1st Kit Build Irish Bouzouki

[Twilo123]

Amazing. I bow in deep respect to someone prepared to put this kind of effort in to making something beautiful. Thanks for the updates, keep us posted and of course I want to hear the finished product.

Thanks Colin! What a reply. Not sure how to respond other than humbly with a great big thanks!!!
Being that I am part Irish (fam traced to County Cavan) I felt the need to try out an Irish Bouzouki...I know the bouzouki is not originally from Ireland but the Irish version of it is so off I went. hope i can do it some justice!

[Twilo123]

clamps are off! now i start getting nervous. router ordered and on the way. once i get it on to binding... :eek:
i have never used a router in my life. of course i will test on scrap wood first but this is definitely a learning curve for me. hope i don't F it up here lol
i don't have a jig to hold the body in place while i route over it. any suggestions?

[Twilo123]

in the meantime i tried using the saw (pic 3) to cut off excess before routing. i think i will need something like a jeweler saw though for this (wonder if i can use medium blade or need something finer). when cutting the lam side with regular saw it was ok (pic 1) but when i got to the solid top it began ripping in chunks in addition to sawing (pic 2).

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pic 3

[Rob Zamites]

I didn't try to trim off the excess at all with any saw, that's what the router with a flush cut bit is for I just clamped the body to my workbench top, no jig required. as long as you keep the base of the router flat on the top/bottom plates, you'll be fine.







Be sure and move around the instrument with the bit cutting into the wood against the direction your circling (i.e. if the bit is rotating clockwise as you view it from the top, go counterclockwise around the instrument), or else the router might dig/climb into the side or top. Just take your time, it will be fine

[Twilo123]

so i used the belt sander to get it down to 1/8" and used a blade to chisel down and finally sanded with 80 and then i believe it was 150. so now i have the tops flat to the sides. i believe this is called trimming. took me a couple hours to do everything since i am new to all of this but better manual and safe then sorry. besides this is all new to me so i am like a kid on christmas everytime i make it another step towards the goal successfully lol. i'm sure as i do more kits or finally try a scratch build i will need to have some better methods down for sure. for now though i am enjoying each step as it progressives albeit slowly.

[Twilo123]

now on the original back cutout never fully covered the heel (pic 1). i have some strips of back left from when i was trying to saw it off that i could use a single piece there. or should i get some veneer and cut it straight across there and use the veneer for the heel? i guess if i get the veneer i will wind up doing the headstock also. not sure where to get veneer though.

pic 1

[Twilo123]

been snowed in for awhile. today i was finally able to get back at it a little. i am agonizing over the routing binding channels. i got the bosch 1/4" router but then i notice in the paper that came with the bit i have that it says the bit is 1/2". so i take the router back and get same but 1/2" which is, of course, a monster compared to the 1/4". i try the bit and of course it is way small so it has to be 1/4". i measure the diameter of the head that will fit the collet and yes it measures 1/4". F'n back to HD to get the 1/4" router back. i ordered the Bosch one online so even though i returned it to the store they don't have it in stock (just Makita and i think it was called Rigid the other brand). i look at reviews online and they all say Bosch is the best so i say F it and leave. i have never been to harbor freight and there is 1 by me so i stop in. turns out they just sell generic stuff but i picked up a file set for around $10 (pic 7). i need to file frets down so hopefully they will work. on to HD competitor LO.. i find the Bosch router there however i notice a nice looking Dewalt one also. so i google a little bit and seems people actually like the Dewalt just as much if not more than the Bosch so i decide to pick it up. Tomorrow i will hopefully finally put this to rest and be able to start testing routing on some scrap strips of wood. Bunch of craziness trying to figure the router and bit piece out for me. i know it's hilarious to anyone who works with them what i am going through lol. :ha:

so the only thing i was able to get done today was some fret wire on the fret board along with some sanding down. i think i F that one up a bit also because 1. i did not glue them down; only hammer them in and 2. i did not measure the fretboard to the neck before hammering in the frets and i think the fretboard is slightly larger than the neck. so i am going to have to sand down a hair the fretboard with the frets in to match the neck.

