well, i guess you flushed out another lurker.
i've been checking in with the forum a few times a week for about a year now and have appreciated a bunch of stuff - the willingness of builders to help each other with problems large and small, the sourcing solutions and recommendations, and the general enthusiasm for and support of the craft of instrument making. so thanks for everything so far.
3 years ago i was looking for a hobby that would combine my love of woodworking and the steel string guitar, and it turns out that building guitars has become more of an addiction (and i mean that in the best possible way) than a hobby.
here is build #4. hope the pictures work.
it's a slightly swollen OM (i'm calling it a Grand OM) - a shade wider in the lower bout, tighter in the waist, and deeper.
the bracing is 1/4 inch, X braced like a typical martin copy.
the scale is 25.4.
engleman top.
padouk and e.i. rosewood back and sides (sides are lined with maple veneer for extra strength with almost no extra weight)
5 piece neck (maple, pad, mahogany, pad, maple). the padouk was left over from the back pieces.
madagascar rosewood binding with padouk, cocobolo and white purflings.
the mosaic rosette is from lmii and is meant to be a bit of a nod to larivee (the godfather of canadian steel string building) and as such, also a nod to what's become an incredible community of canadian steel string builders.
bone nut and saddle.
e.i.r. bridge, fretboard, and pins.
ktm9 - rubbed out by hand (my arm almost fell off!)
gotoh tuners.
looking at it now, i think the back looks a little blingy, but the guy that's getting it will know he's got a one of a kind, and more than anything, he's going to love that the sound is even, bright, and HUGE!! (if i do say so myself).
so thanks for all the advice along the way. and thanks too for the generosity of some awesome professional builders who have been more than generous with their time and advice.
phil
