Building a steel Resonator guitar | National Style | EP 7 | The neck... mostly

[@sam127001]

I'm invested - can't wait to see how it comes out !

[@peteqwerty51]

I made a resonator out of brass and made a curved back. I made a ‘plug’ out of ply then was lucky enough to have a local business with a Rubber Press, so didn’t have to make the other half of the mould. Ply is great as the laminations act like contour line and give you a guide to the shape you want. Great video Pete Towers

[@Ninety2guits]

Thanks Pete. I've been enjoying some of your resonator playing videos. You have an impressive collection. I want to do a brass one next but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. So many more things I want to test and try. I like the rubber press idea, that would work well.

[@henry8846]

Playing the humble card well! Looks fantastic!

[@04087759]

Thank you for the video and being brave enough to post it. It's Great and I am learning a lot. I think it's the most informative video to date on building a Resonator guitar on KZbin. Great Work.

[@vindustrialguitars]

Hey, I’m diggin your channel. Nobody posts resonator builds…very cool to see ✌️

[@Ninety2guits]

Hey, thanks!

[@DanelonNicolas]

20yrs building guitars!? dude! that's insane! :O I want to see this one done :(

[@andrepienaar6459]

A metal roller, I don't know if this is the right name, could also be used. It is used by panel beaters and vehicle restorers to shape mudguards, body panels, etc. D3Sshooter is busy rebuilding a 1930's truck and in some of his videos he uses a roller. It basically is two steel wheels of which the tension can be set. You place your piece of metal between them and pull it back and forth, increasing the tension as needed.

[@Ninety2guits]

I think it might be called an english wheel. I've seen them used but I have no experience with them. It might be the right tool for the job. I'll look into it. Thanks.

[@MichielHollanders]

Thanks a lot for showing in detail the neck construction and fitting. I'm making an instrument which needs a similar neck and have been looking for a while for this kind of info, it really helps. Great work and great videos, cheers from Greece!

[@Ninety2guits]

Glad it was helpful! You are welcome.

[@nationalduo4945]

Great neck choice 👍

[@ronboff3461]

excellent work! it will turn out perfect! a small shallow hammer patterned back could be very cool and different!

[@richardmondor1360]

I think you are going to have a little bit of trouble pressing that shape into the back because of the narrow waist area between the front/back sections.....to get that without distortion on the edges you will need to shrink it as well....this doesnt happen when you push into a circle, its just stretching the metal. You may need to just keep the deflection to the center, so think more of a straighter central hump instead of the shape of the guitar.

[@jonahguitarguy]

This sounds right to me too. Although I don't have first hand experience the logic is solid.

[@JourneymanRandy]

I wonder if an english wheel would work well?

[@richardmondor1360]

@@JourneymanRandy a wheel would be good if one was to hammer out the shape then use the wheel to smooth it....the beauty of the wheel is you can move on all axis so you can make beautiful contours...but the wheel still wont help on the waist as it cant shrink to that amount.

[@Ninety2guits]

I agree with all that and what others have said, the waist area is going to be a problem. My plan is to make a press similar to what you describe so the deflection is more towards the center. I've been making the two pieces that hold the sheet metal in place while it's being pressed, I think they are done. Now I need to make the piece that does the pressing. I don't need very much curvature (very shallow curve) so I'm hoping the waist area won't be too bad. I feel like if I pressed something basketball shaped into the lower bout and volleyball shaped into the upper bout I'd be pretty close.

[@jacquesgravelle6822]

LOVE THIS GUY !

[@Shawn-qx1ln]

I agree with another's comment, you will probably have some warping of the overall shape after pressing it. If possible make a test piece that is the same shape and thickness first. It doesn't need to be perfect, just rough cut. You'll be able to see where it warps and then adjust the mold shape to account for it. Thicker metal and round shapes will act different than a a curvy shape of thinner metal. If you make an opposite bend in the mold it may help with that as well. If the warping isn't crazy, adding some heat over the whole piece may relax it enough. Be cautious with just clamping a warped piece and soldering it on. Temp changes and hard playing could cause weird tuning issues as the warp pulls on the whole body. Great work, thanks for sharing and including us.

[@jonahguitarguy]

Might I suggest over curing the molds to help with spring back. Also I think Richard Mondor is on to something.

[@Ninety2guits]

I like that idea. I finished the press tonight and will hopefully get time to test it tomorrow. What could go wrong? Lol

[@AZCobraman]

Nice! Wish I'd had a vid like this back in the 90s when I built my first steel body.

[@Ninety2guits]

I wish I had one now Lol. I just realized we did the 2012 TDPRI challenge build together. You probably kicked my butt in the voting, that guitar looks great.

[@AZCobraman]

I don't even remember which guitar that was, but I never won lol.

[@Ninety2guits]

@@AZCobraman I never won either but both of us came away with some nice instruments so let's call that winning.

