Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, I got the second Petite Jumbo completed and managed to get a few pictures done before the storm set in this afternoon. This guitar was built at the same time as an identical guitar with an Australian Red Cedar top as an experiment to determine differences in tone and response form Australian Cedar to a more common and known tone wood.

My initial impressions of comparison of the two guitars is that the Engleman top produces a brighter tone, the Aust. Cedar is mellow and smooth. Like a good Scotch. The Engelman has a really strong bottom end, but it could be just the impression that the brighter overtones are giving. I think that each one has it's place, and the Australian Cedar guitar was the favorite of all my guitars by a Jazz player. I think it was the mellow tone that he preferred.

Back and Sides - Qld. Walnut
Top - Engelman Spruce
Bracing - Engelman Spruce
Binding - Curly Tassy Oak
Neck - Qld. Walnut
Fret Board - Lace Sheoak
Bridge - Sheoak
Headstock Veneers - Eucalyptus Burl
Rosette - Spalted Avocado
Tuners - Gotoh 510's

Guitar total weight - 1780 gm.
Top - 199 gm, the same as the Aust. Red Cedar top

I toned down the stark white of the Engelman Spruce with some amber shellac to bring the color more in line with the other tones of the trim. The finish is my standard of WEST Systems Epoxy pore filler and 2 sessions of 5 coats 50/50 Mirotone Lacquer each time, then rubbed back to P1500 and buffed with a foam pad and soft rag.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

Allen another great guitar, I like the colour ways. ANy chance of a couple of sound clips for us of the two guitars?

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

She looks great Allen and my hats off to ya M8!

Allen,

Beautiful guitar. Love the combination of woods.

Max

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Max Bishop
Brighton, Michigan

Very nice!! I really like that rosette, just beautiful!

Allen, It looks like your attension to the wood is very well thought out. It is mostly "all about the wood" IMO although I bet it sounds great too!
I hope we get a chance to hear it.


Wade

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

Congrats on another very nice guitar Allen !
Love that walnut.

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Congratulations, fine looking instrument.

We know you are very proud of it. Great work.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Great looking guitar Allen! I especially like the peg head.

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jw ( o)===:::

Allen,
Great job! This turned out really nice! I really like the Queensland Walnut. Graham McDonald had sent me some samples of Aussie wood, and this was one of them. I used it on my peghead of my bouzouki. It has a very subtle curl to it. Very easy to machine and finish, and I imagined that it would be very nice back & side wood. Now you have confirmed my suspicion. Thanks for sharing, and enjoy that guitar!

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Tracy
http://www.luthiersuppliers.com

Wow!

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

Allen, Sorry mate, I thought I had commented on this one...guess it slipped past. Lovely guitar, and I'm smitten by the Queensland Walnut. That is some gorgeous wood. Is it a true juglans? If not, what IS it related to?
Also the Tassie Oak is a great combination w/ the QW.
Well done,

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Very Nice!!

Have a question regarding the black purfling touching the sides. How does one bend that? Seems like it would break too easily.

Mike

Mike,

The side purflings are normally glued to the binding strips and both are bent to shape at once.

Cal

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

BTW, Allen The guitar looks wonderful. Very nice choice of woods.

Cal

Sorry, ment to add this to the above post.

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Remember, there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers!

QUEENSLAND-WALNUT
Family: Lauraceae

Other Common Names: Walnut bean (Australia).

Distribution: Confined to Northern Queensland (Australia), chiefly in the coastal
districts.

THE TREE
A large tree 120-140 ft in height, boles above buttresses well formed and clear to 80 ft;
trunk diameters up to 6 ft.

THE WOOD
General Characteristics: Heartwood varies from light or pinkish-brown to dark brown, often with pinkish, grayish-green or blackish streaks, resembles European walnut; sapwood light brown, 3-4 in. in width. Grain generally interlocked and frequently wavy giving a broken stripe figure when quartered; texture medium; without distinctive odor or taste when dry; lustrous. Silica content of 0.19-1.08% is reported.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

I make all my own bindings, and while I have tried to put in all the bindings and purflings separately, I now buy veneer and glue up the colored stack on the binding material. Then slice off the strips on the bandsaw and run through the drum sander.

There strips I had to bend on the iron. There is just so much run out with that wild grain that it took some very careful bending by hand to get a set that didn't break into dozens of pieces.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia

I have to agree that Queensland Walnut is stunning. It has a really deep color and that subtle curl that I didn't pick up on right away.

Great guitar! You should be very proud.

Can I second the petition for some sound clips?

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-Rob Eckert
Ann Arbor, Michigan

I'm working on getting some sound clips of my instruments. Dave White had suggested that I have a "Guess the Tonewood" competition. I think this will be a bit of fun and will try to have something available in the near future.

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Allen R. McFarlen
Barron River Guitars & Ukuleles
Facebook
Cairns, Australia