Chris, I may never receive a more gratifying comment. Thank you! Live long and Prosper!

@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440 You too Ken :)

Me too!

Ha! I wonder where this near - universal "sweep the floor all day" thing got started? I enjoy cleaning the shop, plus it gives me one last chance to spot the bitty little something I dropped yesterday and would be glad to have back in my hand! Glad you're making shavings! Try to keep all the red fluid inside, and you're most welcome.

Jeez, this feels like a lot of pressure. I'll try to be good.

MyMannski! Hope you like it! Peace, and every good wish!

Arches approach magic in our physical world. Go get 'em!

The unseen hand, a powerful ally! I'll pass it on.

Dontcha love it?

@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440 In my next life I'll be living in the USA and spending my youth studying with you the magic of wood carving and the marvellous creativity to convert tools for making the work so creative

You're most welcome, it's my pleasure. John D'Angelico died when I was 12, long before I knew who he was, or how wonderful his work was. Jimmy was 17 years my senior, and became a mentor and friend. I never did get a chance to work with him, but I sure learned a lot visiting his shop and getting his critiques of my archtops!

​@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440 I know, it was more like a rethorical question, meaning we now have a chance to watching you making high-end archtop guitars in every step of the way, unlike in the past when very few people had a chance to watch old masteros like John D'Angelico or Jimmy D'Aquisto at work.

My pleasure!

Go for it!

Yeah, chips are fun. Sharp is beautiful, and getting to stupid sharp in seconds is sublime.

Go For It!

Sorry, this is a new one. I can't speak to any aspect of the Fly project after 2003, when it was sold the new owners, US Music. They changed our original recipe in many ways, and the results were mixed, to be generous. Not being in front of your guitar, I can't venture what this strange issue might be. Fly and Nitefly guitars can be safely cleaned with a damp cloth, period. I can say with certainty is that it's a terrible idea to smear Anything on your Fly guitar, especially on the fingerboard and frets! You might try a local guitar finish wizard to see if anything might be done to address this cosmetic problem. Good luck, and if the problem remains purely cosmetic, just love it more, and let's remember that nothing's perfect.

@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440 thanks for the answer Ken. I’ve only ever used water to clean with a tiny bit of soap after 6 hour sessions. Too bad it’s not made anymore. I get so many questions about the guitar on my channel! Luckily, mine is still working fine since 2008.

Let me suggest that you watch the modeling video. I take a stab at describing what's going on in the arch top from where I stand.

If by physics you mean equations, then a hard no. If you're asking if empirical trials and failures are informed by my enthusiasm for learning about forces and stress distribution, then you bet there is! At my current level of understanding, I think the total arch height from the gluing surface should measure 19 - 20mm for both plates. The carved arch profoundly affects the distribution of forces in the plate compared to a flat , or even a gently bent top or back, and it's a beginner's mistake to use high arches in the service of sex appeal, just ask me how I know!

Ha! Thanks! My corny answer to the question "What's the secret to guitarmaking?" is one word..... "Decades." Obsession seems to be a necessary ingredient.

I start with something just a bit thinner than 1", sometimes just over 3/4".

@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440Thanks Ken, One more question, do you tune ready-made decks into a note, and which one?

Good question, apart from his design style and openness to little used woods, what did you have in mind?

BUTTA! It's so pleasant and quick to work with softwood, the hardwood backs are just harder butter, really, if you know how to optimize the tools. I love carving.

Respectfully of course. I've really enjoyed your videos.

This is an interesting approach. Talk about roughing! Archtop guitarmaking is an enormous amount of work! If you think carving is too much work, just use thin, flat material, and things go pretty quickly. Yours isn't a bad idea, and it's another good example of how many paths there are to the mountaintop. I don't think I would recommend this unless you have a very tall fence. It's at least a little scary, if not more than a little, and in the end is not likely to save many minutes. In any case, when you're done with this cut, you are not very much closer to the finished surface, so you will need all the tools and techniques I'm showing anyway. Did you see how much material those fantastic gouges can remove? Plus, you don't need a gym membership, and you don't have to wear a mask or hearing protection. Part of what I'm hoping to show is the application of sharp handtools in what I consider a very pleasant woodworking process. There are any number of ways to remove chunks of wood with power tools, but none of them can approach the desired complex arched plate form unless they are carving machines guided with a pattern, either physical or digital. The whole idea of this series on carving a plate by hand it Is to demystify it and demonstrate how the right tools can enable an enjoyable process and lead to an excellent result.

Now there is something I know nothing about! This is a very specific kind of metalworking, along with pads and reeds and who knows what. Good luck in your search for the best tools for you, and consider getting Alexander Wygers Book, "the making of tools"

@@kenparkerarchtoppery9440 I have never made a guitar and don't plan on ever making any flat instrument. lol Maybe one day I will make an archtop guitar but that is low priority. I make and repair violins violas and cellos so I certainly have and use an assortment of gouges and planes. I mention this idea because shaping an arch is already so demanding that I think it best to save time and effort where you can. Certainly it wont establish a channel or recurve but I promise it saves a substantial amount of time compared to carving it and sharpening after the endgrain dulls your tools. I was taught to do it the way you are in violin making school and I will never go back. lol I have the Carter Magfence with an optional 5 inch tall fence attachment and that has been suitable for cellos whose bodies as I'm sure you know are around 30in long. I use a 3/4in resaw blade and while it does seem scary to put the guides all the way up, the blade only ever wants to drift outward, protecting the edge work. (I also feel that I am able to distance myself enough and stay far away enough from the left side of the blade that even if the blade broke I would not be in danger but certainly there is always a risk) But if you enjoy that aspect of the work then more power to you. I will however offer a safer, more accessible option that would be even better at establishing your upper bout which appears to be more gradual than anything I am accustomed to. This would be what Greg Alf does (You'd just need a bigger saw, likely a frame saw) in the video "A Tribute to GA223" at 7:38. Which is just sawing the ends off. Even sawing it off by hand would be much quicker than planing/gouging. But none of this is very important. Thanks for the videos you make! I really enjoy your spirit of innovation.

oops, youtube placed this coment here, where it doesn't belong (???) Get the book anyway!