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My First!
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10122&t=19417		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  LanceK [ Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:54 pm ]
Post subject:  My First!
Ok, ill go first. Here are a few shots of my #1. A Sitka mahogany D18. Still play it today! It was a kit I got off Ebay, but as pretty much a martin deal.
I built it with a very small amount of tooling.

Started here.
Attachment:
i-1_B_L big.jpg


Ended here
Attachment:
P1140009(1).jpg


More later!
Author:  SteveCourtright [ Thu Oct 30, 2008 9:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Ok, I will play along, Lance!

Here is my first. A kit from John Hall, of Blues Creek, one of our sponsors. A OM style, with a sitka top and laminated Braz. Rosewood sides and back. It was so much fun and plays so nice, this is now a life long obsession. French Polish over Z-Poxy.
Author:  George L [ Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
My first was from John Hall as well. He's a good guy and was always there for me when I needed some help. It's a Martin-style 00-12 fret with red spruce over mahogany, tortoise binding, ebony bridge, fretboard and headstock veneer. I struggled with the dovetail, but hung in there and finally got it right. It's finished with Tru-Oil over Zinsser Seal Coat shellac and rubbed out using the sequence of Micro-Mesh grits. I see a lot of warts when I look closely, but it's a respectable first effort. Sounds pretty darned good, too!

George :-)

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Author:  Chris Paulick [ Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Okay, my first build from a custom self made kit. Body was a Martin OOO EIR Kit without the sound hole cut into the top. The neck was a StewMac. I made the soundwell and bought the cover plate and Waverly tuners and cone. Did all the inlay that I learned from a MIMF class and Larry Robinson's videos.
If I can do this for my first build then so can you. Just go for it.
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
More
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
The head and neck inlay.
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
One of these days I'll finish engraving this. :)
Author:  Fred Tellier [ Mon Nov 03, 2008 1:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
I also started with a kit, 3 1/2 years ago and am about to start guitar number 4, and probably 5 in the next week or so, or as soon as I get my Fox style bender finished. I bent the sides of my 2nd and 3rd guitars by hand on a hot pipe style iron, and now will move forward to a heat blanket and bending press.

I will not tie up forum bandwidth with photos, but anyone interested can see pictures on the guitar and its building on my webshots page http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/549348907gmICqD and there are photos of the next 2 there also if you go to my other albums.

Fred
Author:  jhowell [ Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
My first is from a kit from John Hall also, a 0-16NY clone. It is being played by my wife:

Image
Author:  Ken C [ Mon Nov 17, 2008 10:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
My first was a Kovacik OMC off eBay--Martin 2nds. Turned out nice. Quilted mahogany, sitka soundboard, cherry neck.

Ken
Author:  Rod True [ Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
That's nice Ken [clap] [clap] . Same one as in your avatar? Need to see more pictures please, maybe of the back and headstock.
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Wow, I'm seeing some nice looking kit guitars. It would appear to be a great way to go.
Author:  Stephen Boone [ Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
This is my first as it stands right now. I am on the verge of applying porefiller and finish. I was going to use ktm-9 but my order froze on the delivery truck. It was about 18 below zero the day it arraived. I have a blog that is not up to date but I am adding phots daily.http://stephenboone.wordpress.com/

This is an LMI unserviced highest grade flamenco kit. I braced it a bit differently than a strict flamenco. I am working from the Bogdanovich book which I highly recommend. I kept the binding elements as simple as possible.
Author:  Stephen Boone [ Thu Jan 08, 2009 1:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
My new blog address is blog.studioboone.com. My wife just changed it so I can manage it from my own website. I do not know how she does these things. Please note that this blog is aimed toward my family and friends who know nothing about building, thus I explain very obvious things. Thanks for looking.
Author:  Bruce Dickey [ Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Image

My first was a dred 28 Martin kit from Nazareth and my local dealer. Sitka/Indian

Here is my third, totally from scratch.