for the frets i used a dollar store hammer and a husky nipper from HD. i tried caddy corner at first like you see in pic 1 but noticed real fast this wouldn't work. i needed to be by the edge with the fret wire pre-bent to get the right angle. also i needed an extra clamp more towards the middle also. just clamping at the ends the middle would lift up to much and i would just hammer air basically. needed the whole fretboard tight against the table to hammer in properly.

i left around 1/16 on each end for the fret wire after pounding in. after which i needed to get more flush with the sides so i saw a video of someone using a belt sander (see video below) and gave that a shot. basically you want the belt moving down so it puts downward pressure on the fret wire as it sands it. you take a portion at a time and push it flat against the sander. once that section is down you move to another section, etc. no back and forth movement. just straight on against the sander. i was able to get it pretty close to the edges (pic 5). one thing i did notice however is you can see i guess stress marks (pic 6) from where the sander pushed down on the fret wire against the board. hopefully this is more cosmetic and structural...

also in pic 6 you can see even though i hammered the frets flat to the board there is still some space between the frets and the bottom of the cut slot. hopefully this is ok. i will probably have some lifting later on.

so what i learned is 1. make sure the fretboard is even with the neck before pounding in the frets. i think i will be ok sanding everything together to get it down however it would have been much easier to do this the right way. 2. glue in the frets.

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pic 7 (file set i picked up)


fret sanding video i used

[Twilo123]

ok so today i took the plunge and did my 1st routing ever lol. that machine is a godsend! of course i can see how it can screw things up pretty fast too. that being said the benefits are awesome and i look forward to using it again. i tested on some scrap wood 1st (pic 1). the only time i experienced any kind of kickback was when i cut the end grain on the test scrap. then i could feel it kick and spit chips everywhere. i guess that is similar to 'tear out' that i see in videos about routing.

so onto the bouzouki. i clamped the neck down (pic 2) as suggested previously (thanks!) and proceeded to route. i don't know if i did this right but i took the widest part of the bout and routed clockwise 1st towards the neck. then i went from where i started at the widest part of bout and went counter clockwise towards the bottom of the bouzouki. on the solid top side everything went smooth. on the lam side i think i ran into a small bit of tear out (pic 3). i wound up just gluing that part back on as it didn't totally tear off but just splintered. other than that i have to say it went unexpectedly smooth. the cut all around was extremely clean. i have a wave on the bottom where 1 cut stop and another started but i just sanded that down a bit to match. hopefully i can put some wood dust/chip/etc. if need be once i get the binding in so it looks perfect all the way around. i made a quick video after routing below.

my personal observation: when it comes to hand tools the solid wood is much tougher to work with than lam. however when it comes to power tools the solid side is much better to work with than the lam. the lam splits, cracks, etc. under pressure. the solid doesn't as much. and for hand tools the lam is just easier to cut/sand/etc. than solid which makes total sense.

all said and done i think the binding is going to look (and fit) nicely (pic 4).


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pic 4


quick video after routing the binding channel

[Twilo123]

question: in pic 1 i took the supplied binding and wrapped a single piece around where it would go on the bouzouki. if you look on right side you see where it would end. same goes for left side. i balanced the sides out and that is as far the length of the sides it will go on each side. i have another strip i can cut up to i guess make a joint and fill in the rest. my question is what is the best point to do this? should i just cut the 2 strips and make them fill half side each and meet at the bottom bout? should i start 1 strip at the neck and wrap it as far as it will go and then joint there the next piece? what covers up people from seeing a joint? the varnish, shellac, urethane, etc?

also in this pick as you can see the fretboard covers the soundhole. i want to upside down U cut it to match the sound hole. i believe the wood is ebony. it seems like a hard wood compared to the rest of the body. what can i use to competently cut it so i don't have to cover the soundhole? i have hack saw, back saw, coping saw, the router, compound saw, and circular saw right now. should i use a dremel or something?

pic 1

[Twilo123]

question: as i stated previously i have to sand down the fretboard a bit to fit the neck so i used the extra space to try out filing frets. as you can see in pic 1 i am not happy with my results. i used the files in pic 2 starting with the largest round one on the bottom which took off chunks way to large and bit into the fretboard. then i started using the smaller ones. i think part of my problem is i was filing straight against the fret/wood instead of along the sides of the fret/wood. i have to review some fret filing videos to gain more insight. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

pic 1


pic 2

[Twilo123]

for tonight i wound up attempting to round out the end of the fretboard by the soundhole. i also went back to trying some fret filing. finally i glued the binding on the top half.

