Official Luthiers Forum!

I thought it might be fun to kick off a WHIYS thread with the new software.

I have been busy finishing up a guitar that I am taking to Uncle Bob's next Saturday for a get-together. As such, my shop is all torn apart and I am again suffering from something that has plagued me for the last 5 guitars now - I cannot seem to make a nut that fits the way I want it to the first time........ It seems that I always have to make them twice.............

Anyway here are some pics of my shop at the moment.....

I have been sanding bone all day and as a result Sony is going insane..... When I sand bone on the belt sander he runs in circles and salivates.......... Maybe the next time I get mad at him I will do it on purpose.....

Here is the guitar that I am finishing up and I am pleased as punch with the excellent poly finish from Joe White.

When you spend as much time as I do remaking nuts you have to keep a lot of blanks around......

I have also been playing around with some modifications to my label.

Yesterday I was at David Collin's shop and had the frets and fret board buffed out with David's new buffing process. It leaves the fret board looking like it is finished and takes all the scratches out of the frets very quickly. Many thanks again David!!!!

Lets see what's happening in your shops?

Cool Hesh! That fretboard looks awesome.

After seeing your shop I am always so ashamed to look at my workspace where I will hopefully be making more saw dust tomorrow.

Hesh, The fretboard looks gorgeous. How 'bout a shot of Sony running in circles?

Another vote for the fretboard, Hesh.

Lots of saw dust, but nothing fun going on in my garage. Been working on a bathroom remodel. I'm building a vanity to match our bedroom furniture. Then I have to strip out a bunch of ceramic tile, rebuild a shower pan and set 200+ sq feet of floor and wall tile. Throw in some light plumbing and painting just for fun too.

I do have another L00 that is almost complete. It's been strung up for a few weeks, but still needs a fret job. I press fretted the board before I epoxied it to the neck and with the exception of one minor buzz, it's very playable - even before a fretjob. This is the first time I've tried that and I'm very happy with the results. As for the tone of the guitar, I can't seem to make up my mind. It's my first experience with an Addy top and so far it's a love/hate relationship. Fingerstyle: love it. It has a nice full sound. Strum: love it. Loud and powerful, probably the loudest guitar I've built but it's also seems well balanced. Flat picked single notes: not so much. What sounds nice and full when finger picked sounds kind of tinny when flat picked.

Hesh, I am really disappointed with you and the state of your shop. Just look at that place...what a sty!!!

Just kidding. I would be terribly ashamed to post pictures of my basement right now.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Not a thing.

I'm drywalling a bedroom, finished the electricals on it this morning.

One more bedroom, a hallway, downstairs bathroom, and the lounge to go. Almost done.

Why oh why did I think it'd be good to have a big house? It must have been my wife's idea...

*edited* - because I can

Good to see a little clutter in your shop Hesh.

I had some shop time tonight and cut open some cherry burl for head plates etc.
Sometimes it's the wood that inspires the build.

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Wade
Nashua, NH
http://www.wadefx.com

ok Hesh.... you are going to have to do this when I'm not doing anything so I dont have to be embarassed about the looks of my shop.

I build 5 guitars at a time. This time, the first one is bound and sanded and the neck is almost complete. The box is complete but unbound on the 2nd and 3rd. The 4th just got it's new back on it today and the 5th has it's sides glued up and ready for the back to go on. One of these guitars is a comission, going to Alaska and the other 4 are for the Miami Show. 2 of the Cases for these guitars are here and the other 3 have been ordered.

I have comissions for the first 2 of the next batch after this one already and the materials to build these are in piles getting acclimated to my shop. My shop is a mess right now, but that will get cleaned up soon....too busy to mess with it right now.

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Reguards,

Ken H

I'm french polishing for the first time. Today was the third day bodying. I must say this has been about a bajillion times more enjoyable than donning a monkey suit and respirator, spraying noxious chemicals, then sanding and buffing... and it's taking just about the same amount of time.

Wade, that burl is wonderful!

