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Next up...
The Easter Lily Build...with any luck I might even get it finished for Next Easter.

A fully carved arch top, 3 stringer double course, Padmazookie. Ya das right...a Padmazookie
with the "f" holes being carved lily flowers opening up like side ports on the top. Fully carved head stock, back, ribs heal and tailpiece. Thats right ... an arch top zookie with wishbone construction .... and carved flowers trumpets for "f" holes.

Me really cant see doing a Carved Easter Lily build in anything but white woods. Then gold gilding the carvings.

The sketches show both a traditional guitar peg head and a Violin style peg box. I would like to go with the voluted scroll but turn it in to lily blossoms. We will see when we gets there.

Now this ain't gonna be no simple pen knife whittling job. So here be some sketch work.




Guess what dudes.

Jesse Burge of Burge Guitar Shop down there in Mississippi just done gone and gifted Duh Padma enough holly to do the entire build with. Yay

thank you Jesse!

So before me go and mess up all that nice white wood, me took it into me
head to do a small prototype build first.

Here be the pics of were its at...

Cedar wishbone neck and ribs, spruce linings, with a carved cedar back,
the ribs are 3/16 inches thick...das so me can do some real funkie
relief carving in them some were down the road. The back plate is
carved on both sides. Looks like its gonna be about 24 maybe 24 1/4 inch
string length or there a bouts. If you are not familiar with wishbone construction,
just look at any of me other builds found in "The Padma Builds" sub forum over
at http://www.luthierforum.com or run a search for any of me builds on this hear OLF forum
or over at http://www.luthiecom.org too.

In the first pic you can see the wishbone neck and back are from the same stick of
cedar that me scored from the lumber yard. Kinda nice grain eh.



You can see how the "f" holes are starting to form from the lilly flowers.

It ain't all that easy getting a nice curve happening to the top with all them flower petals in the way. Gonna be a real challenge carving out the back to maintain a consistently graduating slope from the center of the plate through to the perimeter while conforming to the profile of the flowers at the same time...Of course I could just dish out the back of the
plate but then that would be leaving too much mass of wood in the flower petals which really would mess up the plates sonics.

Now for any of you who are not familiar with me madness, don't go be askin Duh Padma
about thicknesses or measurements...me don't got any, me don't use a tape measure and very seldom consult me own drawings, let alone pay attention to them. Me build by the feel between me fingers,the grind in me gut, and the song in me heart. Besides, me calipers fell behind the work bench and I have no intentions of diggein them out for an experimental instrument. Don't know how to read them fangeld things anyways.





The top is a chunk of Curly Bear Lutz spruce, a gift from Mario daCosta. Thank you Mario. Only the face of the top has been half carved so far. The "f" holes have been drilled through on an angle which shows best in the last pic with the 6 chisels fanned and sticking out of the holes and as such, may give some indication as to how the air and hence
the sound gonna be moving out from the instrument.











In the above pic you can see 3 pencil lines in the center of the top...
the violin style bridge gonna come some wears between them bottom two lines.

Over the next little while I will be refining the carving of the flowers with the disguised "f" holes
and of course the curve of the top. I will post again when I get to that
stage. However, carving any detail in spruce is always an anus horriblus experience that takes time so don't be holding your breath for the next set of pics. Besides me still working on the NO NOthing Build and Finishing of the Octave Mando just to mention a few.

Any questions?


blessings

Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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I have a mando that i would love to have a fiddle style bridge on , are you designing your own or is there a diagram i can get that will help me make one ?

That will be a nice looking unit when your done , however your sketches are off a little ! You look wayyyyyyyyy to young in the sketch

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Yo WudWerkr

GO here...

http://www.google.ca/images?q=violin+bridge+pic&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rlz=1R1GGIC_en___CA379&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=pE8vTMqfEJfqnQeN4935Aw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCQQsAQwAA

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Padma,
Thanks for posting, been looking forward to seeing an update of your work. What are your proposed methods of carving the backs of the flowers on the inside of the top?
Rob

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Thanks Rob

Das a good question..looks like me favouring the standard drill press method for hogging out the back but with a finer drill and much greater care in the petals area... and a lot of flippin the thing back and forth during the carving....

Ya me could make a huge U shaped thing a ma jig with a stylus in one arm and a dremel on the other with some sorto of adjusting contraption to it....but gee man that s like way to much fartin round for me.

