Official Luthiers Forum!

Nice..........VERY NICE

_________________
Say what you do, Do what you say.

Great job Anthony! Beautiful guitar on all levels.

_________________
Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

Impressive, Anthony. Maple Madness, indeed!

You are an inspiration. My niece is playing jazz and I am thinking of taking a crack at an arch top later in the year. No doubt I will be contacting you for some master advise. Tis is one sweet build and your collection is awesome. Great job

Very nice Anthony, I love the maple on maple binding look. That is a sweet threesome you have going there. I didn't hear if you ever get started on your daughters parlor guitar?

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Super archtop Anthony!
Gorgeous maple
I really like that headstock inlay too.

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Thank you all for the kind comments and questions. This guitar was a real test as I had never bound an instrument with wood before and never used it for the “f” holes. I’ve only seen a couple of archtop builders who offer wood bound f – holes and they charge quite an uplift for it.   It took me awhile for me figure out how to make the tailpiece but well worth the effort as the first thing I look at when I see an archtop is the tailpiece. I really like Ribbecke style tailpieces. It was also my first real attempt at I guess intermediate level inlay.

Dave/Bob – soundwise this one is really opening up nicely and is already noticeably better than my previous one. I changed the arch on this one to have a more gradual slope across the lower bout and towards the tail. By design it brings out a richer bottom end and it worked. Bob your maple really came alive under finish.   Also I made the f holes larger than a Benedetto with the goal of having the sound develop closer to the player and it does.

John – The finish is straight clear nitro shot onto the maple/spruce. The amber you are seeing is a little darker than what you see in person due to the lighting when the shot was taken. This particular maple billet though is naturally a little darker to start with.

Billy – yup not hide glue – there were times I wanted to use Raccoon glue made from the pesky little devils who came to visit me in my garage/shop. (ergo the reason for the inlay on the 9th fret)

Todd – I’ll see if I can borrow it for the weekend if we manage a get together with Bob. I might be in the doubtful column depending on when and if a get together is planned – I’m off to Bonnie Scotland this summer.

Brad – the tailpiece design isn’t mine – it’s pretty much a copy of Tom Ribbecke’s (and used with permission). A good description of Tom’s tailpiece can be found in American Lutherie issue #58.

Arnt – praise from you is really appreciated as I gladly tip my hat to anyone who can build F5 mandos as well as you do.

Arnt/Steve/Matt – the f holes are bound with 1/16” curly flatsawn maple with black/maple purfling. My thinking was flatsawn would be easier to bend around the tight radii I wrote up some detailed instructions on how to do it that I can email if you wish or post directly here if you’d like. In short the binding/purfling were pre-bent on a 3/8” O.D. hot pipe that was heated with a cheapo $5 Radio Shack soldering pen and taped into female template of the f hole until ready to be glued onto the plate. Matt I did end-up snapping a few (better that than a set of sides). The other unfinished archtop shown to the left in the last picture has maple bound f holes as well.

Steve the difference between using plastic f hole binding and wood is a function of time. I’d guess it took 3 times as long as plastic and it was easier with the second archtop I did. The one thing that was tricky were the mitres. Cutting a mitre on wood binding that has been CA’d in makes the piece to be mitred brittle and tougher to get a clean cut.

Rich – anytime

John How – I’ve been telling that I am starting my daughter’s parlor since we first met. I am happy to report the top is glued up. Bracing layout is pretty much designed, rosette design has been drawn. I guess I’ve sorta started.

JJ/Hesh – we are going to have to organize a “build/swap” someday. There’s a great GAL article I really enjoyed reading on build/swap Steve Kinnaird and John Calkin did at a GAL conference.   

Thanks again!

Wow Anthony! She looks absolutely stunning my friend... Maple, it's a Canadian thing, eh?

Congrats on a fantastic instrument! I'm really looking forward to your next project.

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

_________________
Dave
Milton, ON

Will do! Please PM me with your email address.

YOU GOTTA LOVE IT TONY....
REALLY SHARP BROTHER. YOU SHOULD BE VERY HAPPY WITH YOUR WORKMANSHIP.

THANKS FOR SHARRING THE PICTURES!!

walter