Official Luthiers Forum!

Here's a link to some more photos of my koa terz project. About 2/3 of the way down page 2 is where I left off before. Miters on the side purfling were quite the challenge! Turned out presentable, I guess, if you don't look too close.

After using the fiber purfling, I think I'm with Hesh as he posted recently. The white is too white. I'm going with wood next time!

_________________
now known around here as Pat Foster
_________________
http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Pat, that's gonna be one cool little guitar! Man, I wish I could take pics as well as you do.

_________________
Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Pat, that looks absolutely awesome!

I bet if you touched up that purfling with a bit of amber shelac before you filled with the zpoxy, the white wouldn'tbe as white.

_________________
Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Nice! I love the size 5. It's one of my favorites. I've got wood stashed away specifically for around 10 of them.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Pat, awesome work my friend, i just can't wait that the finishing of no 2 is done here so i can make sawdust again like you did! I'm still learning great tips from you bud!

Great tutorial, i look forward to see more as you approach the end of this one which is stunning BTW!

Pat, would it be possible to see your gramil and router jig up close please? I'd like to see how you built your gramil especially, did you build it yourself? Nice tools too!Thanks!

Serge

Pat,

That is going to be one fine looking little guitar. The French polish looks fabulous. I bet it will sound great too - I love small guitars.

_________________
Dave White
De Faoite Stringed Instruments
". . . the one thing a machine just can't do is give you character and personalities and sometimes that comes with flaws, but it always comes with humanity" Monty Don talking about hand weaving, "Mastercrafts", Weaving, BBC March 2010

Great looking work there Pat



Now that's what we like to see. Darth Vadder, Luthier

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Thanks, gentelmen. High praise indeed coming from such respected folks!

Dave W, Thanks! I'm working on some problems with contamination on the FP, but it still looks pretty good.

Serge, the gramil came from Stewmac. It's of the Sloane persuasion. Too slick for me to have built it!

Now the router base, that's another story, cut from cheap acrylic (I think) modelled after Arnt's. He's posted pics of his here. It looks a lot better than mine, which is more of a working prototype.

Joe, I'll try that.

Dave R, the secret to the pics is KILL YOUR FLASH!! Turn it off if there's any way you can and use a tripod with available light, augmented if needed with flourescents (full spectrum is good), which don't give such a red light. Don't use direct sunlight for a light source, too harsh. A window or open door to the outside is good. Start looking at light and shadows whenever it occurs to you. Try photographing outside on a day when you can see soft shadows just to see what that can get you. A high, light cloud cover is good. The secret is to learn about light. Also, try to stand back and zoom in if you're doing a guitar to avoid the "reflection in a Christmas ornament" look, rather than getting close and going wide angle. I'm using a four-year old clunky digital Nikon that's not a star performer, but looking at light goes a long way. There are some great tips here. It helps too to have a program where you can tweak brightness and contrast, but only a little bit; it's easily and often overdone.

Don,
Hmmm, you were retiring or something like that weren't you? I think you need to share some of that stash with budding size 5 builders!

Rod,
Maybe this will be my getup to take my kids out on Halloween. Thanks for the tip! burbank38987.8271990741

_________________
now known around here as Pat Foster
_________________
http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Hi Pat,
Say the pictures are really great and I as well as the rest of the gang really do appreciate them.
I noticed in some of the pictures you have a set of plans. Where can I get a set of those plans for my own use?
Again thanks for the picturres and the info on the plans.

walter

Thanks Pat!

Walter,

Thanks, and you're welcome! How are you doing these days?

The plans are from a seller on ebay, don't recall right off, but there aren't any for the size 5 there at the moment. They were drawn by Scott Antes, so they're most likely readily available. They were based on the Martin size 5, but some "liberties" were taken, if I'm not mistaken.

You're welcome, Serge.

_________________
now known around here as Pat Foster
_________________
http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Hey, thanks, Hesh! How are *you* feeling?

Walter, there don't seem to be any available from our sponsors for the size 5, but the ebay seller is pilgrimsprojects. Here's a link Seems a decent sort.

Lance, hope this link is OK.

_________________
now known around here as Pat Foster
_________________
http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Hi Pat,
I know who you are talking about. I have purchased some items from them in the past...Nice people! I'll check with them.

Well, as for my general helth, it's awful. It looks like I'm going in for some heart surgery after the first of the year. Not happy about that.
If I don't do it now, it might get nasty later down the road. It's hell when you get older. I've had a great life and have raised a lot of H____L in my days.
Some people dream about doing it, I've done it, many times over and over again. If you know what I'm saying.
In the meantime, I'm still trying to build guitars, hoping to get that near perfect one out the door.

Take care and email when you can.
Kind regards, walter

pat,
i love the step by step photos.
about the purflings and bindings, do you always cyano the purfling? in that picture of your build everything looks so clean compared to the sloppy mess i create while trying to titebond a binding and two or three thin purfs all at the same time.
once your done with the purfs do you also cyano the binding? and whether you use cyano or titebond, do you glue on the binding immediately?
thanks for the help.
phil

Looking great!

Mike

Pat, thanks for the photo tips! Man do I ever need them. I'll see if I can get some better pics next time. Dave Rector38988.3371180556

_________________
Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

That's a pretty little guitar, Pat.
Love the color, and your appointments!

Steve

_________________
From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com