[@VirtualMonkey777]

Awesome progress! I think if you want a round or circular bump in the back, then press it. Keep it up this is really awesome stuff to watch and enjoy.

[@evertthebassist]

Shit those pieces that came off could make a nice fretboard! Damn I'd dig to play this guitar

[@ManImJustSomeDude]

You could make a one sided stamp out of wood, that pushes the metal into a shaped metal ring that has hard exterior foam in the bottom.

[@Ninety2guits]

Your foam comment is on point. I built the jig to press it today and I have a layer of foam matt in the bottom for the curved buck to press the metal into. Hoping to test it tomorrow.

[@ManImJustSomeDude]

Good luck brother! Hope it works! God bless you and yours.

[@abrahanjonathanblascograci7110]

Excellent. I congratulate you!!! Where can I get a copy of your plan?

[@Ninety2guits]

Thank you. Send me an email, you can find it in the about section of my channel.

[@hartshut]

Get an “English Wheel” and roll the arch into the back. That’s how custom car builders make fenders. I think you can get a cheap one at harbor freight.

[@rodjones117]

It's coming on really well! Good luck and don't get too stressed - it'll be fine.

[@dogchicken]

The Neck stick on a National is only about 1" wide. Nationals did not have adjustable truss rods, if they had one it was a steel tube. There is a tail block at the lower bout and the neck stick does not go above the sound well at the lower bout. Also there are two mushroom posts that support between the neck stick and the back at the sound well.

[@Ninety2guits]

Yes I'm aware of the tail block and the mushroom posts. I'm hoping to avoid the mushroom posts so the back can vibrate some of the bass frequencies better. I will end up with a tail block as I get further along fitting the neck joint to body.

[@dogchicken]

@@Ninety2guits You should try it with and without the mushroom posts, you will hear a sound improvement with them. There is a reason that National used them. The resonator guitar is not an acoustic and the back needs braced against the stick. You want the cone to make the sound, not the back. If you leave that block on the end of the stick you will not be able to remove the neck after the back is soldered on.

[@Guitars-KiD]

What type of wood did you make the neck from? We have: cherry, maple, ash. Mostly those 3 types of wood are used on stringed instruments or guitars, etc.

[@michaelkienhofer6394]

Bead roll the back and you still have the pit props to put between the neck stick and back= no oil can>

[@Ninety2guits]

I am considering that but I really want the back to be able to vibrate like an acoustic. I know the Mule guys didn't like the props because it deadens the sound a bunch. That seems logical to me so hoping I can achieve that. Thanks.

[@davesnothere8859]

english wheel is the tool that is used to do the back.

[@everready19373]

Could you use a cake tin or something similar for the resonator? I've seen CBG builds that use metal dog bowls for the resonator. Maybe even a round cookie tin would work.

[@Ninety2guits]

I suppose you could but all of those things are much much thicker and dense than these cones that are spun on a lathe over a wood buck. The cone I bought is so thin and fragile it would be completely destroyed if a full soda can tipped over on the side of it. It's so fragile I am afraid to pick it up wrong. It can withstand a lot of downward pressure applied in the center of it, but any pressure on the sides or edges would collapse it before you knew you were putting pressure on it. If you want to watch some cool videos search for spinning resonator cones.

[@justinwilliamson9037]

Awesome videos thank you. I have beenntrying to find something like this to help me build one. I do cigar box guitars and want to make a metal reso. Your vidscate so helpfully. Thanks again. Do you sell the I cad plans and neck plans etc. Great job🙏🙏👌👌👌

[@Ninety2guits]

Yes watch the video that posted today (Build 2 episode 5) to see how to get CAD plans with neck layout etc.

[@justinwilliamson9037]

@@Ninety2guits awesome..Thank you so much. Your like the reso build angel.👌👌

[@s.r.t.8758]

Do you mind if I ask where you bought your cone assembly from? I see quite a few for sale but none of them get great reviews. I'm considering the National components now but there is a big difference in cost. Also, are you ever going to sell the laser cut pieces? I appreciate your time and I absolutely love this build! Thanks.

[@Ninety2guits]

Replogle resos is where I got the cone. I noticed the same thing with the reviews, very few of them were good reviews. Replogle seemed to get good reviews and was in the middle of the price range. I may have bought it through Amazon. When you go to Replogle's site it gets blocked by my anti-virus software. It never crossed my mind to sell the laser cut pieces... hmmm.

[@s.r.t.8758]

@@Ninety2guits Thank you! If you end up selling any, I'd be interested. I can't wait till your next video!

[@msamov]

Question: What CAD program are you using?

[@Ninety2guits]

AutoCAD. If you watch Build 2 Episode 5 I give information about getting the CAD and DXF files. The dxf files are pretty versatile and can be imported into many platforms. Thanks for following along.

[@rakentrail]

Why not just radius the back on an English wheel?