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cedar/indian
Author:  Jeremy Douglas [ Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
I guess I'll add mine too. I just finished it a couple months ago. It's a Red spruce/Mahogany dread kit from LMI. I used a typical pre-war Martin style bracing system. It would be my go to guitar if it weren't for the cursed wolf tone on the two low E notes, other than that I'm happy with it.
Author:  mtracz [ Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
I started with a few choice books:
Make your own Classical Guitar - Stanley Doubtfire
Classical Guitar Making - John S. Bogdanovich
Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology - Jonathan Natelson, William Cumpiano
Build Your Own Acoustic Guitar - Jonathan Kinkead

Added inspiration/encouragement/tutorial at this site among others.

And came up with this...
12 fret nylon string parlor guitar that I can't put down.

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Thanks for the building bug...

_Mike
Author:  Chris Paulick [ Fri Mar 27, 2009 11:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Looks sweet Mike, nice job. What's the finish?
Author:  mtracz [ Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:48 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Chris,

Thanks for the kind words.

It's French Polish over Z-Poxy on the back, sides, and peg head veneer.
FP only on the top.
Tru-Oil Neck.

_Mike
Author:  truckjohn [ Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
I will call this my #0.5 build.....
I retopped an Esteban QVC special Steelstring.
This was a Sitka top + White spruce bracing.
Attachment:
Esteban Retop.JPG


I am currently working on my "Real #1" build -- a Cherry/Lutz Ditson GC.
If all goes well, I will be doing the fingerboard and bridge this weekend.

I would honestly encourage anyone wanting to build a guitar to try retopping a thrift store beater.
It is a much smaller time commitment than building a whole guitar.
I feel like it wasn't really all that difficult, and I feel like I learned quite a bit about the soundboard, setup, and intonation
from that 1st try.

Thanks

John
Author:  John Shannon [ Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Here’s my first, a mahogany/Sitka 000 from Stew Mac. Structurally, it’s pretty much by the book, with the exception that I narrowed the neck to 1 5/8” at the nut to fit my hand, and I switched to a Martin-style bridge with 2 1/8” string spacing to accommodate the more narrow neck. I also narrowed the bridge a little back-to-front to fit over the bridge plate symmetrically.

Cosmetically, I changed the contour of the top of the headstock, and substituted an ebony headplate that I inlayed with a rose from Andy DePaule. I got some herringbone purfling from LMI and bent it using a heat gun and a mold. The binding is ivoroid (LMI), as are the heel cap and tail wedge.

I filled the pores with Z-poxy and wiped on Pratt & Lambert #38 gloss:mineral spirits (2:1). I sanded and leveled to 3600 Micromesh, then finished up with Meguiar’s #2, 9, 7, and 10 (in that order). I did the polishing using hook and loop felt pads (from Festool) on my ROS operating at its lowest speed—this worked way, way better than rubbing by hand, as well as being a lot easier on my hands and arms.

I'm now starting on my second (of course), which will be a parlor (EIR/bear claw bound with koa). I'm sure this forum will continue to be an invaluable resource.

John

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Author:  Stephen Boone [ Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
That looks sweet John!!!!
Author:  Christian Schmid [ Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
This is my first guitar based on the 1937 Hauser. I changed the nut width and neck profile to be more comfortable for me. LMII kit with redwood top, claro walnut back, spanish cedar neck, flamed maple binding.

Image

Christian
Author:  Randolph [ Sun May 10, 2009 8:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Wow, every one of these guitars is truly awesome! Keep em coming!! [:Y:] [:Y:]
Author:  cwood8656 [ Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My First!
Some great work here, I'll play. Here's my first guitar, a Martin mahogany/sitka 000 kit that I made a few detail changes to. Zpoxy and KTM9.

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Here's number two. Some Martin 000 kit parts and some scratch ones. EIR b/s, redwood top. No finish is going on this one, it's a shop mule.

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Here's number three. All scratch built with a neck from Hanelei Moon. Black walnut with an englemann top.

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I'm about to order parts for number four. Haven't decided what it'll be yet.

Chris.
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