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EIR and Figured Cypress OM Cutaway
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Author:  Allen McFarlen [ Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:28 pm ]
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This one has been in the works for several months now. I've been setting myself a new challenge with each one I build, and this time around it was a Florentine Cutaway. It was a H*LL of a learning experience and I had a major stuff up that I'll share with everyone because it was one of Kathy Matsushitsa's comments on her site that saved me from one mistake. Perhaps my experience will help someone else. Anyway here's the details

Back and Sides...East Indian Rosewood
Top...Figured Cypress
Neck...Mahogany
Bridge and Fret Board...East Indian Rosewood
Bindings...Lace She-oak
Nut and Saddle...MOP
Finish...Mirotone Catalyzed Lacquer






Spalted Avocado Rosette. I don't have a cool Luthiers name so I had to come up with something to call myself. New label as  well.



I noticed Mario use a back strip like this on his web site and I blatantly copied the idea and give credit to him. I'm calling it the Proulx Back Strip out of respect to him. I like it's subtleness and curved lines.



Here's the finished product for that curved end graft tutorial I did a while ago.



Ok, now here's where I stuffed up. When I was trying to sand to top of the rims in my radius dish I guess the tip of the cutaway wasn't firm enough in the mold. I ended up sanding way too much off to top/neck area trying to get the cutaway area to show that it had been sanded as well. It was just flexing in my mold, so by the time it was profiled I had taken too much off the rest. I didn't notice this until I was trying to fit the neck....

I had already made the neck and I ended up having to scarf a tongue onto it, then try and make everything fit. I had already routed out the pocket for my double tenon for a fully bolted on neck, so I persevered, thinking that I would have to learn how to correct mistakes instead of throwing up my hands and tossing the body in the bin.

I'm really glad that I did, Although it isn't the cleanest execution of a raised fret board, it is functional and I learned heaps, plus it does make getting at those upper frets just that little bit easier.
Author:  GregG [ Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:16 pm ]
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Allen, I think it is beautiful, nice job.....Hey, how does it sound?

Greg
Author:  Alain Lambert [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 12:08 am ]
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very nice work Allen, congrats!
Would you mind going through the steps of making the Proulx back strip?

Author:  Lillian F-W [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:24 am ]
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Allen, she is simply beautiful in all respects.
Author:  Lars Rasmussen [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 1:33 am ]
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Wow! Love the centerstrip in the back, goes together nicely with the butt wedge. How did you do that?
Author:  burbank [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:03 am ]
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Wow. Beautiful, Lars!! EIR is everywhere, but I still love the look of that wood. The colors of B&S, top and trim work together beautifully!

Just think how much less you'd have learned in this build if the sanding had worked the way you wanted. You're paying dues.
Author:  Dave Anderson [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 2:10 am ]
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Very nice looking guitar Allen! I really like the Proulx backstrip and that cypress is beautiful.Very purdy rosette too. The whole guitar is impressive!
Author:  Allen McFarlen [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:10 am ]
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[QUOTE=ToddStock]Nice work, Allen - great combination of woods.



If I can ask, how do you secure the rims to the mold when sanding the profile in the dish?[/QUOTE]

I just had my spreaders in the mold as I had done in the last 3 previous build. With the cutaway It just didn't hold things firm enough. There's going to be an update to the way that's done on the next. I'm going to screw in some small blocks inside the mold at the appropriate heights so there is no way for the body to slip. I saw a good way to do this on another site.
Author:  Allen McFarlen [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:26 am ]
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[QUOTE=Alain Lambert]very nice work Allen, congrats!

Would you mind going through the steps of making the Proulx back strip?



[/QUOTE]

This is done after the plates are joined but before it's braced.

I used my laminate trimmer and one of the 15' radius forms from making my radius dishes as a fence.

Mark off each end of the back where I wanted the strip to be. Set the fence 45 mm back from the mark (your laminate trimmer may need a different set back) clamp the fence down, then made the cut. The back is 2.7 mm thick and the channel was cut about 1.5 deep. The channel was just a touch too tight so I put a piece of masking tape on the fence and did one more pass to widen the channel.

I cut all the purflings from veneer sheets, so it was a little fiddly feeding the 3 strips into the channel because they were very snug. Then wicked in thin CA glue.
Author:  Dave White [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:33 am ]
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Allen,

That's a nice looking guitar with lots of nice touches. The top has real character and I love the rosette.

The raised fingerboard has worked out well. Lots of good things happen with "accidents" and in a lot of ways you learn more than if everything goes to plan. Just pretend it was always a desingn feature.

Where would you position the sound of Cypress as a top wood in the spruce-cedar-redwood spectrum?
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 11:39 am ]
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Beautiful guitar!  Nice save too!     
Author:  CraigSz [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:30 pm ]
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Great looking guitar Allen . I love florentine cutaways. I like Dave White would like to know where the Cypruss would fit tone wise compared to the more common soundboard woods.


Regards


Craig.
Author:  Allen McFarlen [ Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:48 pm ]
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[QUOTE=Dave White]Allen,



The raised fingerboard has worked out well. Lots of good things happen with "accidents" and in a lot of ways you learn more than if everything goes to plan. Just pretend it was always a desingn feature.



Where would you position the sound of Cypress as a top wood in the spruce-cedar-redwood spectrum?[/QUOTE]

You know, I was thinking of keeping that little accident all to myself and saying that I planned it that way, but like I mentioned, Kathy had saved me from a mistake by mentioning her near blunder, so I'm sure that I won't be the last to have the same problem. And for anyone that is interested in buying the guitar...Well I designed it that way, right.

This is only my 4th guitar, so I'm no expert at what the different tops sound like.

My first was a LMI Dread kit with a nice spruce top. Alas, I followed the plans too closely and it's way overbuilt to be a good comparison.

The second guitar was a Australian Red Cedar top 000 with Tassy Blackwood that sounds fantastic. But by no means a traditional top.

The 3rd guitar was totally Cypress, and it sounds great too. It's my favorite so far. Only weights 1.7 kg and the whole instrument trembles at strong sound.

This one has only been strung up for 24 hours, and I'm still doing set up on it. It's really starting to sound good.

I'm taking my 1st, 3rd and 4th guitar to a jam this Saturday. I gave the 2nd one to my mate that is hosting the get together so it will be there as well. I'll let everyone have a play with them and try and get some feedback on their impressions.
Author:  Ben Furman [ Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:56 am ]
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Stunning looker of a guitar!

-Ben
Author:  KenH [ Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:15 pm ]
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beautiful guitar!


I love the finish on it also. man she really shines!
Author:  Doug-Guitar-Buckler [ Mon Oct 15, 2007 5:30 pm ]
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Oustanding job! Great looking fret-markers!
Author:  Allen McFarlen [ Mon Oct 15, 2007 6:25 pm ]
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[QUOTE=banjoboatguitar]Oustanding job! Great looking fret-markers![/QUOTE]

I had some nice Paua notched squares that I was going to use on this one, but when I laid them out, they just didn't go with the colors. So these markers are cut from a plastic knitting needle that I picked up from the OP-Shop for a couple of cents. I still put the Paua side dots in the fret board. They're so small that they don't clash...and I couldn't find a red knitting needle that small diameter.
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Tue Oct 16, 2007 4:32 am ]
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Allen, I really like the shape of the cutaway.
Those can be as important (and difficult) design-wise as the overall shape. I think yours fits the design of the instrument nicely.

And "Avocado" for the rosette? How cool is that?

Steve
Author:  Alain Desforges [ Tue Oct 16, 2007 2:39 pm ]
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Beautiful guitar in all respects! Great save too!
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