Same here....grain alcohol fumes

Just finishing the second session on this one when i saw your post and couldnt resist:

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Build log

Rub, rub, rub. This first one is a flamenco built according to the Blackshear Reyes plan. It's basically ready to go when I get the french polish to the point I want it (which could conceivably take forever given how bad my french polishing still is.) This is one of two. One of them is a "commission" (although I'm still building at cost for practice), and the "buyer" (philanthropist/victim) gets to pick which one he wants.
I have to admit that this one sounded more classical than flamenco on first being strung up. I'm not sure what to change on the second, but one adjustment is that the bridge is going to be considerably lighter.



Here's the twin sister. The body is getting sanded out, the fingerboard is slotted and tapered and ready for fitting, and the bridge is getting it's final shaping. These are both Yellow Cedar backs and sides, BRW bridges and headplates, ebony fingerboards and binding, Spanish cedar necks. The top guitar has an Englemann Spruce top, the bottom a Carpathian Spruce top.



Next are this year's worth of guitars - 4 necks for guitars built to the Romanillos/Bream/Aram drawing.
I've been watching Waddy's notes closely (thanks Waddy!) These are all spanish cedar necks. The
guitars are all going to be slightly different (and hopefully educational as a result).

Number 1: EIR back and sides, coco trim
WRC top
Romanillos bracing (slotted heel as in his earlier guitars)
(This one commissioned)

Number 2: EIR back and sides, coco trim
Lutz top from Shane
Romanillos bracing

Number 3: Palo Escrito back and sides, self bound
Lutz top from Shane
Romanillos bracing

Number 4: EIR back and sidesw, coco trim
Lutz top
Romanillos plantilla but using Torres bracing from SE114 (as drawn by Jeff Elliott)

That's more than enough to keep me off the streets until next year.

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

I've got 1 A style and 2 F style mandos, and a dread. No pics though. Dust everywhere; you'd have a stroke, Hesh!

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Brad Tucker

Not too much goin' on in my shop now.I'm waiting for an order so I can start
the neck on my L-00. I do have the fingerboard done...

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Here is my latest. A Mahagony OM with Lacewood and Curly Maple appointments. Just joined the back. The sides are bent and waiting in the mold. Still lots of work to be done but January has been a busy month and I haven't had much time in the shop.

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Peter

Sure, at the risk of having my wreck of a shop laughed at, I'll play. BTW, these are the first ever public pics of my shop...for good reason.

Here's an OM I hope to be closing the box on soon. $25 Allied EIRW and Englemann with either curly maple or curly walnut bindings. Not sure yet.




And a Dread built for me. More $25 Allied EIRW and a Adirondack top from Bob C. This one will be trimmed in herringbone with probably curly maple bindings.




I hoped to get busy bracing the top on the OM and the back on the Dread today, but I found the pump quit working on my humidifier, so no bracing today. Guess what's first priority. I can, at least, carve the back braces on the OM until my shop humidity gets straight.

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Wes McMillian
Santo, TX
http://www.wesmcmillian.com

Been dealing with the snow we got last week, but the shop's nice and cozy.

Working on a HB Dread for my daughter's school fundraiser.

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

No pictures to show at this time (to busy working to take any pics).

I've been making some fb radius sanding blocks (made a routing jig to make the blocks)

I've also been working on a neck and fretboard for #5 and will hopfully have them done within the next week or so and ready to finish.

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Lex- that's some great French Polishing there...beautiful guitar!

I've been pretty busy.

I'm finishing a 12 fret parlor with USL (body) and Tru-oil (neck)





I have a commission Sitka/EIRW OM ready to go to finish



I'm working on a short scale Lutz/Mahogany OM for a client, and a EIRW/Sitka OM for a music store



I've also got two OM's coming back from Addam shortly (I hope) for a store in Minneapolis. My shop is pretty messy right now

Terry

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

My shop is quietly humming along with a poly job going on a drop dead gorgeous cocobolo classical built by Max Bishop. I am also running a series of test colors on maple samples for an electric that JJ is building.

Joe, how do you get any pain on that guitar? Seems like even with an airbrush that thing would blow right out of the way when the gun came near it - kind of like trying to spray a feather. Have to pour some sand in the box I suppose.

When I picked that guitar up it felt like it had to be under 3 pounds.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

French polish, French polish.......................................

and more French polish..................................[img][/img]

David, HVLP! That and technique.

You guys have such neat looking shops. Mine is always such a wreck!