Official Luthiers Forum!

LMI EIR OM serviced kit
Sitka, ebony fb
25.4", 1.77 nut width
Madagascar RW peghead veneer, heel cap
Tortoise celluloid bindings, end graft
Tortis pickguard
Grover Nickel Sta-Tites
Paua fb dots, MOP side markers, gold MOP peghead inlay
Orange shellac sealer, Microbead acrylic RW/Walnut filler on
neck, back and sides
Padded on KTM9, satin on neck

Started July 25, '05, finished Dec 15. Followed Cumpiano/
Natelson and Robbie's DVD. Never was much for whitewalls,
so I substituted the ivoroid bindings for tortoise. Strung it up in
the white about two months ago, during which I thinned the top
in the lower bout for a bit more bass. The wolfy open G/G#
smoothed out some. Has a lively, colorful tone. This forum has
been a great source of help and inspiration. The photos of your
work have raised my standards to new heights. The banter,
welllll . . . . I dunno.

I am hooked. Planning a parlor for the kids.

Thanks, guys.

Pat








burbank38708.0775

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

Looks great...think of how much less it cost than going down to a local Guitar Center and buying a Taylor...that is what to tell your wife and others as now that you are hooked you will need plenty of excuses for all of the wood and tools that will be irresistable as you plan your next

Enjoy..Good job...there is nothing like a successful first to drive you to make more...

very nice, Pat. I really like that little unobtrusive <sp>
headplate inlay. It looks elegant. Great looking guitar. WTG!

Absolutely immaculate Pat ! It looks beautiful.
A great effort.

KiwiCraig

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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You know your trapped now don't you? There is no escaping the clutches of the mistress luthiery.

Nice guitar, sensible way to go for a first project, and well executed. You should be proud of yourself.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I like it, good job.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Very Nice Pat

Like Colin said I like the kit approach to early builds.

A really classic look

Beautiful work Pat and great first effort. I hope my DVD was a help. What kind of finish did you use?

Robbie,

I ordered your DVD before I ordered the kit from LMI. After watching it, I thought to myself that I could to this with what I had in my sparsely-equipped workshop. Lots of good, clear info too. Great job.

The finish is padded on KTM9. I used Stuart Ketchin's schedule, thinning with distilled water and DN alcohol put on very thin. Dries to touch in less than a minute, so fast that I had to really keep moving to maintain a wet edge. Next time I might try a little less alcohol. I put on 20 very thin coats in a little over an hour. I like the results, although my hand buffing didn't get a very good gloss. I'll work on that in after the holidays.

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

Sweet looking guitar -- well done. Did you use the satin KTM9 on the neck or did you use the gloss and stop sanding before it got glossy?

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53% of all statistics are made up on the spot
http://driftwoodguitars.blogspot.com/

Nice work, Pat. Your workmanship looks really clean. You'd better build two parlors. Once you play the kid's, you'll want one for yourself.

Pat, where did you find Ketchin's schedule? I google it but only came up with a link for laqueur.

BTW beatufil guitar!

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Awesome job Pat!

Shane

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Canada

Joe,

Ketchin's schedule was on MIMF but is no longer an active discussion, which means that it will appear sometime in the archived discussions, but don't know when.


I started with a wash/seal coat of thin orange shellac. Stained the neck, sealed again. Then filled neck and B/S, sealed again, then the KTM9.
What I followed, based on his schedule, was to thin the KTM9 by about 20%, using equal parts DN alcohol and distilled water. I used a small cotton pad, made of old flannel shirts, which was discarded after each day's coats. Did 20 thin coats, moving very fast, pretty much non-stop. Next day sanded back very lightly with 400, since this yields a very smooth coat. Then another 20 coats. The top only got one set of 20. Waited six days for final levelling, got no shrinkage.

The back really needs another coating, since I got some sand-through. I think just the two sets of 20 ea. leaves it a bit too thin for porous wood.burbank38708.5264236111

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

Very nice Pat, really a good looking job
Gg

Great looking guitar Pat! I really like your headstock logo. Very nice!

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Welcome to the addiction! Very nice guitar.

Sweeeeeeet! I can only hope my first is half as nice!!

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DES - Shepherd, MI

Wayne,

I used satin on the neck, gloss on the body. I thought about using gloss on the neck and sanding to leave a satin finish, but figured that before too long, it would get glossy from use, and I'd lose the feel of the satin.

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

[QUOTE=burbank] Robbie,

I ordered your DVD before I ordered the kit from LMI. After watching it, I thought to myself that I could to this with what I had in my sparsely-equipped workshop. Lots of good, clear info too. Great job.

[/QUOTE]
That is great to hear Pat. Keep up the good work!

Pat,
   That is a awesome first guitar!! I've seen many first efforts by budding luthiers and that is one of the finest. Probably rivals guitars coming in at a fifth or tenth effort for some.

Nice Work!

Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

Good looking guitar, Pat.

Looking forward to seeing #2.

[QUOTE=burbank] Robbie,
I like the results, although my hand buffing didn't get a very good gloss. I'll work on that in after the holidays.[/QUOTE]

Pat nicely done sir.

Hand buffing is a real bear, you might want to consider building your own stationary buffing set-up, you won't be sorry.   

No stopping ya now!