1st was round out the end (pic 1) (end result pic 5 & 6). i had no clue how to do this and have mostly hand tools so i figured it was safer trying with the hand tools i had. man i hate hard woods and hand tools. really not fun experience. mostly because i am not happy with the outcome. i think for hard wood like that the best to use against it are power tools. so in this case i took some left over wax paper and traced out the soundhole portion where the fretboard would be. i then transferred that onto the fretboard and penciled the outline. next, i placed the fretboard in a vice horizontal and proceeded to cut with a coping saw. i got a general cut and from there i sanded, cut a little more with coping saw, sanded, etc. and just kept matching it up placing it on the neck. i marked the neck with 1/4" space at top for the nut and kept test setting the fretboard. i basically came out with (pic 2) something i was not happy with. hand sanding on that wood sucks and chisel wasn't much fun either. not supple at all so it was like trying to chip wood as opposed to molding it. now pic 2 i actually was up a hair on the top end so it comes down on the left side and covers properly i believe when i finally glue the neck in but the whole upside down U is definitely not uniform. i tried wrapping sandpaper around a round handle and also have a U shaped sanding block (left side of pic 3 under headstock) but it still didn't come out well rounded at all. i have 50, 60, and 150 grit paper. i think a dremel with a sandpaper bit would have worked wonders here. i have to research how people are rounding out necks. maybe i could have used the router also.

next i tried to file down the frets a little more (pic 5 & 6). i used the triangle small file in (pic 7). this time i tried both 90 degree straight up and down to bring the nubs in and then diagonally across to make sure they were all the way in. finally i did the 45 degree angle over the top and round out to 90 degrees pushing down. i had somewhat better success but again i think the fretboard is my least favorite part of this project so far. very disappointed with my results personally. i can still feel partial nubs if i run my fingers down the side of the fingerboard. not happy about that and need to research a bit more and best way to take care of it.

finally i moved on to the binding (pic 3 & 4). as suggested yesterday i decided to take my 2 strips and but them so they would run from the neck to the bottom bout and meet there. that means the 2 strips i have will only suffice for the top. i will order another 2 for the bottom. since my binding are wood strips i decided to just go with the titebond. i did a dry placement first and cut the strip with a razor blade. made sure the end was 90 degrees flat as that will be the joint. then for the 1st top side (side you see when playing yourself) i only glued the routed wood. i did not lay glue directly on the binding (which i probably should have). i went around and used the blue tape as i saw in videos. basically put on a side and then push hard 90 degrees at the joint and push flush as much as possible. in my case i rotated from top down to down up to top rotating tape strips. then i overdid it by laying more tape on any gaps so basically it is tape all around.

for the 2nd side (the bottom half of top) while dry fitting the wood snapped so now i had an extra joint. the snap fit well together though as it was a clean break so hopefully it won't stand out to much once dried. either way it is bottom side of top so not as bad as if i did it on top side of top. on the bottom side though i started the strip from the bottom bout where joint meets and ran it up through to the top of neck. then i cut the top by neck with a razor blade when i got close. this time also i put glue on both the wood and the binding strip itself. i had much more squeeze out this way but no the whole piece was definitely glued properly.

