum pump to the valve and just watch, what happens.
There are a number of advantages to do it like this. A, it is dead cheap to build. B. Silicone rubber will withstand high temperature. So you can either heat the baseplate or install some infrared beams above the rig, or do both. C. All moisture will be dissipated in short time because the boiling point of water is dependent on the atmospheric pressure. D. You can use this rig to laminate curved surfaces. Give it a try.
Cheers.
Sounds like a good idea.
We have a few vacuum things here at the shop that I rarely use anymore but it might be time to bring them back
I just wet the concave side. It expands and flattens the board. I’ve fixed some weird warps with strategic wetting.
That is a good idea John
Thanks Matt. I probably would have just clamped it to a piece of mahogany to flatten it out!
That probably would have worked too
Nice and flat, or as flat as your going to get. (It's wood) A smidge of sanding and you got some beautiful top wood.
I agree Dave, this is going to be a super cool top
Hey Matt, I’d like to see a recap on blind fret slotting. I’m sure you’ve done it before, but now that Pennsylvania has gotten dry for the winter my contest guitar has gotten some crazy fret sprout and it’s what’s on my mind at the moment. Lol
Maybe some tips for minimizing future problems due to a new build “curing out”
That is a great idea Sean
Glad it worked. The stickers (spacer boards) were a great idea. So was the use of melamine. Matt, did you measure the moisture content in the wood before joining? If so, what humidity level were you looking for in the wood prior to gluing/joining?
I don't have a moisture meter but it's going to be a while before these tops get used
Do the Icon tops have bracing?? It would be something that sat in the back of my mind, that it just may cup once again in time. I have never uestioned what you do, but I would be more inclined to use it as a solid body top. But that is just me. I am sure you will nail it as usual 💜💜💜💜 Sarah xx
The Icon guitars are, as I like to say, acoustic guitars built by electric guitar builders. They are quite a bit different from say a Fender Accoustasonic or whatever they call them.
Nice
Thanks Vern
Gday from oz