It was a very productive day in the workshop. I finished my guitar mold and solera, roughed out my deep-throat clamps, and fixed my go-bar clamping system. I also practiced bending sides using a 3" x 12" copper pipe that my friend gave me. I was bending Jatoba, and found that it scorches easily, especially when the flame is on. It looks like the optimal thickness for Jatoba sides is about 2mm.
So, to bend the sides, I heated the pipe with a propane torch until it was a dull black. Then I spritzed the sides with water and went to town. I found that it's best to keep moving the piece so it doesn't scorch.
The solera is a dished out panel in the shape of the guitar used while clamping the bracing to impart an arch to the soundboard and back. To build it, I first thought about using laminated paper cutaways to build up the correct shape. While this method may have been successful, I did not attempt it. Next, I thought I could create the desired profile by drawing a 1" grid on my solera board and drill down to various depths at the intersections to guide chiseling away waste material. This did not work due to equipment failure--the stop collar simply could not hold securely on the drill bit. Instead, I used a portable belt sander to rough out the shape, then used a cabinet scraper to smooth and finish.
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