Image is everything

The lamination sat in the clamps for about 48 hours.  I then brought everything back to the workshop - took off all the clamps - and was left with...

...at this point you may be questioning my taste.

Looks pretty ugly, huh?

Hold that thought...

There.  That's better!

So, what just happened?

After removing the clamps, I took a small surface plane to the thinner laminations (the lacewood, basswood, and purpleheart) because they were about an 1/8th to 1/4 of an inch proud of the mahogany.  Once all of the pieces in the lamination were roughly the same height I busted out the sander and some 60/80 grit sandpapers.  It's dusty work (and not really necessary at this point as we'll see) but it's hard to argue with the results.

Results.

Results.

Full disclosure - I also changed the lighting a bit and wiped the piece down with mineral spirits.  That's the real reason the grain is popping so much.  The mineral spirits gives you a preview of what the wood will look like once a finish has been applied.  The nice thing about using mineral spirits is that it evaporates quickly and doesn't raise the wood grain like water.

In the close-up images above you can really see the figure of the Mahogany and the 'laces' of the Lacewood.  

The truth is though - that everything after taking the piece out of the clamps and planing the lamination flush was a waste of time.  I am going to be carving the top of this guitar.

See the image below for what I mean.  See how there is a sculpted aspect to the shape of the top.  That's a carved top - and they are purdy.

This particular image comes from http://williamsguitars.co.uk

I'm not ready to carve this top yet - so sanding it was not really necessary.  I did it more for inspiration than anything else.  Hence the title of the post.  Image is everything.  Seeing what this is going to look like when it's completed is a motivating factor for me.  I want to see that final finish. That's why I've done this on each of the guitars I've worked on to this point.  Psyching yourself up can be the difference between the woodshed and the couch.  At least that's what I tell myself...

Back to business!

When I planed down the laminations I created a few-tear outs.  Mostly because I've never tried using a hand plane to smooth a surface.  Previously I've used card scrapers, rasps, and sandpaper.  But sanding 1/4 of an inch just takes forever - so I figured I'd try using the hand plane.  Once you get the blasted thing sharp enough and set up properly (and you are using it correctly!) - it's wonderful to use.

You can see one tear-out in the Mahogany in the below picture.  It's the little black spot just above the laminations on the right.  At some point I'm going to need to sand, scrape or fill that hole.  

It was caused because I was planing against the grain of the Mahogany.  I was planing with the grain of the lacewood - but when I glued the Mahogany to the lacewood - I glued them with opposing wood grains.  Would an experienced woodworker have done that?  Probably not.  But also remember that plywood is stronger than regular wood because the laminations have opposing grains.  So, what I'm saying is: Could be good.  Could be bad.  Time will tell.

I was concerned that there might be gaps in the laminations - either because I didn't prep them well enough (read made them square) or because I didn't squeeze them hard enough when clamping them.

I seem to have done okay.  There are a couple of gaps but if I play my cards right - they will be scrap wood on the floor once I cut the body shape out of this blank.  Again, time will tell.

In short - I'm happy and ready to move forward with this build.

So, now that I've freed up all of those clamps I guess it's time to look at that other body blank...

Hmmm...

Round 2: Fight!