Stewart MacDonald Bluegrass Resomaster, Assembly Instructions Manual

Page 1: ...Resonator Guitar Kit Assembly Instructions www stewmac com ...

Page 2: ...hop builder and a mod est tool budget in mind For power tools we used a small laminate router and an electric hand drill With the exception of a few specialty guitarmaking tools such as several nut slotting files we used standard woodshop hand tools These included a chisel rasp half round bastard file small razor saw a sharp knife a couple of rulers and a long straightedge Of course we used some c...

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Page 4: ... block itself so the clamps put pressure where it s needed to pull the sides into the curve 1 The 1 4 outer caul being longer than the block flexes and forms the sides to the block A layer of wax paper between the sides and the caul will keep them from being glued together accidentally During gluing the neck block and tail block should rest flat on the work surface and flush with the face down top...

Page 5: ...gether with blocks of wood between them creating a three dimensional form for supporting the guitar sides 2 Now use the paper pattern to make the U shaped waist clamp from 3 4 plywood The purpose of the waist clamp is to hold the guitar s waist tight to the inner cardboard mold maintaining a constant shape until the back is glued on Use a file to smoothly round the two inner edges of the waist cla...

Page 6: ...t the neck block read Appendix 2 Intonation Check at the end of these instructions before continuing With the waist clamp still installed from the rear line up the top s centerline with the centerlines you drew on the neck and tail blocks Start clamping in the waist area within sever al inches of either side of the waist clamp using spool clamps to gently hold the top in place 6 Clamp the tail blo...

Page 7: ...n the spool clamps Since you need to remove the cardboard inner form before you can install the soundwell sand the back kerfing now while the body is still relatively rigid Re install the waist clamp from the top side Place the guitar on the sandpaper workboard with the back side down Sand the back kerfing flush just as you did the top until the sand paper just kisses the penciled edge of the side...

Page 8: ...dge created by the edge of the soundwell measures the same all around the hole in the top 10 This ledge supports the cone and the spider it s not very wide so you must carefully center the soundwell when gluing When the top top alignment looks right and is still dry clamped in position pencil a mark around the kerfing on the inside of the top as a quick reference for gluing the parts together Appl...

Page 9: ...ts the side kerfing and the soundwell kerfing evenly The body is ready for the back to be glued on At this point you should have retained squareness between the top and sides Squareness is especially important at the neck block in order to have the right playability later If you are out of square now it can t be by much If you are make a note of it and adjust for that when you glue on the back by ...

Page 10: ...halves of the top first to practice getting a tight seam where the two bindings meet The seam between the top bindings will be hidden by the tailpiece but on the back side the seam will show With clean hands and careful work it s possible to produce an invisible glue line between two pieces of binding by melt ing the seam together with Weld On 16 the solvent based glue recommended for this work St...

Page 11: ...smooth The top and back are made from high quality plywood and other than cleaning up marks that you make with tools the ply wood requires very little finish sanding Before final sanding use a flat block and 100 grit Fre Cut sandpaper to flatten only the area of the sides at the neck block where the flat cheeks of the neck heel will mate with the sides 20 Think of the end of the neck heel where it...

Page 12: ... machined into the neck Chisel a slight clearance in the slot walls until the adjusting nut fits to the bottom of the channel Install the rod adjusting nut facing down Glue in a piece of the supplied filler strip over the adjusting nut 22 and the exposed truss rod threads between the brass lug and the rear of the adjusting nut The filler strip will support the bone string nut which will be install...

Page 13: ... the fretboard will not only be straight end to end but the edge will be sanded at 90 to the work surface as well 25 Reverse the procedure for the other edge of the fingerboard Clamped and sanded in this fashion the fretboard will not only be straight end to end but the edge will be sanded at 90 as well Traditionally single dot inlays are installed behind frets 5 7 9 12 15 17 and 19 Frets 15 and 1...

Page 14: ...n t have a messy fretboard to clean up Flush the inlays to the fingerboard using a smooth mill file and a sand ing block Sand equally from end to end so you don t change the flat surface of the fretboard A 1 16 diameter plastic dowel is included with your kit for making side dot fret position markers along the bass edge of the fingerboard for right handed players that is Install them now at frets ...

Page 15: ...well by prying on an overhanging end with your fingernail Loose frets can be firmed up with superglue run into one end of the fret slot Keep the fretboard tilted at an angle to keep the glue from getting onto the fretboard Or an option is to tape off the fretboard on each side of a slot and run a bead of Titebond into the slot before hammering in the fret If you use Titebond let the frets dry over...

Page 16: ...k heel Hold the fingerboard in place temporarily with a spring clamp 31 as you start to wrap with the rubber bands supplied with your kit Tie the rubber band at the peghead and wrap from end to end and back again Get plenty of wraps on the heel 32 You may find that one rubber band is all that s needed for the job You can a shift the fingerboard slightly from side to side as you wrap but usually th...

Page 17: ...nst a running drill bit 34 You may want to practice this on a piece of scrap there s plenty of excess overlay that gets trimmed away so practice on that You ll end up with an elongated access hole for the 1 8 Allen wrench that adjusts the peghead Mark the peghead shape on the overlay Trim away most of the excess to within 1 8 all around the peghead Use pro tective cauls on the face and rear of the...

Page 18: ...nters of 1 3 8 This is a common measure ment and a variety of tuners will fit this hole spacing Set the tuners in the peghead and use an awl or other sharp tool to mark the mounting screw holes Remove the tuners and drill the holes with a 1 16 bit Mark the drill bit with a piece of masking tape as a depth stop You may need to cut off the end of the tuner mounting screws if they re too long for the...

