The only tools I could afford so far are cheap hardware store chisels with rough blades and steel so soft, it barely holds an edge for a couple of seconds. A nightmare to work with
Angel on one shoulder saying go on Ben you can do it bend em up good... Devil on the other shoulder saying "snap" on each corner bend. Good prevails!!!
Today is a day that I feel a bit intimidated by a bit of carving and shaping, but videos like this give me the motivation and inspiration to try to tackle it. Seeing you just go for it and trying your best with positive (sometimes mixed) results gives me the push I need to just jump into the workshop and get it done. Thank you, as always, for what you do!
There are two worlds that I love... The world of guitars and the world of watches. And, curiously, my two references in TH-cam of these hobbies are two bald people... I would say that they are twins (except for Ben´s tattoos)... Ben Crowe is the magician of guitars... and Kalle Slaap (TH-cam channel Chronoglide Watchmakers) is the master watchmaker... They both look for the same... perfection, detail, well-done-work... I love their work...
Ok, I didn’t need convincing after watching many of your other videos but seriously mate, to watch you with your bent chisel, well, our are such a wondrously fine craftsman, not sure what the proper word is now but I am very humbled by your innate skill, experience and simple attention to detail, it is your level of skill that I seek to achieve one dat but being double your age I have to work pretty quick now to catch up in the time I have left, being 61 now, hmmmm but I will keep watching, trying and never give up. Thank you for sharing all that you do, all the best from the mighty Down Under, Oztrailya lol
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars It's mega, one of life's true lessons... Will stay with me like the super glue and masking tape trick. Many thanks for your wisdom! X
Loving this build, but you should have used a blow torch to heat a metal pipe for the bending! 🪄 Or made a fire and heated a rock!! 🪨 Or boiled water using the heat of the sun! 🌞
The irony is that you didn't want to do round corners because you didn't want to use a bending jig. And now you chose a riskier method for which you needed the bending jig anyway 😂 Couldn't have done it better myself though (or anywhere near this level), so great job as always!
3:02 Jimmy White at the Crucible 1990... I think you used an electric heating thing, that's OK I suppose ... but you should have gone outside and held the piece up to the sun and not used an electric lamp to assess the depth of the cuts. Ben you are making your life so hard with this build and we all thank you for it because it shows what is possible and the power of sheer determination and guts. This series is spellbinding.
I think the electric bending iron doesn't break the spirit of this build because I suspect that older, non-electric versions are so similar as to function the exact same way. Although I can't actually find an example of a fire heated bending iron, I could imagine an open topped iron that has a gas flame burning inside to produce the heat, or a lump of metal heated up in a fire. Still, I would like to see one. Maybe an old style oil lamp converted into a bending iron. Challenge for Ben?
I think it would be like the old cast iron irons used for clothes. Just place it in an oven till it is at temperature take it out and use it. When it cools a bit just put it back in the oven.
Dear Ben. Please put the Numbers-& Letters on the Back of the Guitar and Ask the Fans what they think. You will see it more on Back. Thanks it still I awesome build. .👍🏻
I can imagine how nerv wrecking this must be, but it’s so enjoyable to watch. Definitelly one of my top Crimson guitar videos. Waiting for the next episode will be torturous.
I know the speed of working with machine tools is handy, and most preferable, but when you use the chisels on that wood, and the sound that comes from that is something you can’t get with a power tool. And of course your chisels are superbly sharp! I like this build. It’s so different from your other builds. I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Anyone else think of nightmares while watching this awesome vid of a true craftsman? This is the only vid of all the other Crimson builds. Maybe it's a theme building up for Halloween.
Ben…… you are “nuts”!!!! Handing out heart attacks with all that sawing on ittybitty wood then chisel chisel then bendy bendy 😵💫. Your videos are suppose to be my zen time not whiskey time😩. 😂😂😂😂. P.S. I think you need more saws.
Morning Ben... just would like to say, love the channel. bought stuff from Crimson.. started watching around the 1st lock down, 03/2020.... instead of paying someone to strip and service my Squire super strat i spent the money on tools and you taught me every thing i know.. but i have noticed one thing, even from the 1st vids.. would bw good to see if others suffer the same affiction. When watching you carve, file,saw N chisel I find myself blowing at the screen to get rid of the dust, shavings or chips... :) love the channel have assembled two cheap strats, from bit found on the internet next is making a tele body.... :) Davey P.
