Stewart MacDonald 5348, Assembly Instructions Manual

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than climbing (illustrated) .
Make one continuous pass
around the instrument . When
you reach the areas that were
already climb-cut, the router
will pass without tear-out . Release the turnbuckle, and remove the side and top as-
sembly from the mold .
Trim off the overhang with a sharp knife and a file, or get in
close with those hand tools and flush-cut with a laminate
trimmer and ball-bearing router bit .
When using a laminate trimmer: avoid wood tear-out by
starting with four “climb-cuts,” so-called because the router is
climbing, or being pulled along as the bit grabs the wood .
Begin at the centers of the top and lower bouts on both the
treble and bass sides (illustrated), with the router base mov-
ing in the direction of the rotating cutter (clockwise) . Rout up
to the areas indicated by the arrows . When all four climb-cuts
have been made, you can move the router in the opposite
direction (counterclockwise) cutting into the wood rather
Trim the top
A B
Put the assembly back into the mold, top down and on center .
Now, using your hand plane, plane the edges of the sides
down to the linings . Make sure you plane “downhill” so that
you don’t get tearout . When you get close to the linings, use
a piece of sandpaper taped to your bench to finish off the
leveling of the sides .
As you did for the top, shape and trim the braces on the back
so they don’t interfere with the sides .
Do a dry fit, clean off the edges, use a cam clamp at each end
to ensure that the bottom is glued on-center, and then use
the two rubber bands to get uniform clamping pressure .
When the glue is dry (3 hours), take the assembly out of the
mold and trim the edges of the bottom flush to the sides .
Glue the back onto the sides
Soprano kit shown.
8