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JJ, that is very impressive, lovely work all around!

I’m sure this is due to my lacking English skills, but did you mean that you were (are?) some kind of apprentice of Mario’s, or was it just figuratively speaking?   

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Gorgeous pair of guitars you have shown us over the last week JJ!
Super job!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Looks great to me JJ! I love the wood combinations. How hard is it to bend snakewood bindings?

Blake

Arnt...purely figuratively! Over the past 4 years I have considered myself a "forum-parasite" in trying to learn from the masters not only in guitar-making but also in having to learn even basic woodworking skills. Naming these guitars is just my sappy way of saying thanks.

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

Great work JJ
I really like the mahogany with snakewood combo. I have some snakewood, couldn't decide how to use it and now I know. Thanks for that inspiration.
Your work looks clean and inspired and I am impressed.

John

JJ you get kudos from me as well! I agree with all the sentiments before me...love that snakewood! Awesome job.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Homeboy...I was somewhat apprenhensive to bend the bindings since the wood is quite brittle and splintery...and expensive! I also had to bend the snake-a-lam separately which was more problematic.

Here's how I bent the bindings:
...Lightly spray with Supersoft 2 and allow to dry.
...Tape the four bindings in 4 places
...Wrap the bindings in craft paper and lightly spritz the paper with H20.
...Place in the Fox bender, bulbs on the bottom and blanket on the top.
...Start the waist bend when the temp reaches 225*. Stop 1/2" from the bottom.
...Bend the LB and then the UB and seat the waist
...Cook to 300* and turn off the heat
...Once at RT, heat to 300* and allow to cool overnight.

I bent the snake-a-lam similarly but it came out scorched. The wood was OK but the fine white purfs darkened significantly. If I had a "Mulligan" and was able to re-do, I would try heat bending this by hand...or turn down the heat on the Fox...and not re-heat.

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

JJ, another winner! Though I'm a little dissapointed that you are seeking time AWAY from the shop. And that you are wishing the snow to melt so you can hit your little dimpled ball around. Do you never think of the Nordic Skiers of the world that are in paridise right now. March 5, 25 degrees, 8-10" of packed base. It doesn't get any better than that!
Oh, back to the guitar:
I don't want to pick on you and you know if you were in my shop showing it to me I'd ask the same question. So let's use it as a learning tool for all of us. What happened at your end graft that you had to scarf in the two pieces of side purfling? And a little trick if you have to do it in the future is to put them in, let them dry then sort of pick at the joint with an x-acto to break up the stark line. It won't go away all together but will be a bit less noticable.

Wow, JJ, you have really been busy. Congratulations on another stunner! All the sweat over the binding has paid off - and I am sure she (Mario - he?) sings as good as she looks! Kudos

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

[QUOTE=Pwoolson] I don't want to pick on you and you know if you were in my shop showing it to me I'd ask the same question. So let's use it as a learning tool for all of us. What happened at your end graft that you had to scarf in the two pieces of side purfling? And a little trick if you have to do it in the future is to put them in, let them dry then sort of pick at the joint with an x-acto to break up the stark line. It won't go away all together but will be a bit less noticable. [/QUOTE]

Glad you asked, Paul...and I would expect nothing less from another taskmaster mentor!

In retrospect, this consisted of 3 mistakes. Here's what happened. These mitred purfs are somewhat new to me and this one was the first of the batch that I tried to pull off. I glued the purfling strips to the bindings first...before bending. The purfs were shorter than the bindings. When I positioned them in the bender, I inadvertantly placed them too far toward the upper bout...a brain-fart for sure. (1st mistake) When they emerged from the bender and I positioned them on the ledges, I realized that I had a significant excess at the UB and much less at the LB. I was VERY lucky that the bindings were long enough at the LB. Since I had no more bindings and didn't want to spend a lot of $$ to get more (2nd mistake) , I decided to try to "fix it". I obviously blew it.(3rd mistake) The angle of the pic that I showed reveals it at its worst. Yet another reason why I keep these experiments in the family.

Your "picking" technique is a good thing to remember, but the real lesson I learned is to be more vigilant during the bending process. And while the whole process of binding a guitar remains the single most difficult activity in guitar-building for me, this was an avoidable error to be sure. Hopefully, others can learn something from this.

When I next travel to the land of Cheeseheads, I'm sure you'll find other imperfections. I can only hope you'll be happy with its voice. Get the whips ready my friend!

   

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

JJ, from your explaination I have two suggestions:
1)Instead of gluing the purfs to the binding, make a sandwich. Binding, purf, purf, binding. Then tape the whole thing very tightly like a barber pole. If you just tape them every few inches, it will, without fail, find a place where the purf will flop to the side and will be ruined. If you wrap them in a spiral, ther is no area where they aren't supported. ((than Tim Mc for that one)
Then bend them as usual. The advantage to doing this is that you can scooch the purf a bit if you make an error. It probably would have gotten you out of this one. You also don't risk the binding if you make a mistake. It's pretty easy to replace a $2 piece of purfling but if it's attached to a $15 piece of snakewood, that becomes a bit more painful.
2)and it's taken my entire career to learn this. Never let "good enough" be good enough. There were many times when I would think, "oh well, that will be covered up with finish", only to find that finish magnifies the flaw. (We've all been there, eh?) My montra is that if I can see a flaw, no matter how small, I fix it. Because there will likely be more that I haven't seen.
Again, I wasn't trying to pick on you. Those that don't know our relationship might not realize that you ALWAYS ask me to find your flaws and give suggestions when you show me a guitar.
Again, great looking guitar. Bring it North so we can make it sing.

Absoutly stunning JJ - congratulations on another project well done

Wow JJ, another fantastic guitar from the Donohue stable!

I love everything about it! Classy and sophisticated and as Hesh stated, with just the right amount of flair! Top drawer!

Man, I can't wait to try it out!!!! ah.. speaking of which... would you mind if I use a thumbpick?    I promise I'll be gentle... (I can imagine your reply.. 'As long as you're not in the scotch by then, Al'... )

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

jj;

Beautiful guitar.  I look forward to seeing and hearing it at the next Chicago gathering.  Can't wait to see the 3rd.

Kirby

Awesome Job, JJ!! She is certainly a winner!!

Shane

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Canada

Alain...I'm looking forward to hearing you play this one. It responds well to the thumbpick...play to your heart's content, scotch or not!

Shane...your Lutz has played a large part in making this one my favorite! Good stuff, my friend...thanks for the fine harvest!

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

JJ,

A beautiful combination of woods, and almost flawless execution. The small mistakes are learning tools, and only another luthier will ever see them. After seeing your finish, I'm going to have to try french polish.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

Absolutely inspirational!!!

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DES - Shepherd, MI