Might actually mount the top on a sheet of 5/8 ply with the shape of the top cut out, much like a door on hinges so I can flip back and forth easily while carving. and use the type of thickness gauge that Benedetto shows in his book book.

Then dis morning I see posts on sound ports instead of a sound hole and that
got me thinking perhaps the flowers don't need to be drilled out like ports for the 'f" holes..perhaps they can just be a low relief carving on the top and then the carved band
around the sides can have the background of the design removed to permit the air to flow
in and out the windows,
in and out the windows
in and out the windows
as we all done before.


It sure wood make for a much easier way of doing the carving, and wood in fact open up the possibilities for much greater carving design treatments....but ya know , there is just something real funkie about the flowers being the "f" holes at the same time.

me go stink on this for a while. but for now I'll finish carving the Lutz top. and then...perhaps on the next version of the design.


blessings
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Thank u sir , I did exactly that and found this : http://www.dunwellguitar.com/SolidBridg ... ridge2.htm

You are both a gentleman and a luthier !

They say a pic is worth a thousand words , however without some basic dimensions , its just a pic

One im working on right now is a " pear blossom" and i want the sound holes in shape of pear to match the body style . The real trick is to make it LOOK like a pear , instead of just a funny Looking hole !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Your welcome.

Now regarding the need for dimensions...like dude the measurements you need are in the instrument your building not on some web page or scribble on a piece of paper.
The height of you strings off the deck is a given once you got neck set and the fingerboard glued on... so from there you start to design the bridge...lots of pics to look at.
Do yourself a favour throw you tape measure and calipers in the garbage.
You'll be happy you did!


duh Padmas Rant on Bridges

If you really wanna grock the "Violin " family bridge, I strongly suggest running searches and reading up on everything thats out there re the "violin" bridge.

them holes, the arch between the feet, and slotted wings or ears are there for a very exact and specific purpose ... especially the slots. It all has to do with moving and transferring the kinetic energy from the strings into the top.

For instance. I have found that the parallel slot design as in Dunwells bridges don't work well for the style of instruments I build...they may work well on his.

I have found that adjustable pin wheel post legs really mute the sound of my builds.

There is the shaving, shaping or rounding out of the "wings" and sculpting of the fulcrums compensation, the angel the bridge sits on the deck, the wedge shaped thickness of the bridge, the size of the footprint, and the types of wood used all influence the sound. I could go on but you getting the idea..

A well executed bridge can shift the tone, the tonal quality as well as the instruments volume.

I average making 3 to 4 bridges for an instrument before I get it just right for that instrument. I then make 2 spare backup bridges that stand a bit taller cuz wood shifts over time. This is a partial photo of last years rejected bridges, tailpieces, tuning pegs and pic guards.



The design and function of each and every part of an instrument are all of equal importance in me mind...with the exception of the bridge. It is of the utmost importance. The minutest bit of wood off hear or there, the slightest visually imperceptible difference from one bridge to the next can bring an instrument alive or kill it.

After 47 years of building, I am starting to get the jist of it, well sort a ... but its the bridge that still messes me up, not that me not already messed up real big time.

The bridge is the exact heart and center of the instrument to my way of thinking. It is the nexus or crossing point from stings to the deck. Its purpose and function are absolutely critical to a successful instrument yet is the most commonly overlooked part. Oh well.


blessings
Padma

_________________
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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

Good point ! I do however on somthing like this, like having some dim as a frame of refrence . My end result probably wont be exact , because I tend to do things my way anyhow . However I do like to see what others have done . IE: location of holes, cuts , thickness .

I also wanted to make a "fiddle style" tailpiece for 8 strings . I have the ebony to do it , just have to work out the approach in my mind and on paper .

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Hello, Padma,
I have been away from the forum for many weeks, but I'm glad I checked back in today. I like your concept for this instrument and will check in more frequently to see your progress. I always enjoy your construction threads. Press on!
Patrick

Wudwerkr:
You should check out Red Henry"s maple bridge page as a starting point'

Bob

Yup is been a while now, and well me really wants this finished for Ester so...

Hogging out the top plates belly.





These 2 black guide lines are the "f" holes of the lilies bells.

Here you can see the "cliff" or step were the flowers bell is gonna transit on a diagonal from the in side to the outside, while morphing to the traditional "F" hole shape. And no, me ain't got something better to be doing.