Page 19: ... a small piece of tape to hold the hex nut into the socket as you reach into the body to start the nut onto the bolt Don t over tighten the nuts the amount of pressure you can apply with your thumb and fingers is probably plenty 40 Check that the neck is on center to the top s centerline by holding a long straightedge against the edges of the finger board and extending to the tail block Do this on...

Page 20: ...Space the blocks so the spider s legs are in contact with the upper surfaces of the blocks and then fasten 80 grit sandpaper to these surfaces with double stick tape With a black felt marker blacken the underside of the spider on every leg 42 You can follow your sanding progress by watching the ink on the feet One good sanding technique is to sand in small circles another good technique is to use ...

Page 21: ...mark facing for ward and rest the spider on the cone Lightly install the screw between the saddle halves and tighten it into the cone until it s just snug From this snug point turn the screw one more full turn Installing the saddle 44 Gently tap the outer edge of the offending leg The web of the spider must be supported when you tap 45 Between the two saddle pieces leave a gap that s just wide eno...

Page 22: ...saddle The string alignment will help you determine if the neck cone saddle and tailpiece are centered with each other If you have been accurate up to this point the cone should be centered in the well with a gap of approximately 1 16 all around the perimeter and little or no off center string pull toward either the bass or treble side A small amount of string pull to one side or the other is OK a...

Page 23: ... are not tuned to pitch with all the strings on Full string tension compresses the cone and lowers the action This is why you need to be cautious and remain on the high side of the final depth at this point 2 The final approximate measurement of 7 16 taken at the 12th fret will be the distance from the fingerboard to the top of the strings so they are all in the same plane for the steel bar to sli...

Page 24: ...tring is G B D G B D Lower each string one at a time de tuning enough that you can lift it out of its slot to work Do the nut end first because it s easy you don t have far to go Using nut slotting files and or small razor saws 49 simply lower each string until approximately half of its diameter is cut into the bone nut The tops of all the strings should be even with a straightedge placed across t...

Page 25: ...gs and burnish each slot with a guitar string of the same gauge that you intend to use working the string back and forth through the slot 51 For the two unwound treble string slots use a 020 unwound string for both string slots This will create the diameter of each string in the saddle harden the contact area create good back angle for the string to rise up to the saddle and guarantees an accurate...

Page 26: ...line of the screw clearance holes onto the top Remove the cover plate and drill the holes with a 1 16 bit Install the cover plate with the mounting screws and string the guitar to pitch This will be your final check before dismantling the guitar for finish ing Under string tension our Bluegrass Resomaster showed a clearance of 1 4 from the top of the strings to the under side of the hand rest 55 I...

Page 27: ...ur book Guitar Finishing Step By Step and many customers are glad they studied the book before finishing their first guitar In brief though here are some pointers and a finishing schedule to follow Do practice on scrap wood until your finishing technique has been perfected If you d like your guitar to look as good as it sounds don t rush Do use a backing block or pad when sanding the guitar body I...

Page 28: ...urface the sides of the fretboard to be unmasked after staining the nut the neck joint surfaces on the neck and body the underside of the fretboard extension and the interior of the body To seal the body interior stuff paper into the two small sound holes until it closes these openings Make a cardboard disc the same diameter as the soundwell opening approximately 10 5 8 and press it into the openi...

Page 29: ...spirator while spraying Spray one uniform wash coat of clear lacquer on the neck A wash coat is a very light coat so it won t cause runs The wash coat seals the stain or the natural color in the wood and keeps the upcoming coat of paste filler from producing a smudged look Sealed in this fashion only the open pores of the wood accept the filler Let the wash coat dry overnight Staining Applying a w...

Page 30: ... on scrap to determine if you have reached the color intensity you want You have the option of spraying a couple of coats of the shader to build the color coat in several passes rather than mixing a stain that might be too dark Put the shader into a Preval sprayer Spray the amber color in the center of the top and back and on the sides where the upper and lower shoulders reach their maximum width ...

Page 31: ...ly scuff sand the finish with 600 grit Fre Cut sandpaper to help the solvent escape The neck and body should now be left in a warm dry location for two weeks to let the finish harden and shrink Dry sand the neck and body to a flat dull sheen with 800 grit Fre Cut sandpaper Clean the residue off the sandpaper often by rubbing it against a scrap of carpet Any orange peel texture caused by lacquer sh...

Page 32: ... the neck angle as viewed from the side Removing wood from the upper part of the cheeks will raise the neck removing wood from the bottom will lower it As viewed from the front taking wood from either side only will move the neck in that direction When the neck bolts are tightened the cheeks pull tight against the body Only the outer edges of the cheeks need to make contact with the body and it s ...

Page 33: ...try to determine how much wood to remove With a sharp pencil and a straightedge mark the area to be chiseled away in a straight line from the bottom of the heel to the zero point at the top Continue this line across the heel cap and up the opposite side These lines may be tricky to draw because they must taper away to nothing ó to the zero point at the top of the heel With a sharp chisel remove ab...

Page 34: ... edges A final light downward pull of the sandpaper strip will clean up any marks left by the chisel Here s the way to determine how much wood must be removed from the cheeks for the correct neck angle at the bridge Always remove wood gradually and check your progress frequently A little adjustment goes a long way Our example measurements below are based on the scale length of this guitar 25 inche...

Page 35: ...eck Simply shape the edges of the fingerboard and neck to match using a file and sandpaper If minimal wood was removed at the cheeks locate the fin gerboard so that the 12th fret lines up with the point where the neck cheeks join the body At the peghead end there should be approximately 3 16 of flat area left between the end of the fingerboard and the break angle of the peghead This is where the b...