Official Luthiers Forum!

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


LanceK38933.3934143518

Welcome, Phil!
I love Padouk, and paired with Indian it looks great.
Not too much bling for me, that's for sure!

Steve

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

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Hi Phil and welcome!

You are right, this forum is blessed with talented and helpful artists

Nice job on the guitar and I think it looks great!

Welcome, Phil!

Nice effort and creative design...I like it!

Looking foreward to your chiming in from time to time.

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Welcome Phil, clad you've introduced your self.

Now, I realy realy like that neck combination of yours. Looks great.

Don't be shy now.

_________________
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

Hi Phil,

You will have a lot of fun plus a wealth of knowledge from some of the most knowledgeable Luthiers found anywhhere!!

Enjoy and welcome!!

walter

Very nice
Welcome
You are going to love this place.
I think my wife thinks I am having an online affair since I am on this site so
much!!!!!!

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Welcome!
Nice work, great to have you here

Mike
White Oak, Texas

Hi Phil, welcome to the OLF!

that guitar is just amazing! I love that neck too!

could you talk more about your finish, it's application by hand etc please?

Thanks in advance

Serge Serge Poirier38933.0366087963

Wow,That paduak jumps out at ya! Real nice guitar!Beautiful! And Welcome to the OLF

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Hey Phil!

Welcome to the forum!

Very sweet guitar! Like Serge said, tell us more about the finish.

-Mark

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

Welcome Phil and thanks for sharing the pics, nice work.

                    Peace, Paul Harrell

Greetings Phil!
Nice guitar!
Welcome to the OLF!

_________________
Support the OLF! Bookmark our STEWMAC link Today!
Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Distinctivly different! Nice! Thanks for sharing and chiming in! Welcome to the OLF!

I really, really, really like the way you did the neck on that one.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

A warm welcome to you Phil... nice guitar!

_________________
"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."

Welcome, Phil. Very striking guitar. I really like the neck concept. Looking forward to your participation here, and to seeing more of your work!

_________________
Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Welcome, nice guitar. You guys sure you need us?

Very cool guitar! I too love that neck and the back looks very good...

Welcome aboard!

_________________
I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Welcome, Phil. You've come up with some interesting and distinctive ideas. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

thanks for the warm welcome and kind words.
about the ktm, for someone like me without a lot of cash for spray equipment, or a dust free room for finishing, or any interest in nasty fumes, this water based stuff is the way to go. it's not quite as tough as laquer. but the benefits far outweigh the sacrifice.
that said, my first few attempts at a water based finish were average at best. the biggest problem i had was getting good flow out. on the first three guitars i was left with all kinds of ridges to sand out. i was nervous about trying it again until i found out from a full time builder in vancouver that you could mix ktm as much as 50/50 with denatured alcohol.
that's what i applied as a light first coat. (all coats were done with a foam brush). after that i mixed in silica powder to thicken it up a bit, and applied what must have been 6 - 8 coats of that. the top only got this mixture for 2 or 3 coats. seems like a long drawn out pore filling process, but i'm happy to avoid the mess and smell of epoxy. also, if i sand through at any point, it's really no worry because i'm just dealing with one product all the way down to the wood. touch up is easy at any point. even just before the polishing stage you can wipe on a little 50/50 with a j-cloth and be able to blend it really well with 1200 wet paper - but i'm getting ahead of myself.
after the pores were filled i followed with another 6 - 8 coats, decreasing the amount of denatured alcohol as much as i could while maintaining decent flow out. i then waited about 2 weeks, then leveled with 400 wet and continued sanding all the way up to 6000 micromesh.
after that i used two polishing compounds. the first came with my micromesh kit and i assume it's the equivilant of a medium. i finished with mcguire's show car glaze.
i think the finished product looks great, but a buffer is pretty high on my priority list. i figure that i could probably save at least 3 hours/guitar!
i taped off the headstock and used ktm on it as well. the rest of the neck is finished with lee valley gel finish which is an absolute breeze to use and leaves the neck feeling silky smooth. all it takes is 2 days to get on 6 or 8 coats. same stuff on the bridge. i believe that's the same product as behlen's master gel, but dont' quote me on it. i got the idea for this stuff from dingwall basses in saskatoon. they actually take a little wax to the neck yet, but i figure it might get so smooth you couldn't hold down a bar chord.

hope this has been helpful.
phil

Thank you very much Phil!

Phil, You mention Vancouver and Saskatoon, You a fellow Canuck? Where you living?

Serge and the rest of us Canucks want to know.

_________________
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

Yeah Phil, where ya from ?