One can start to appreciate whats really happening in this carving of the lilies when some light shines through....long way to go yet. Kinda pretty eh. Gee, you think me should install a light bulb and batteries? Naw. Oh and we don't talk about the two air head (that wood be me) holes in the plate. But not to worry, me planning on a fancy shmancy antiqued pickled painted burst with gilded lilys of coures. Thats if the sonics of this top warrants gilding.








In this pic you can see the blind knot that opened up and then disappeared During the carving. It may have been very small and disappeared but the rippling effects through the grain are a real carving pain in the ask me no questions.




Me post again when the top is finished carving.


blessings
Padma

_________________
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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

Looking good Padma , welcome back to the "dark side" If guys like you post here more often we will get more traffic !

Look forward to seeing more from you here !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Thank you wud.

Very kind of you to say so.

Truth is, although you may not believe this, me get about as much "hate" PM's from this forums members as me get complements like yours.

That sorta leaves me stuck in the middle...now what?


blessings
Padma

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

Tell Them , In the words of the immortal Yoda , BITE ME , YOU CAN !!

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

Lookin great Padma! Keep on truckin!!!

Prolly cuz you keep it real. Judging by the utter crap and nonsense most people fill their lives with, reality doesn't seem to be a popular concept. I say

Ok dudes,

here be the final stages...me actually stringing her up tomorrow. Final pics on Easter.

Ya, she was suppose to get a carved treatment on the head stock and the ribs were made extra thick for carving as well, but gee, this sucker been hanging on me wall for over a year and she was only suppose to be a quick prototype build so me skipped the rest of the bling and bound her in what appears to be lace wood that me got from a skid.





Cleaning up the Lily flowers.







Routing jig to cut the little pocket to hold the thingamajig that the wire from the tail pin to the tail piece crosses over. Ya me cant remember the proper words.











Been slightly bursted and now masking off the carvings to spray the mica frosting.

















blessings

Padma

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

_________________
"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

I don't know how I missed this thread when it started, but am glad I came cross it today. That's remarkable. And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with things I started hanging over my head for far too long.

Thanks for sharing.

Mike

_________________
Mike Lindstrom

Yo, Padma: WOW! I've followed this thread for as long as you've added posts. I always dug the sound hole carvings, but I had NO IDEA where you were going with your airbrush finish until seeing these most recent posts. I'll say it again: WOW!!! What a concept! You have hit this one out of the park. And to think you're finishing it on Easter Sunday. Now that is purely symmetrical, from concept to execution, in my opinion.
Blessings, my friend,
Patrick

Ok duders...

Here she be, all finished. In time for the Ester bunny.

Sonics...well kinda treble, high ringing, and weak bass, to be figured with that much mass still left in the top from the carvings, defiantly a lead instrument or a gentle strummer. The concept of carved sound ports for "F" holes would probably work well on a 17" arch top...Hmmm...













Thats it.


blessings
Padma

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

Very nice... I love the length of time to completion, shape, neck length, quartered sycamore, purple sweatshirt, wonderful Lilly carvings and painting, smiles... !

Don't sit on it... Ralph!

I would write ... "Job well done.", but... not a job. Turns out, it is a requirement of your life-force exploration turned expression. So, instead I write, "You is, you know it, you do it, and we likes it.".

Next adventure please...

_________________
Chris Oliver
Infinity Luthiers
...in the shop.

live every minute...

Well done old friend I am sure she sings as good as she looks . You are a insperation to me in looking beyond the normal . Keep up the great work !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

To all you dudes with the silver tongues butterin up Padma with kind words....don't stop, me ego needs all the support it can gets and yes, thank you for your kindness.

Whats next...hmmm ... hope you guys ready for hearing this...but me been thinking of doing a take off of a 1940 romantic style jazz archtop but with hemmi plates instead of the violin carved in recurve but dig this...only doing it outa birch plywood including the carved plates.

Now while me thinking about that me gonna finish off the NO NOthing Build and the Turtle Backed Padzookie.

Gonna also finish building that workbench me started late last fall...you know ...the one with the 5 x 10 inch cants for legs....big massive sucker, stay put when me planing on it.

But then me also thinking of slipping down to Peru for a while and getting ripped on Ayahuasca with some of me shaman buddies in the Amazon.

But the truth is right now me gonna join in on the Ester egg hunt befor the grand kids gets them all.


blessings
Padma

_________________
.

Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


.

Absolutely lovely.
For those who haven't seen it,
check out Padma's "travel guitar".
Beyond cool.
A friend wants me to build a "Phin",
which is a 3 string weird looking beast,
that I will try that wishbone construction on.
Perfect!