Love this channel! Ben you truly are a wonderful craftsman! I’ve enjoyed watching your builds. Do you ever make more of a standard style acoustic guitar? I’d love to see that too! Great work!
Couple of early observations; I didn't really get this ASMR thing until those kerfs were getting chiselled Less talk to camera isn't a bad thing as long as the inner monologue stays audible
It's very inspiring to see that you are always willing to put in the time for that little extra. You could have just mitered those corners, and very few would have been able to tell. This series is great to watch.
I always assumed sharp corners were removed to make it sound better. Sharp corners are stress concentrations, and sound vibrations count as internal stresses. If they can travel freely through the body then you'll have a better sounding instrument. That's all fine in theory, if this is true I'd like to see the science before putting the effort in. But this is just for a travel guitar, But you want to do it perfect which I totally dig.
Given some of your odd design choices in the past I think it's sometimes been very easy for people to take cheap shots at you as a luthier. This video clearly shows a great of talent and skill that sometimes isn't so obvious in some of your more bombastic builds. I love it :)
Ben, I've been questioning your sanity for years. (Part of what makes you good at what you do) Bending the wood was amazing, but crazy. I would have just mitered the corners and called it a day. (though, admittedly, the bending gives a smoother look, which is cool) This is looking really sweet. Can't wait to see it finished.
Using electric iron is not cheating. Using a hand cracked machine to bend sides with a coal fire iron and water delivering system is cheating, if you see what I mean. It looks cool :)
Can't help but think it'd be easier to just mitre the 90 degree bits. Having said that, I don't actually feel such sharp edges on a guitar will be too good. Although I'm usually wrong when I start to disagree with a Ben idea 😆
25:32 in to the video, and I’m distracted by the two Burns guitars in the background. My father has the exact one on the right, duo sonic (I think). The bakerlite scratch plate is in terrible condition, but previously you could see it was inscribed on the inside with a signature and the date 1959…
This is starting to look pretty cool! I was going to experiment with similar construction but ended up closing my shop instead. Might try a minimalist build out of my van again now that I’ve learned so much over the last year. Inspiring!
Someday one of these livestreams donation goals should be equipping the studio with 4k capable cameras ahah, I love to see your work Ben but c'me on, it's 2022 baby ! Inspired by you I made my first stringed instruments this summer with kids (for work) and it was awesome ! Someday I'll make a real quality guitar, maybe at your school ahah
I had my back turned to the screen and my headphones on when Ben started sawing around the 2 minute mark and I thought he was making “farty” sounds with his mouth and thought, “What the f…”
How about a round back and a flat front , like an old school mandolin? You could use the pieces of the back you already built so the crate printing still shows.
Since you have corners and not curves at the ends, why not just cut and use mitre joints? A bit of saw dust and glue and most won't even see the joint.
I wonder if Ben has seen This Old Tony. It'd be hilarious if he did a video in the same style - no face, waving hands, time warps and karate chopping and hammering parts into existence.
The electric iron is forgivable because it won't give results much different from a non-electric version. I don't really see the point in making a fire to heat up a block of metal just to do the same thing.
why didn't you just cut the pieces and miter them together like you would a violin? a good joint would be invisible. my guess is that over time those joints will open up anyway.
![[TH] VALORANT Champions Seoul - Grand Final - EDG vs TH](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WvObMc9VelI/mqdefault.jpg)
I absolutely adore the sound made as a chisel cuts thru wood. It's one of the most satisfying sounds on Earth.
I totally agree!
OMG, right? Soooo satisfying!
@@bobthreeton6976 Pervert lol
The stress of these corners took years off my own life watching this! I can't imagine really doing this
I gotta say that this intro sequence should be the final version. That "PERFECT!" with the evil laugh is absolutely brilliant
there is something very satisfying in seeing and hearing sharp tools shave off slim pieces of delicate wood.
and wondering why I have to hit mine with a hammer 🤔
The only tools I could afford so far are cheap hardware store chisels with rough blades and steel so soft, it barely holds an edge for a couple of seconds. A nightmare to work with
Angel on one shoulder saying go on Ben you can do it bend em up good... Devil on the other shoulder saying "snap" on each corner bend. Good prevails!!!
