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Brad, that is just very nicely done!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Really beautiful, Brad!

That's a great looking instrument with a cool body shape. I bet it sounds great. I like how the larger body ukuleles sound.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

She's a beauty Brad and I love sapwood too. After all it does grow on trees.

I had a guy bring this into the shop today to have a setup since he wants to sell it. I've never seen one before. A Heartfield guitar.

As it turns out I liked the thing so much that I bought it for myself

Very cool and congrats JF. We have a Les Paul DC (double cutaway) in for a head stock repair that I am considering making an offer on. dang it.... This is an occupational hazard being around all these cool guitars.

Ah, yes - Heartfield. The store my shop used to be in carried them. A division of Fender, but built by Ibanez as I remember. Good stuff. They used to offer a little single pickup unit similar to a Junior that had a built-in TS-9. Talk about a smoking rocker!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

The electronics in it are interesting. It's 3 single coil pups with the 'middle' one that really makes up a humbucker for the bridge. But it is independant and has a 3-way toggle, series/off/phase. The tone on it actually works. It is notched at 5 and gets real dark and muddy after that. Then there is a boost switch with some sort of tone control on it that I have not quite figured out. It alters the frequency somehow.

I never had a guitar with a Floyd Rose on so I figured it's about time And you cannot go wrong with Japanese gutiars of that era it seems. The first thing that struck me was the wood working.

I will make the ebony tailpiece this week. I plan to string it up in the white and see if it’s worthy of a finish. It’s at least been an interesting project.

Best, M

Looks very worthy of a finish to me.

I finished this new octave mandolin design two weeks ago and have been playing it a lot since then. I posted a thread about it over in the Mandolin - Mandola - Ukulele forum for anyone who might be interested in more info on it. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10128&t=54781&p=719024#p719024

Adirondack spruce top
Curly birdseye maple back, sides, rosette, and headstock plate
Curly big leaf maple neck
Cocobolo binding on body, fretboard, and sound hole
Indian rosewood fretboard and bridge

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

I've spent the week replacing my old CAD computer that was gasping its last gasps. Got Rhino, MadCAM and all my other design software loaded on it, and it is just so fast! Can't believe what a difference 10 years can make!

Working on my 7 string Hawaiian (that's been underway for way too long), I modeled a pyramid bridge and hope to cut it later this week. I also modeled a 12 fret slot head neck and fingerboard for an upcoming project. I really like to do these things by hand, but needed to get my CAD chops back up. I haven't done much with it in 10 years. I've attached a picture of a trial run in pine. The saddle is straight and the top is flat since it's a Hawaiian Guitar. The real thing will be BRW.

The biggest progress I made was learning how to use "Grasshopper," a parametric plugin for Rhino. It provides some of Solid Works' features to Rhino--like being able to use a single model to build a fingerboard of any scale length, width, radius, etc. just by plugging in some numbers. Very cool indeed now that it's starting to make sense. I'm a total novice at it, but I'm impressed so far.

At any rate, it's been a sitting at the computer week in the shop. Sorry to bore with techno crap. I'm a retired IT guy though. Back to making sawdust soon. Need to cut binding channels on the seven string...

Dave

Really beautiful, Jay. I'm working my way through the full post, lots of detail. Thanks for sharing it.

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J you knocked it out of the park the entire instrument presents as just over the top cool. Great choices and artist's eye on your part and that Birdseye maple is too cool too. I have a 110 year old Birdseye bedroom set upstairs that is now very, very nervous after I've seen your guitar....

Love all your aesthetic choices here, amazing work. Really dig the carve on the neck heel too!


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Thanks. Carving that heel shape so that the two flat faces blend smoothly into the heel curve is the most challenging part of making my necks. It's become easier to do though with practice. Fortunately for me, carving the neck is one of my favorite parts of building an instrument.

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right - Robert Hunter

Okay, it's no big deal but it is something you can do for your clients. I have a couple guys who've been with me since the late 70's. One in particular had enjoyed a couple Strats I put together, and he likes his stuff to be personalized. This will be the 3rd Strat pickguard I've done this to.

I buy a clear Strat pickguard, and cover the front with clear tape. I write his name with Sharpie on the front, and then use a paint pen to trace the name on the rear. Then I spray paint it whatever color he wants. The lettering and color will never scratch off.

In this case I used a gold paint pen, and Tamiya Pearl White. Usually the signature is smaller cursive lettering, but this time I told him I wanted to do something larger in a different style. The pearl is pretty subtle but in bright light the angles and colors reveal themselves. He's really pumped for it to be completed. Here are pix of the pickguard. When I have all the parts assembled I'll post pix of the finished project. These photos were taken before I cleaned up the overspray on the front.

https://i.imgur.com/6jqCcjC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/AVwS2Mu.jpg

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Trying another style of back bracing, cylindrical radius.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Your bracing has an architectural look to it.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

2 martin resets and top cave in HUMIDITY YOUR GUITARS PEOPLE 1500 to fix one guitar if humidified would have been 50 bux for a few frets now reset top repair seam crack repair sound hole fix and reattach neck block

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Really nice. Looks like truss rod access is via the neck extension. Will that preclude the use of a floating pickup?

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

Yes, a floating bridge would make it harder to adjust the TR. Instead I've installed a 2 transducer K&K designed for a 4 string acoustic bass. It's set up mandolin style, tucked inside the F-holes against the parallel braces. Always up for trying something different -

That shouldn't move. I assume you've seen Rory Dowling's version.
I did an ABG like this. Not exactly cylindrical, but a spline curve. The shape you get when something is supported at each end and depressed in the middle.

Yours looks very solid, and a spline curve may in fact have some advantages.
Yes, I'm familiar with Rory's excellent work, and I believe I posted some pics for comment some time ago.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Wired some new lights

Installed Stew Mac Repair vice (nice upgrade from parrot vice)

Building an end graft jig


demo’d and order VR glasses to help with vision issues. They should be here shortly. Looking forward to getting back into detail work.


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