Archive for January, 2009

Plan of attack

January 9, 2009

Given that I have a hard deadline for Guitar 805 and I’m committed to finishing 804 quickly, I documented all remaining tasks for each guitar.  I broke tasks down into 4 hour blocks, assuming I could safely devote an average of 4 hours per day, 7 days a week, between now and end of February.  I also established a date when I must finish the lacquer application to allow 9 days of curing.

The good news is that I do have enough days to work on both guitars to have them ready simultaneously for lacquer application as it would be nice to spray them at the same time.

The bad news is there’s little room for error, of which I am erring more often with this walnut than I have in the past with other guitar woods.  I set a deadline of January 23rd as the date I must receive the replacement walnut sides, and still keep on track for applying lacquer starting February 2nd.  I have received notice that the expected delivery date of the walnut sides is January 20th.

Guitar 804 – Ready to move on to final stages

January 4, 2009

The Koa Parlor now needs my full attention.  I will work on it primarily and only diddle with 805 (12 string) when waiting (lacquer coats drying, etc.).

The neck is shaped to the point where I can glue on the fretboard before doing the final shaping/finishing.

090104finallook.jpg

This is what it looks like with the tuners and bridge in place (not glued or screwed).

I think I’ll get a little fancy with the inlay.

090104inlaylayout.jpg

I’ll mask the fretboard then draw positioning lines on the masking tape, then glue the inlay to the tape.  After the glue dries, I’ll score around the inlay through the tape into the fretboard, then remove the masking tape and route out the cavities for the inlay using a Dremel tool mounted on a guide.

Guitar 805 – two steps forward, one step back

January 3, 2009

Now that my keyboard has self healed, I can add captions to these posted photos.

090103planer.jpg

I purchased a planer, and successfully created excelsior!  Actually, it worked very well on the spruce, but I erred seriously on a walnut side.  See below.

0993jointop.jpg

Joined the top plates, then sanded down.  I’m at 3.5mm, which may be right for a 12 string top.  I’ll measure my Taylor to see, then sand down to the appropriate thickness after I install the rosette.

090103topjoined.jpg

This spruce has a lot of color change going on, which is an intentional choice of the commissionee.

090103topgrain.jpg

Narrow grain at center widens out toward the sides.

090103flattenback.jpg

The back pieces were warped, and I took a stab at flattening with heating blanket.  Helped, but only a wee bit.

090103backdetail.jpg

Here’s a detail look at the back after joining and some sanding.  It’s still warped, and my hope is that the braces will hold it to shape.

090103sidefucked.jpg

Here’s the result of improper use of the planer on the walnut sides.  Let this be a lesson to you!  I THOUGHT I was paying attention to the grain direction, but erred and chopped out several large hunks.  This piece may be salvagable, but I’m not sure yet what for.  It’s now too short to be used as sides, even on a small parlor guitar.  Maybe a uke.  Nah.

2009 – 4 projects in the queue

January 1, 2009

For 2009 I have 4 projects in progress:

1.  Guitar 804 – Koa Parlor.  The hard part is over.  The body is assembled, the neck is rough shaped and the mortise and tenon are approximately shaped.  My plan is to tackle 804 as my primary, with the intention of finishing before the end of January.

2.  Guitar 805 – 12 string dreadnought.  I need to solve the thicknessing issue to proceed.  The neck is ready for shaping, the dred mold is constructed, and the side bending and plate joining will come as soon as the back, sides, and top are thickness planed.  I need to finish this guitar by mid February.

3.  Guitar 901 – Zebrez.  This is my personal resonator guitar.  I’ve essentially got all the components, and I should avoid working on this at the peril of not finishing 804 and 805.

4.  Classical Guitar Repair.  I need to inform my brother-in-law that this will get my attention after the end of February.

Possible additional guitars.  Larry mentions some others with interest in commissions.

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2009

It was one year ago when I embarked on guitar building.  I will recount my accomplishments during the year of 2008 and look forward to what lies ahead in 2009.

This all started with a Stew Mac 000 kit which I received as a Christmas gift from Carol, my wife.  It started as an experiment to determine whether I should add something meaningful to my “free” time, as I was spending much too much time in the chair.  After spending an absurd amount of money on tools and expanding my  workshop, I completed the Stew Mac 000 (guitar 801) in March.

Before I completed my first guitar, I knew I was hooked.  I discovered LMI and used their kit wizard to purchase the components for a rosewood OM (guitar 802), which ended up in my daughter, Rachel’s hands before she went off to her sophomore year at NYU in August.

I sent out feelers for commissions, a means to continue building, but getting someone else to fund my efforts before I could legitimately sell custom guitars.  My friend and music partner Larry ordered a maple OM using the LMI kit wizard, and guitar 803 was born.  I just finished 803 on December 31st and turned it over to Larry.

Through Larry, I got a second commission from one of his business associates.  Guitar 804 is a Koa Parlor, also sourced through LMI, which is 75% complete.  See “looking forward” below.

In June I attended a guitar building workshop from Charles Fox and the American School of Lutherie in Portland.

I did a few repair jobs, one of which was a refret/refurbish of an old 5 string banjo for my friend Tom.  I also took possession of a classical guitar with serious neck and top problems from my brother-in-law Bim.

And, guitar 805 started construction in November with wood stock from a tree farm which will end up being a 12 string dreadnought.

Finally, in wanting to do something for myself, I started guitar 901, a zebrawood resonator guitar which needs to sit idle for some time while I finish things earlier in the queue.

Later tonight, I’ll lay out my roadmap for 2009.

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