You don't want to watch any more sawing do you? Turns camera off,runs to old friend the bandsaw 😂😂😂
My god I want it alrready! 🤩
That chiseling was so satisfying too 🤌
Ben, this is better than any suspense thriller...my heart was in my mouth watching you make those bends...great job😰👍
Today is a day that I feel a bit intimidated by a bit of carving and shaping, but videos like this give me the motivation and inspiration to try to tackle it. Seeing you just go for it and trying your best with positive (sometimes mixed) results gives me the push I need to just jump into the workshop and get it done. Thank you, as always, for what you do!
You can do it!
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars I did it!! Weird neck heel transitions are something else to really lock in
I haven't been this tense watching a thriller movie.
There are two worlds that I love... The world of guitars and the world of watches. And, curiously, my two references in TH-cam of these hobbies are two bald people... I would say that they are twins (except for Ben´s tattoos)... Ben Crowe is the magician of guitars... and Kalle Slaap (TH-cam channel Chronoglide Watchmakers) is the master watchmaker... They both look for the same... perfection, detail, well-done-work... I love their work...
Dear Ben it was worth it to wait , this is turning beautiful
Glad you think so!
And, yes, lol, I too tend to go the slightly more convoluted way, not by plan but necessity lol, brilliant work mate, thank you again 👍😎👀👅
I guess the heat gun used at 20:40 is hand held 😅. Looking stunning. Can’t wait to see it finally come together.
Great editing with the light
Well... that video was pretty suspenseful. 😳
I love these builds so much 🤩 I can't get enough of them
The squared block supports were bothering me so much lol. I was extremely relieved when you addressed those ❤️
Looking very good Mr C. Very good indeed.
Great fun to watch, Ben. My first acoustic build might just be a travel guitar...
The sound of paring that neck pocket is sublime. I did some chiseling recently and there's something so satisfying about it.
Today I learned thar a bending iron and a heat gun are hand tools. 😉. Lovin the build.
I absolutely love this series! Thank you so much for this wonderful build! (I've also loved seeing all your different hand tools as well)
Ok, I didn’t need convincing after watching many of your other videos but seriously mate, to watch you with your bent chisel, well, our are such a wondrously fine craftsman, not sure what the proper word is now but I am very humbled by your innate skill, experience and simple attention to detail, it is your level of skill that I seek to achieve one dat but being double your age I have to work pretty quick now to catch up in the time I have left, being 61 now, hmmmm but I will keep watching, trying and never give up. Thank you for sharing all that you do, all the best from the mighty Down Under, Oztrailya lol
Excellent! Soldier on.
That’s master craftery!!
The incredible level of craftsmanship being put into a tiny little travel guitar is stunning. Your attention to the tiniest detail is a joy to watch.
Jeez Ben I nearly passed out holding my breath on more than one occasion
Now that's what you call a hollowbody.
Angle template trick... Mind blown! 🤯
I only figured that out as I was filming this, I feel the same! Wish I had learned that years ago!
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars It's mega, one of life's true lessons... Will stay with me like the super glue and masking tape trick.
Many thanks for your wisdom! X
Ben you are a Mad Genius😍😍🎸🎹🎼 I love that little guitar..👊🙏👨🏻🦯👨🏻🦯
Thank you Scott, I'm really looking forward to completing this one!
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Ben you truly are one of my inspirations I have been building acustic parlor guitars & tennor ukes Because of you**** Thank you
Now I'm going to have to get a bending iron! I really love what you're doing here Ben. Cranked chisels too! Lovely. P&L
Go for it!
Great, building the guitar.
Anyone else wondering how there was more material to come out of those two first cuts. You could have tested my stress levels on a richter scale
Loving this build, but you should have used a blow torch to heat a metal pipe for the bending! 🪄 Or made a fire and heated a rock!! 🪨 Or boiled water using the heat of the sun! 🌞
The irony is that you didn't want to do round corners because you didn't want to use a bending jig. And now you chose a riskier method for which you needed the bending jig anyway 😂
Couldn't have done it better myself though (or anywhere near this level), so great job as always!
That bending was exiting! 😬
"I'm starting to question my sanity." You're a long way behind the rest of us.
made me lol, thank you!
Finally it returns again! Thanks Uncle Ben.
The convoluted way of measuring that angle to cut away is of course also the correct one. The simple way is wrong for any angle other than 90°.
thank you Ben
No worries!
finally a build video.
Love hand tools. Makes it accessible for everyone, no matter their budget.
Not just budget, but also space. Workshop is fairly small, but I have everything I need to build guitars from scratch.
That is, very nearly, the shape of a Star Destroyer...
3:02 Jimmy White at the Crucible 1990... I think you used an electric heating thing, that's OK I suppose ... but you should have gone outside and held the piece up to the sun and not used an electric lamp to assess the depth of the cuts. Ben you are making your life so hard with this build and we all thank you for it because it shows what is possible and the power of sheer determination and guts. This series is spellbinding.
I think the electric bending iron doesn't break the spirit of this build because I suspect that older, non-electric versions are so similar as to function the exact same way. Although I can't actually find an example of a fire heated bending iron, I could imagine an open topped iron that has a gas flame burning inside to produce the heat, or a lump of metal heated up in a fire.
Still, I would like to see one. Maybe an old style oil lamp converted into a bending iron. Challenge for Ben?
I think it would be like the old cast iron irons used for clothes. Just place it in an oven till it is at temperature take it out and use it. When it cools a bit just put it back in the oven.
Dear Ben. Please put the Numbers-& Letters on the Back of the Guitar and Ask the Fans what they think. You will see it more on Back. Thanks it still I awesome build. .👍🏻
while I agree in principle the roughness of the wood there would not make for a pleasant playing surface.. I want her to be comfortable
Cool!🤘👍🤘
That bending…
Wood whisperer skills levelled up.
I can imagine how nerv wrecking this must be, but it’s so enjoyable to watch. Definitelly one of my top Crimson guitar videos. Waiting for the next episode will be torturous.
Love this one Ben. Are you enjoying the hand tool build?
Notice there was an ad for Triton in there...
I know the speed of working with machine tools is handy, and most preferable, but when you use the chisels on that wood, and the sound that comes from that is something you can’t get with a power tool. And of course your chisels are superbly sharp!
I like this build. It’s so different from your other builds. I can’t wait to see the finished product!
Anyone else think of nightmares while watching this awesome vid of a true craftsman? This is the only vid of all the other Crimson builds. Maybe it's a theme building up for Halloween.
You should have burnt the remainder of the Mahogany to boil some water to bend the sides.
Some master craftsmanship!
Hmm...if no electricity I dare say you'd be building in the dark!! Unless kerosene or oil lamps would suffice. Nice work!!
Such a lovely wooden spaceship!
Ben…… you are “nuts”!!!! Handing out heart attacks with all that sawing on ittybitty wood then chisel chisel then bendy bendy 😵💫. Your videos are suppose to be my zen time not whiskey time😩. 😂😂😂😂.
P.S. I think you need more saws.
I can't say enough how much I enjoy watching you work. You inspire me to try things.
Morning Ben... just would like to say, love the channel. bought stuff from Crimson.. started watching around the 1st lock down, 03/2020.... instead of paying someone to strip and service my Squire super strat i spent the money on tools and you taught me every thing i know.. but i have noticed one thing, even from the 1st vids.. would bw good to see if others suffer the same affiction. When watching you carve, file,saw N chisel I find myself blowing at the screen to get rid of the dust, shavings or chips... :) love the channel have assembled two cheap strats, from bit found on the internet next is making a tele body.... :) Davey P.
This is very much a Ben “I do things the hard way because I can” Crowe build.
Love this channel! Ben you truly are a wonderful craftsman! I’ve enjoyed watching your builds. Do you ever make more of a standard style acoustic guitar? I’d love to see that too!
Great work!
Wasn’t this going to be a one day thing? Has there ever been a one day thing? God, I love these videos. 😁🎉👍
Those corner bends are nuts.
Oh, and cool Crimson kerfing clamps!
To keep from sawing all the way through, use an old plastic credit card as a guage.
Couple of early observations;
I didn't really get this ASMR thing until those kerfs were getting chiselled
Less talk to camera isn't a bad thing as long as the inner monologue stays audible
It's very inspiring to see that you are always willing to put in the time for that little extra. You could have just mitered those corners, and very few would have been able to tell. This series is great to watch.
Thank you.. I still think I need to have my head checked though!
I always assumed sharp corners were removed to make it sound better. Sharp corners are stress concentrations, and sound vibrations count as internal stresses. If they can travel freely through the body then you'll have a better sounding instrument.
That's all fine in theory, if this is true I'd like to see the science before putting the effort in. But this is just for a travel guitar, But you want to do it perfect which I totally dig.
Given some of your odd design choices in the past I think it's sometimes been very easy for people to take cheap shots at you as a luthier.
This video clearly shows a great of talent and skill that sometimes isn't so obvious in some of your more bombastic builds. I love it :)
I feel like I've been waiting years for this...
It has to be about a year since I started this.. damnt!
To be fair you could use a domestic iron to do that èven the most scruffy luthier has one in a cupboard 😉
Thought about using hand tools to modify a tele body but then a powered sander was on discount.
Tip: Next time put a "drop" of Laundry softener in the water, it helps the fibers to relax!
really?? That is extremely cool!!!
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars The amount needed may vary between difrent timbers, I use abut 2-3% solution when I bend maple, beech and birch...
Ben, I've been questioning your sanity for years. (Part of what makes you good at what you do)
Bending the wood was amazing, but crazy. I would have just mitered the corners and called it a day. (though, admittedly, the bending gives a smoother look, which is cool)
This is looking really sweet. Can't wait to see it finished.
Love this serie!
Are we all ignoring the electric heat gun too? 😂
Riiight! I missed that.
I'd call it a hand tool.
Glad to see this build again.
This was the scariest episode :D
It really really was the scariest episode, probably of the whole channel so far!
@@CrimsonCustomGuitars Yes. Scariest video in the channel indeed :O
I want to see you doing an electroacoustic that your style because I love what you do and how you do it, you're a genius.
Using electric iron is not cheating. Using a hand cracked machine to bend sides with a coal fire iron and water delivering system is cheating, if you see what I mean.
It looks cool :)
Can't help but think it'd be easier to just mitre the 90 degree bits. Having said that, I don't actually feel such sharp edges on a guitar will be too good. Although I'm usually wrong when I start to disagree with a Ben idea 😆
25:32 in to the video, and I’m distracted by the two Burns guitars in the background. My father has the exact one on the right, duo sonic (I think). The bakerlite scratch plate is in terrible condition, but previously you could see it was inscribed on the inside with a signature and the date 1959…
This is starting to look pretty cool! I was going to experiment with similar construction but ended up closing my shop instead. Might try a minimalist build out of my van again now that I’ve learned so much over the last year. Inspiring!
0:30 Can't wait, Ben... 👹
Really enjoyed that, thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it
Showing my age.....but I kept on wishing Ted Lowe was narrating this episode.
I'm now wondering how those joints would have looked dovetailed.
TFW: the one day, hand tool only build is more complicated then the complication
Someday one of these livestreams donation goals should be equipping the studio with 4k capable cameras ahah, I love to see your work Ben but c'me on, it's 2022 baby ! Inspired by you I made my first stringed instruments this summer with kids (for work) and it was awesome ! Someday I'll make a real quality guitar, maybe at your school ahah
This edit was well done. And the guitar is killer!🔪🔪
Has anyone got a tally running for how many “not strictly hand tools” Ben’s used so far on this build 😂
We can see it
I had my back turned to the screen and my headphones on when Ben started sawing around the 2 minute mark and I thought he was making “farty” sounds with his mouth and thought, “What the f…”
How about a round back and a flat front , like an old school mandolin? You could use the pieces of the back you already built so the crate printing still shows.
don't tempt me!
Since you have corners and not curves at the ends, why not just cut and use mitre joints? A bit of saw dust and glue and most won't even see the joint.
The first proper bash one of those corners gets, it will break. Not ideal if you are travelling with it. 😢
I wonder if Ben has seen This Old Tony.
It'd be hilarious if he did a video in the same style - no face, waving hands, time warps and karate chopping and hammering parts into existence.
I love his work, and style.. the kitten pooping finished parts was one of my favourite youtube events ever!
The electric iron is forgivable because it won't give results much different from a non-electric version. I don't really see the point in making a fire to heat up a block of metal just to do the same thing.
my thinking exactly.. that and it seems to be tradition to work one electrical tool in to each episode now.. or something
I was thinking an oval sound hole might look really cool on this.
why didn't you just cut the pieces and miter them together like you would a violin? a good joint would be invisible. my guess is that over time those joints will open up anyway.
This guitar build is so long and spread out i forgot it begins..