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I had some photos done by a family friend who did a remarkable job.

Engelmann spruce, Katalox back and sides, Koa binding and pick guard.








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Lovely!

How was the katalox to bend? I have a tenor uke in the works that is katalox.


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Beautiful guitar, very well done. Black and white with golden accents.

Thank you!

It wasn’t too bad. I’ve bent it by hand before on a homemade iron and it took forever! Could have been mostly inexperience.

This build I used the LMI bender. Heat at 300 and each side took around 10 minutes to complete the bend. I took my time and it went well.

It was quite brittle though and I had a split after bending when I was trimming it down. CA glue made it an unnoticeable repair though.


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Koa binding? I thought it was tourtise shell plastic (spellcheck is NOT helping) Very nice. I've used katalox for fingerboards, and fittings/pegs. One piece labeled roayl ebony, the cream part was almost as hard as the black.
Nicely done.

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Why be normal?

I really like the curly Koa binding. Very nice guitar!

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Wowsa!

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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.

Yes, the pictures are a bit dark so I see what you mean. I’ll attach a couple under the full shop lights, pre buffing, so you can see it a little better.

It is very hard wood indeed. I’ve also used it for fingerboards and bridges, but am really liking it for back and sides as well.
I got the lumber for this at woodcraft and then milled it myself to get this set. I think that back and side set cost me about $15 doing it that way.




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You have an "orange peel" surface on your finish there. Might want to look into eliminating that because it will affect the finish clarity.

Yes, you are correct sir.

I was really struggling to get the spray gun dialed in this go around. Turns out it was just too low of pressure, but I didn’t get it worked out until the last day of spraying.

I spent a LOT of time wetsanding to get it all flat.


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Glad you got it worked out.

I latter realized that orange peel is not the correct diagnosis for this. Orange peel has pits that is created by too much air pressure. What you were dealing with was poor atomization that basically created droplets of lacquer accumulating on the surface that were not giving a full wet coat, but a bunch of droplets bonded partially together. And as you said, dialing up the air pressure is the cure.

What a great looking guitar, kinda makes me want to burn my numbers 6 and 7 I'm working on

Did you make the pickguard or buy it? Self sticking, spray adhesive or double-sided tape? Also curious what the thickness of the pickguard is.

Any plans for the next one?

Great work

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

Please don’t burn any guitars! Haha!

I made the pickguard out of a solid piece of Koa. I have a drum sander which makes it easier to thin down, though I did my first one by hand. I don’t remember the exact thickness, maybe 1mm-1.5mm?

I have used double sided tape in the past and it worked fine. However, on this one I used the adhesive sheets that stewmac sells. I like it more than double sided tape, just a little easier to use.

I have a Koa OM that I’m spraying finish on currently. I’ve also started a Bubinga Dreadnaught that’s in early stages as well.

Thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it!


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I'd love to see the koa OM if you are interested in posting pics

Sure thing! I should have strings on it next week if all goes as planned. I’ll make a post for it.


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Looks nice! I love that koa guard. Well done.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Great work!