Official Luthiers Forum!

Hesh,
Do you actually work in your shop?

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

OK, I'm in, mostly because I had the camera out taking a few shots for a friend.

Here's my latest, an EIR/Lutz dread, with flame maple bindings. This one is for my son. Neck is a Watkins. The back has been sanded to 2000, but the sides have only been to 1500, and the top hasn't been touched since 600. I've been drop filling some gaps around the rosette - and I've been lazy. This is nitro, and I shot it using a friends Accuspray turbine. But he lives 1.5 hours away so driving is a bit inconvenient...so I bought my own. It's at the end of this post.



Here's the back of the dread.



Neck shot. Also not wet-sanded yet.



Here's a shot of the materials my next is going to be made of. Waterfall bubinga, and a adi top. My wife is picking out the binding/purfling/etc.



Here's a set of unruly EIR that I'm going to spend some time flattening soon. It's a unique figure, and much prettier than this photo shows.



Based on ideas and recommendations from this forum, I hacked together a pipe bender today. I'm going to give binding the soundhole a shot, ala Woolson, and I didn't have one. The pipe is a 2.5" piece of scrap muffler cutoff that a local muffler shop let me have for free. The rest is exactly what was mentioned on this forum, a charcoal lighter, an oven thermometer and a piple clamp. Everything else was scrap. I tried it out earlier, and it works like a dream. Holds dead steady where I set it.



Here's a shot of the Fuji turbine. With the exception of the case color/design, and the amount of sound-proofing insulation, it's identical to the Fuji Q4 Pro. I've only sprayed water through it so far, for testing everything, but I'm elated with it.



And finally, just so we can put names with faces, here's a shot of me...as a Simpson's character.

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

It IS you!!!!! Holy cow!

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Hesh!
Where's the dust and shavings?

If i showed you mine you puke!!!
But I'm in the process of adding on a 28' X 16' addition
so cleaning is not a priority!

Nice shop to both you & Bill!

"Keep making wood into guitars"
Or expensive firewood!
mike Collins

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Mike Collins

I ain't takin' no stinking photos!!

My shop's in a RIGHT mess- and I am still faffing around with rosette designs- I made one on a top, and decided I didn't like it (saving for a future build), so I am in the process of drawing another one (you know what I am like with my rosettes!!)

Currently processing some wood into bindings, neck lams, etc etc.

I'm also studying the adjustable neck system like a mad scientist and will not proceed with any build until I have it sussed, as ColinS says, "The neck block is the heart of the guitar" and I find once that's been sorted, everthing else falls into place.

No football. Michigan loses 2 and you quit!!!!!!!!
Today I have been sharpening all my tools.....quite boring

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

Hesh, you always seem to catch me at times when my shop is the messiest it can be.... oh well, I'll show you anyway... just dont mind all the sawdust on the floor.

First, here are a few of the guitars I am working on... from left to right,  Sycamore, Malaysian Ebony, Curly cherry, and flamed Oregon Myrtle. Also on the bench is the back to the flamed myrtle guitar that I am gluing the back strap on. On the right hand side of the picture, you can see some of my WAS stock on the shelf. On the floor next to the mold is a case of 50 Englemann spruce tops that came in recently from Canada. My bender is on a shelf by the window in the back of the shop.

Next is a picture of some sets of wood I will be swapping out at the next swap meet... different kinds of mahogany. Some of it is quite figured stuff. I have a lot of stuff to resaw in the next couple of weeks to get ready for the swap meet come to think of it.

 

Thats all I have to show you for now... lots of goodies coming in the next few weeks.

 

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Reguards,

Ken H

bump  

_________________
Reguards,

Ken H

Did a heap of resawing over the weekend. Myrtle, Blackwood, Padauk, Curly Maple and some Blackheart Sassafras.



Here's the neck that's going on a Myrtle/Englemann OM that's heading back home to Tassie in a couple of weeks.
The fingerboard is Mulga from Tim Spittle.





Here's the OM on the right. The one on the left is a Padauk/Adi 12 string which is one of our own shapes based on an SJ. The upper bout is quite small - just over 10".





This one's a Mahogany/Lutz OM that's almost ready to head out the door.



And this one's a Blackwood/Lutz 12 string for me.





Here's the neck blank ready to be glued and a BRW fingerboard.



No pics of the shop. It's a pig sty due to the fact that I've been flat out like a lizard drinking, producing fine quality sawdust.

Cheers

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

Well, since you ask so nicely!!!

As luck would have it, you caught me just as I've finished a major cleaning and re-organization of my shop!   




As for goings on... No.3 awaits sanding (4th round with System III) and nitro. No.2 got a neck reset, new fingerboard and bridge. (Note to anyone contemplating selling their earlier guitars - Don't...) and no.4, a Wenge Baritone has its rosette...








Cheers!

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

I really have been trying to keep up with you Hesh and try to work a little neater. One of the problems I have is that my band saw blows sawdust EVERYWHERE, especially when I am resawing. I have taken the door off of the lower wheel and am trying to bore a 4" hole in it so that I can better suck out the sawdust. I have also re-arranged some of the power tools so that it flows better for working and is easier to clean up too.

One of my goals for the near future is to make myself a sanding table with holes in the surface and suction below it to help keep the fine sawdust from flying all over when I begin sanding out the wood. I have the table and I have the top, I just havent moved it inside the shop yet and drilled all of the holes for the top yet.

 

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Reguards,

Ken H

I've been drawing this weekend, trying to design some things. I'm
looking at this or something similar for my next rosette, which will
hopefully become "my" rosette.

From the inside out:
.020 b/.020 red/.020 black/.125 red abalone heart/.010 black/.010 red/
.010 black

I rebound my current acoustic, too. It'll be goot to get back to the finish
process this week.

Here's one I'm working on at the moment.

Don't get too agressive with a wide belt sander with Blackwood. The heat MAY cause it it curl when you get it down under 2.5mm. I've had some blackwood do this on me - others were OK. Stickering will bring them back straight.

I have had some discoloration after getting sides out of the bender - a greenish cast on some parts of the wood. It sands out easily enough.



Cheers

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Bob Connor
Geelong, Australia

My shops too messy to show right now, but this is what I am working on.  My koa uke with 4 coats of Colortone lacquer on it.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

nice clean looking work Bob and rich!

Thanks for sharing!

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Reguards,

Ken H

I will take a photo tonight

Well, the shop's a mess, as usual, so nothing new there!

Just putting the finishing touches on the nephew's koa 000. Final polish on the frets...



...and playing with this idea for a label.....

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

a Curly Narra/ Sitka Dread and a Curly Narra/ Italian MJ on the bench

I've been slowly putting this harpguitar together.Far cry from the little "traveller" I fininshed in June.

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

Nice work fellers!  I like the MJ you are working on Michael. What is the center stripe in the back?

 

Greg, I have always wanted to build a harp guitar. Keep at it.... looks like you have a really good go at it so far.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Curly Walnut. The bindings will be as well

Al, the shop is looking great as is the next guitar off the line! So you've been hiding in the shop huh