CNC-cutting the sides to shape before bending worked surprisingly well. I had left 10mm extra at each end, but that turned out to be unnecessary. The back will have a 3000mm radius and the top will be bent slightly inwards for stability.

    • alleycat@feddit.orgOP
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      12 days ago

      Hobby or professional

      Hobbyist with a CNC. The stuff I still have to make by hand can look a bit rough. 😅

      Do you have a recommendation for a good first luthier project?

      For acoustics definitely something modern, where you can get a lot of components like forms (solera, outer form, radius dish), inlays, fretboard, tuners ect. ready-made. Or even a kit, like iamericandre wrote (you’d still need the forms, though). Or maybe a ukulele, because of the much lower material costs.

    • iamericandre@lemmy.world
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      12 days ago

      Not OP but I started with kits. Some you’ll have to do more work than others but it’s a great way to get going

    • alleycat@feddit.orgOP
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      12 days ago

      The shop I bought the radius dish from had everything in millimeters. So I assume it’s trade standard in Europe? Also, in engineering you have everything in millimeters, no matter how big (outside the US).

      • gibmiser@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        No, that’s not the issue, I thought it was a typo. A 3 meter radius for the back… im not sure what you mean but it sounds way too large for a guitar, whatever the measurement is for.

        • grue@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          He means the amount the back bulges out instead of being a flat plane. The arc of it is curved the same amount as a segment of a circle with a 3 meter radius. The bigger the radius, the less the back curves.

          Think a situation like this, except with a smaller surface area:

        • Rugnjr@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          12 days ago

          It’s being bent. The wood won’t cover the entire circle, only some small arc segment, by my understanding. A smaller radius would be a much more dramatic bend (and probably break)