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pic 7

[Twilo123]

took the binding tape off today (pic 1-3). in pic 3 closeup you can see glue bled out and yellowed the wood. i take it i just sand this off so i used 150 grit and sanded out the yellow. most of it was on the bottom like that. there were some small spots on top which i sanded also. for the most part it fit really well. i did notice by the top near the neck there is a small space. it will probably be fine as is but i will probably look to put some wood dust in there and seal with glue. even if i don't i think i am ok (hopefully lol).

also i noticed if i hold the fretboard flat against the top it angles slightly up when i get to the other end near the headstock (pic 4 & 5). not sure if this is normal. could be the bow of the neck and i will fix later on with the truss rod? did i miss some levaling measurement between neck and top?


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pic 5

[Twilo123]

ok today it was reinforced that i should glue on the neck before shaping, fretting, etc. lol. i glued on the neck today using the nail under the fretboard method (pic 1) but was still off a smidge so i will have to sand once again after it is dried. it is really a small amount. i can probably just round the fretboard to the neck and be ok but the setting of the fretboard was a smidge off so while it glued in place it glued just a hair off at the nut end.

also the sound hole end is a hair off also besides not being well rounded. (pic 3). not too bad and i am ok with it being my 1st build so time to move on.

to do it i marked with pencil area between frets opposed sides and ends. i think used 3/32 bit and drilled small hole in neck sides. i took a nail and used my nippers to clips a couple small pieces off. i fit the pieces in the neck and laid the fretboard on top where i wanted it to make depression mark in fretboard. then i drilled fretboard with same bit. then i did dry fit. next i tape the truss rod so i don't put glue all over it (pic 4 & 5). then i put glue on neck and back of fretboard. i put the fretboard on the neck and used clamps to hold it tight. for clamps as much as possible i went between the frets so i am not flattening frets themselves. i leave 1/4" at top of neck for nut later on. i clean off excess glue after clamping with wet paper towel. i am left with pic 6.

we'll see how it comes out. tomorrow is snow again here to probably Saturday i will check it.

i think after this i will sand fretboard to match neck what little left i have to. then i have nut, any veneers, tuners, varnish, & bridge, tailpiece. the nut is plastic (i just took it out of bag today). i suppose i need to get a better one.



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pic 6

[Rob Zamites]

It's looking fantastic! The feeling that I had while my instrument was coming together was almost indescribably; I hope you get that same feeling of accomplishment and pride. Looksing forward to the next set of pictures and posting!

[Twilo123]

It's looking fantastic! The feeling that I had while my instrument was coming together was almost indescribably; I hope you get that same feeling of accomplishment and pride. Looksing forward to the next set of pictures and posting!

i am Rob! a little disappointed here and there but probably just my OCD lol. i am totally amazed that i got this far
thanks for the encouragement!

[Twilo123]

couple things today.

the dulcimer kit came so i received the extra binding i need to finish the bottom of the bouzouki so i took care of that (pic 1).

took the clamps off today on the fretboard (pic 2 & 3). for the most part it looked and felt fine. i did notice a small space where the neck/body meet (pic 4). as i stated in previous post this is where it was not level all the way through. now i know for next time.

ducimer kit came today and i started that one so i'll start another thread for that one (pic 5)

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pic 5

[Twilo123]

was away for a bit but back on it a little today.

was able to take off the tape from the back side binding (pic 1 & 2).

the next step according to instructions are to glue the nut however the nut did not come slotted. thanks to good peopz on here i was able to purchase hopefully a decent nut file set. may not be here for a bit as it's coming a long ways. once i have it though i will set out to shave down and cut the slots. in the meantime i will watch some videos on slotting nuts. i also received some guitar making books last couple of days and am starting to go through those.

question: my nut is plastic. i am reading that plastic is not good for nut. if i use the plastic now for practice and am not happy with it later on it is an easy switch out? do i just take the strings off, loosen glue with hot, wet rag, and scrape off to put on new one?

[Rob Zamites]

Great job! Plastic is perfectly fine for a first instrument. When you are ready to replace it, strings off, or loosened to the point where you can pull them out of the nut and down to the sides of the neck, then just carefully warm up the nut (don't get it so hot that it melts), and tap it from the side with a small piece of wood and a hammer.

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online...and_Setup.html

I envy you having nut files - I made mine with feeler gauges and a metal file: