sMg Guitars

September 1, 2010

I’ve already generated some interest in ukes, and several clients are awaiting the outcome of the first few before making a commitment.  I’ve gathered some plans and materials to start building tenor ukes.

The first will be a Bubinga back and sides with an Engelman spruce top.

Once this first “test uke” passes final inspection, I’ll make any necessary adjustments and build a couple of koa ukes with some mighty fine stock I procured from my friend Bruce at Notable Woods.  I may be presumptive calling Bruce my friend, but I have used lots of his wood (koa and walnut) and did pay him a visit on Lopez to hand pick the uke wood.

This is the stock I’ll use for the backs and tops (enough for two ukes).

The side wood is nicely flamed and should produce some handsome ukes.

I found a supplier in Hawaii which sells slotted fretboards and mahogany neck stock.

September 1, 2010

I sent 3 options for the headstock to Steve for his approval.  Using his raven inlay design, the first option was to position the raven aligned to the top of the headstock.

The next two are variations of the same alignment, with the raven down between the tuners.

July 22, 2010

I’m enrolled in a program to get my secondary mathematics certification (Those who can, do, those who can’t, teach…yeah I know I’ve heard it all before).  It has taken away time from building guitars as the homework is oppressive and the reading is double secret oppressive.

I’m progressing on guitar 1001, but in niggles and bits.  John, customer of guitar 905 has sent me a few “baby pictures”.  Pictures with babies and guitars, that is.  The guitar was dedicated to his daughter Annabelle, and here she is.

Yeah, babies are cute.  Get ‘em started early, and they’ll be awesome guitarists.

July 6, 2010

Well finally, a long awaited repair is complete.  I tackled a neck reset on this Gretsch New Yorker, which I took in 6 months ago.  It was the first attempt to steam off a dovetail neck and reset with the proper neck angle.  I must say that it is a fine result, and it sounds and plays much finer than what I started with.

There was the unfortunate issue of a new side crack due to the removal of the neck (previous neck reset was glued much too muchly).  But I was able to reset the crack and repaint the sides to hide the slight damage done with the neck removal.

A little black lacquer after careful crack filling made this unfortunate blemish disappear.

The previous neck reset added lots of shims and such, but eventually the neck bowed and the guitar became unplayable.  I was able to restore the proper neck angle, yet there’s still a bit of a down movement to the fretboard from 14 to 20.

The end result is a guitar that plays very well, with a reasonable clean up of the mishkabibble from the new crack from the neck removal.

I’m hoping the owner will find it eminently playable.  Not necessarily beautiful, but better than it arrived.

July 1, 2010

Guitar 905 photo gallery.  Headstock design came from client.

July 1, 2010

Photos of Guitar 906.  Very proud of the inlay.

July 1, 2010

The year is half gone and two completed guitars have gone out the door.  One guitar is in process, and there’s grand plans to start building ukes.  I’ve also got my sights set on building a guitar modelled after a Gibson L-00.  The Uke and Gibson project requires the building of molds, templates and jigs.

I’ve got a handful of repairs in the backlog which I’ll have to balance with the new construction.  I’m wrapping up the neck reset for the Gretsch New Yorker, and I have several major overhauls which have been waiting for an opening.

I’ve finished rebuilding the router table, and have designed a jig for brace radiusing.  I’m looking into CNC tools and software as a side opportunity.  CNC could be a valuable skill/tool especially if I begin to productionalize the building process through repeatable construction processes.

All this and I’m starting a program called Alt Routes to Secondary Mathematics Certification.  Translation:  High School math teacher.  The program begins July 12.  Summer courses end early August, then I dive into a school year long internship at a local high school.  By the end of the school year, next June, I should be certified.

June 24, 2010

Tomorrow, Tom does his photo documentation of these guitars as the final step before turning them over to their owners.  Carl picks up 906 on Saturday, and I ship 905 to John on Monday.  I have lots of time to play them before they go on their way.

June 22, 2010

Well, nothing is ever really complete, but I can semi-safely say that guitars 905 and 906 are complete.  Of course there’s still that buff this and tweak that and maybe there’s a little buzz on the 7th fret second string that I could frizzle out, but oh my, they are done.

There’s a lot I can say about each, but essentially I’m very pleased with the sound.  That’s the one thing you don’t know until you finally string them up and play them.  Everything you do is directed toward how they will sound in the end (and of course how they play, but if they sound like crap, who cares how they play).  Both these guitars sound like heaven.  I’m still amazed, to this day, that you can get so much sweet sound out of a small box parlor.  It’s not a room filling volume of sound, but rather a resonant sweet tone.

The OM continues to impress me with its’ fullness and subtlety.  This guitar was walnut, and I very much like the warmth and sustain that walnut gives.

The parlor was my nth foray into Koa, and I am continually impressed with Koa as a guitar tonewood.  Not only does it have beautiful visual quality, but it really sings, especially in the smaller body guitars.

So next is to do some polishing, label installing, and playing before I send these off to their respective owners.

Oh, and some other news…..even though I build guitars, I have to support myself and my family through the concept of a day job.   I have been accepted into a program where I can get my secondary mathematics teaching certificate.  Soon, I will be a high school math teacher.

June 15, 2010

I was in Dusty Strings Saturday picking up a few odds and ends and ogling the stock.  I overheard that ukes are big sellers.  The fastest growth in sales over any other item within the store.  I’ve often considered building ukes, and get plenty of signals that this would be a good endeavor.  Not that a uke would be that much faster to build (it’s just a tiny guitar after all), but there may be a larger market out there to support sales.

So, I’m on the hunt for some quality uke plans as a starting point, then going to look into what it would take to create a production line for quick turnaround.