Questions? Go to the Members Forums ________________ Video Transcript: Okay, the sides are looking pretty good at this point. The addition of a decorative endwedge will make the seam at the lower bout disappear and it will carry the design motif that you’ve established with the rosette to other parts of the guitar. I clamp a board so that it overhangs the workbench and hang the sides on the board with the lower bout seam facing up. I mark the center at the top and bottom of the endblock and carry both of those centerlines onto the side with a square. By squaring the centerline onto the sides from both the the top and bottom of the endblock, you may notice that you get two centerlines. This is a relatively common occurance. It simply means that at some point during radius sanding you sanded a little heavy to one side or the other and now the endblock is out of square, like you see here. This is not an issue. Just know that you’re true center is directly in the middle of those two lines. It should also be mentioned that the seam between the two sides is not a reliable measure of center. Now let’s make the endwedge. I use the same material that I used for the rosette. I find a section of the material that I am using that has similar grain and color. That’s where I will mark out my endwedge. I use a straightedge to make two converging lines with the grain or any interesting banding running relatively straight down the center between those two lines. The taper can be dramatic or slight. It is a matter of taste. Just know that, in order to use this method, you cannot have no taper at all. The wedge shape of the aptly named endwedge has an important functionality when it comes to fitting and gluing it in place. I cut out the endwedge on the bandsaw, staying 1/16″ outside of the line. The endwedge can now be planed down to the line on the shooting board with a block plane. Keep in mind that it is best to shoot the plane from the wide end of the taper to the thin end, to avoid catching the grain and tearing out. I’ve decided which face I want to be the show face and now I flip the endwedge over to find and mark the centerline on the opposite face. To make a lengthwise centerline on a tapered wedge, first I make 2 parallel lines. I find the center of each line and then connect the those center marks with a straight edge. I use double stick tape and 2 cam clamps to hold the endwedge in place. I carefully line up the centerline of the endwedge with the centerline on the sides and clamp it in place. I use the endwedge as a fence for making a saw cut on each side. A fine toothed dovetail saw or, in this case, a japanese dsouki saw, make the cuts. Take your time setting the cut and be very careful not to inadvertently skate off the line. The goal is to cut all the way through the glue line of the sides until I reach the endblock. If I cut a little bit in to the endblock that’s okay. Now I move the clamps to the other side so I can make the second cut. This is why I used the double stick tape. So the endwedge doesn’t lose its place while I move the clamps. Once the two outside cuts are made, I heat up a spatula and remove the double stick tape Now I make several cuts to the inside so that the material can pop out with a chisel. These cuts are quick, rough cuts so I use a piece of scrap as a fence rather than risking damage to my endwedge. I adjust the fence for another cut. Every cut should be about 1/8″ apart. I make sure that all the cuts extend past the glue line and into the endblock atleast a little bit. The material comes out cleaner if the cuts are through the glue line. I use a cam clamp as a backstop. The backstop not only keeps the sides from moving around, it also creates support for the first row of woodchips that I will remove with the chisel. Without the backstop, the first row would likely tear out onto the top surface of the endblock. I simply press the chisel along the grain lines, being very careful not to mar the outside saw cuts. At this point the recess that you’ve created should be fairly rough. I clean it up a little bit with a chisel, however, you can easily damage the clean edge of the outside saw cuts, so be careful. Since the endwedge is aesthetic and not structural in any way, I am not concerned with getting a perfectly flat and smooth bottom. I slightly round the edges on the glue face of the endwedge so it doesn’t get hung up in the corners. Now let’s check the fit… It’s a great fit… but the two woods are so similar in color that I believe something needs to be done to create some contrast. Thin wood strips can be ordered in various colors from luthier suppliers. I can slide a wood strip in place and see if I like the contrast of color. That looks pretty good… but let’s see what it looks like with a white strip. The white strip looks great and it will fit well with the binding that I’ve chosen to use later. I break apart the white strip so that it overhangs the endwedge recess slightly. …I do the same thing on the other side. Now we are ready for glue. I mark with a pencil where the endwedge overhangs, simply so I know not to spread glue in those areas. I make sure I spread a little glue on the edges as well, especially if I am adding wood strips to the design. 2 spring clamps apply downward pressure. Now I make a pencil mark on the endwedge where it meets the edge of the side. I tap the endwedge a few times with a hammer, lightly, to wedge it in place. The pencil mark should move just slightly, indicating that the endwedge has moved just slightly and now is properly wedged. I let this dry for atleast 45 minutes. Now to remove the excess… First I trim the wood strip with a razor knife. A flush cutting saw works best for removing the overhang because the saw’s teeth are angled up slightly, so you don’t mar the surface of the endblock. Other saws or methods can be used as long as you are careful not to mar the endblock. It’s not a bad idea to place a clamp over the endwedge while you cut, so you don’t accidentally force the endwedge loose. When you selected the wood for the endwedge, hopefully you selected a piece that is thicker than the side thickness and now the endwedge is sitting proud of the surface. I level the endwedge with a block plane until it is close to flush. Then I switch to sandpaper on a flat block to bring it completely flush. Let’s sand it to 220 grit just to see what it will look like all smoothed out. It is important that the endwedge is either perfectly flush or a little shy of the glue surfaces for the plates. I carefully use a chisel to trim down any material that the flush cutting saw didn’t get. To be on the safe side, I will trim the endwedge a little bit shy of the surface. Any gap that results from this will be removed later when I add binding. Notice how I handle the chisel in a way that keeps the chisel’s edge away the endblock so I don’t mar that surface. Okay, the endwedge is ready for it’s debut. I take the sides out into the natural daylight and rub mineral spirits on the area. Mineral spirits roughly mimicks the effects of finish so you can get a glimpse of what the end product will look like.

The End Wedge

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