Official Luthiers Forum!

Here are pics of my very first in progress. I am a bit scared to show these as they are still quite rough looking, even to my novice eyes, and not yet cleaned up. But my wife insists that I share my progress. This is an OM and most of the parts are from John Hall.

I am really struggling about what to do with the top braces. I have carved a bit and tapped a bit and the top is loosening up a bit. Arrrrgh. I hate it when I haven't the slightest idea of what I am doing. All suggestions/critique welcome.

_________________
"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

looking great for a first!!

_________________
Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Looks good Steve!

From what I can see, nothing looks too rough. Just take your time cleaning up what you don't like, and it will turn out fine.

I finished my first one close to a year ago, and now the rough spots don't matter like they did. They've become reminders of lessons learned.

Keep up the good work, and keep us posted!

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

Right on Steve!

That looks great! Nice and clean work.

Like Hesh says, don't worry too much about voicing now. The experience will come to you.

Do you plan on using little spruce 'diamonds' on the centre seem between the lower face braces?

Keep up the good work, my friend...

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

Steve
Great 1st. Don't be scared to show it. This is the best place. You will get
great encouragement and support as well as great advice.

Keep posting as progress continues!!!!!

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

Steve,
Congrats on your first! it's coming along nicely.
I'm working on my first as well and am currently at about the same spot
as you.

Keep us updated,
Chris

_________________
Christopher C. Cordle
North Muskegon, MI

http://www.yardsaleunderwear.com
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.cordle

Looking good, Steve. I agree with the above. I didn't really try to tune my first, or 2nd or 3rd top. I did a lot of tapping thoug, so I could learn how my bracing sounded and I could use that experience to experiment more in the future. It will sound great without tuning. I just recommend shaping the braces to a proven shape and size for your first.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

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

Wow, thanks guys, for the encouragement and advice! I really appreciate all of the comments. Very reassuring.

Hesh: your picture goes into my "How-To" archive and yes, I am going to glue in side struts. Haven't decided whether to do mahogany or rosewood.

Alain: Right-O! I have a bit of spruce left over to make some diamonds for the top seam.

Chris: Do ever wake up at night thinking about braces and neck angles? Yea, me too!!!

This is a great place.

_________________
"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Hey Steve...glad you've finally jumped into the pool.

The back & sides look very clean and well executed. Hesh is right about installing side supports to stop cracks should they develop. I like your neck block...that extension should help to keep the FB flat and well supported.

The top is obviously in the midst of fine tuning. Hesh's bracing is a good example of one approach to opening up the top and is a good guideline. Do you have any pics of the bracing as seen from a low angle? Oh, and clean up that sawdust so we can see things a little clearer

As far as tap tuning the top, I always characterize materials as having "rings or thuds". The trick is to turn the "thuddiness into ringiness." John Mayes' DVD helped me tremendously. If you have access to a luthier in your area, you might take your top and a sharp chisel (along with a six-pack) and talk tap tuning for an hour.

Your first one will be a good measuring stick for subsequent guitars. For now, just keep carving braces until you hear rings and sustain.

Keep the pics coming as you progress and let us know how we can help.

Good luck!

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

Steve, really looks great! ditto on all the above

Mike

Steve, it looks great!

Looking good Steve. I’m hoping to turn some billets into braces this weekend myself and have that same “first time I’ve tried this” nervous feeling. Don’t you grizzled veterans miss that sense of anxious trepidation that accompanied every small step of your first build? Not.

So are you going to wait until you close the box to cut in your end graft?

Hesh - did you only run your transverse brace ends and the lower bout legs of your x-braces through the kerfing to aid the top movement? Is that fairly common?
dmills39022.9574189815

_________________
Doug Mills
Chicago, Illinois

Hey Steve, that looks just great.

Do you have a copy of the Martin herringbone plan? (And guys, is there one for an OM?) The brace profiles are there, and will be a good guide as you learn to "take away wood". If you end up with a Martin sound, well that's not so terribly bad. But you will have learned something valuable in the process.
Do you have a piano nearby? Perhaps a tuner?
Find the pitch that your top is giving you now. Check it often as work progresses, and as wood comes off.
I'm not suggesting you go for a certain pitch--I don't think that's necessary--just listen to the changes that are being made as you work. That too will be valuable.
And run your hand over the top. Almost like you are wiping something off of it. Listen and feel what the top is doing. Carve a bit. Run your hand some more.
All these things will start to help you develop a sense of the changes in the top as you work.

Best of luck to you!

Steve

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

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Right on Steve! Nice clean looking work. So are we having fun yet?

The top Hesh posted is one sweet sounding guitar as Serge and others who played it will attest.

Hesh, it looks like the X-brace is about 1" in the centre with a pretty steep taper...am I seeing it correctly?

Good job so far Steve and very good advice above.
Good luck with it and have fun!

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Steve:

Looks pretty dang good to me! I think your building a very fine instrument there!

-MarkMark Tripp39023.3709722222

_________________
Pullman, WA

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

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

Way to go Steve and thank you Mrs Courtwright for encouraging you to share your progress!

Steve, you are well on your way to have a very beautiful soundbox completed and i predict that this guitar will be awesome looking and will sound great!

You are definitely hooked for the rest of your life so don't worry to much about sound right now, good techniques are far more important and there will be plenty more guitars to learn from Steve, just keep building this way and you got it made my friend!

Very nice Steve! That is some really clean work!

[QUOTE=dmills] So are you going to wait until you close the box to cut in your end graft? [/QUOTE]

Doug, the sides have a bit of spring in 'em, so I will leave the rim in the mold to maintain their shape until the top and back are glued on. Then I will open up the mortise and make the cut for the end graft. It might be easier to do it another way, but I am most interested in having a guitar with a proper guitar shape.

Have fun cutting up your braces!

Steve K: Thanks for the reminder that this process is largely intuitive and about the sensory.

Tony: Having fun? Absolutely! It is scary fun. SteveCourtright39023.4181944444

_________________
"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck