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I just finished making the wheat motif stips from John Bogdanovich's book "Classical Guitar Making: A Modern Approach to a Traditional Design".

I'm really pleased with his book it gives excellent step by step instructions. I used macasser ebony and basswood for the white lines. The wheat lines are only .01" in width. These turned out to be easy to produce from hand planing slices of basswood. What I like about this wheat motif it is almost exactly like the wheat design shown on the Torres guitar pictured in Roy Courtnall's book.

Now all I have to do is bend it for a rosette.

Marc,

I have admired the "wheat" from Bogdanovich's book as well and plan some day to make some. You did a beautiful job and given me encouragement.

Great work,
Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Thanks Max, I had fun making it. It took a little longer than I thought but I think I could get through it much quicker now that I know the steps.

Nicely done Marc!
I bend mine using a banding iron heating through a moist cloth.

I was going to make the wheat too, but ended up using only half as a rope type motif, because my white/maple was too thick and it looked funny as wheat, and would have had to be way too wide for what I wanted to do. It was my error though. The book does do a nice job of telling you how to do it.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks David, that's exactly the way I'll try to bend it.

Very well done! Love to see the finished rosette/guitar.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I wrote J. Bogdanovich an email asking for a source of the thin white, he noted that lmi sells sheets or you could just use shavings from planing. I was amazed at how accurate and consistent the shavings were in thickness. All I had to do was soak them in water to get them uncurled, then stretch them out to dry. Gives near perfect .01" veneer at essentially no cost.

Bob C at RC Tonewoods also has the "off white" .010 fiber sheets.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks Waddy, however I was looking for a solid wood rather than wood fiber. Maple is too brittle to get shavings that thin but I found that basswood planes very easy and gives long continuous strips.

I think the white under 'colored veneers' at lmi is solid wood, but it's not inexpensive.

It is my understanding that you can get nice shavings like that from Dogwood or Boxwood.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks again Waddy, if I find some I'll give it a try.

I think that maple would plane better too if you would soak it a bit before each plane pass. Thats how I get nice cypress shavings. Dry, they are cracked every 2-3mm !

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Build log

Very Cool Marc
Could you possibly give a little tutorial on how you do this?

John

Joe, Thanks when I finish the rosette I'll post a picture.

Alex, I tried with wet maple, just didn't have much luck. Basswood worked great.

John, Thanks, I wouldn't feel right about a tutorial because it would be exactly what is in J. Bogdanovich's book. I followed the steps in the book very closely. For me the explanation of the wheat alone was worth the price of the book.

That book is a bargain at it's price. I think you can get it in the $18 - 20 range.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I don't have a photo sequence for this but here is a shot of my initial glue up for the wheat (or herringbone if you will) marquetry.

From this point, slices are cut, assembled end to end and and laminated to the central white "spine" veneer then stripped out.