Official Luthiers Forum!

Here's what's on my bench, well not exactly on my bench, but it'll have a bench in it at some point. It's the thing that's been keeping me away from guitars (or trying too), and it involves woodwork, and glazing, and electricals, and drywall, and insulation, and ...Well you get the picture.



There's two more skips out front that you can't see, and that shed out front is what's been serving as my workshop - it's gonna get demolished, or set fire to, once the house is finished. I wonder if the cops can get me for arson for burning my own shed for the shear pleasure of seeing it burn? The new garage is going to be soundproof and climate controlled. I told the architect to think of it as more an artists studio rather than a garage, so there'll be tons of natural light. The old one floods in heavy rain and we've had over 12" of rain in the past ten days, so it ain't pretty. At least today is sunny

There's another room or two to be added to the front of the house in stage three of the extensions (we're at stage two now) but that's next year, or the year after. Once our finances have recovered, and I've had time to build a few more guitars.

[QUOTE=Blanchard] Here's what's on my bench.An oddball archtop contraption.....
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Wow Mark, that is cool. Very elegant.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

[QUOTE=verhoevenc]Very cool indeed. Care to tell us a little bit more about it? Especially the frets?

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That guitar is shown strung up in the white for final voicing. The frets are temporary. They have the barbs ground off the tang so that they just sit in the slots allowing me to hear what the fretted notes sound like. I just move them around to the areas I want to hear.

I did a little plate thinning over the course of couple of weeks. Once I felt I had it about right, I took it all apart and started the lacquering. It is currently hanging in my booth with a few coats of color and lacquer on it.

Mark

Yeah that's what I said... Bocote.

Little typo there. It is in fact Bocote.

Hey, I'm new here--howdy to everyone!  I have several banjos going right now, but here's what's on my benchtop tonight...they keep my bench dusted off for me...

Dave

Welcome, Dave!

Some fine looking banjos, bench dusters too! You might get some light-hearted razzing about banjos here, but there are some big fans too, me included. Good to have you!

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

Thanks Pat--it's good to be here.  Razzing about banjos is something I'm used to.  But for the record, I got to building banjos through building (in chronological order starting in the early 70's) dulcimers and hammered dulcimers, guitars (I'm one of Earthworks' alumni from the 70s), resophonic ukes (spinning cones as well as vacuum forming cones in the early 80s), vacuum tube theremins and various other oddities.  I've been razzed for far worse!

But banjos have been my first musical love for decades.  I do mostly fancy openbacks with plenty of pearl and engraving, but as a player, my primary focus is on tone and playability.  I've taken a lot of what I've learned on less razzable instruments over the years and tried to apply them to basically 19th century styled banjos.  Sometimes the shop cats apply themselves to basically 19th century styled banjos whether I wan them to or not!

Dave

Welcome to the forum Dave!

I have a commission on a banjo that will start in the fall, so I may want to get some pointers from you later on. Glad you joined us!

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Reguards,

Ken H

Welcome Dave.  If it's got string and you can play it, you are welcome here.  I make Yo-Yo's!  Just kidding.  But I might as well.  I'm just starting on my first build.  Great place to learn and share information and ideas.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

On with my first build... here is my first top template.

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Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...