Official Luthiers Forum!

Well, I was going to wait until it was complete before I posted any pics,
but that could be a long way away.... Still need to spray the headstock
and heelcap, glue on the bridge, etc., and I'm just too freaken busy.

That's my girlfriend, Sarah, on the fingerboard and side port.

Went with the butt joint; thanks for everyones advice.













Nice carptet, eh?

MikeSniderMike38882.0262962963

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Mike that is really nice work, congratulations and I hope you get some time to get it done and see how she sounds!

Mike
White Oak, Texas

That is amazing
How did you do the fingerboard inlay????

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

Now, that's definitely one-of-a-kind! Nice work!!!

WOW ! Amazing Guitar !

KiwiCraig

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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Very nice work!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

Wow, agreed, that's an amazing guitar...really. How 'bout a few more details on it. And I really like the end graft treatment.

There's a lot to this guitar: bound fingerboard and headstock, custom side port, rear head plate, script headstock inlay...this is good stuff. How about a few more pics?Bill Greene38882.3551388889

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Sweet! Now I can't wait to see 'er strung up! (The guitar I mean, not Sarah! )

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

Nice work Mike! I can't wait to hear it.

I like how you have used the sapwood as a design element by repeating it in the tail wedge as a continuation of the back...looks great.

What I like about the side port is that it is representational rather than just a symbol/shape (snowflake, oval, leaf, etc). That and the fingerboard inlay makes it a very personal and therefore very special guitar.

Well done, congratulations

Outstanding! I agree with everyone else, tell us more about it. The inlay, finish, neck joint, I would love to hear more.

Jeff

Wow!!!   Absolutely beautiful. There is a lot of very high quality workmanship in this guitar. Amazing.



Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Nice Work!! Looks Great!!

Did you have to get on a ladder to photograph her head down?

Craig L.   

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www.handcraftinlay.com

Very nice unique guitar Mike! Love that port and your inlay too! very good work

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Wow, thanks for all the great responses everyone!

The back and sides are camatillo rosewood, and the binding is boxwood.
The end wedge started out as a headstock plate, but I resawed it with the
skinniest blade I could find and bookmatched it. Didn't have a lot to work
with there, as Robbie can attest to. The back of the headstock is mystery
veneer that I found at work.

Craig, to answer your question: No, i didn't take Sarah's picture from a
ladder. I'm a fairly tall guy, so I stood on my toes, and she was actually
just kneeling down.

Andy, the fingerboard inlay was a tedious process. I inlaid it before
radiusing. I didn't inlay it quite deep enough though, so once i did radius
the fb, I sanded through some of the "gold" on the outer edges of her
arms. Then I engraved a fair amount of it, like around the eyes, the shirt,
and the pupils. the pupils were pretty nerveracking. I filled the
engravings with Grit's special filler stick.    I also cut the inlay into three
pieces to fit between the frets, and left about 0.5mm on either side of the
fret slot. Then I got really nervous when hammering in the frets, so I
widened those few slots and CA'd those frets in.

The finish is ILVA catalyzed urethane, aka 2 part polyurethane, but the
neck is french polished. Thought I'd try that as it seems to be a popular
way to go 'round here. I definitely like the feel of it. I want to spray the
headstock and heel cap with urethane though, to match the body.

Hesh, I think Sarah is honored    She is an amazing woman and also a
beautiful guitarist/singer. I gave my last guitar, SS #1, to her. It also has
a picture of her inlaid on the headstock.

Thanks again for everyone's comments. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.


Bill, here's a couple more pics





MikeSniderMike38882.4587268519

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Oh yes, I should certainly not forget to give special thanks to Robbie for
being such a great teacher! Thanks Robbie!

Mike

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

Mike,
Looking really nice! I like your signature on the peghead, that turned out really nice. But the whole package turned our very nice. Now quit screwing around, and finish it up Just make sure it is done by the first day of class, because I want to play it! Great job!
Tracy

Indeed a beaut!!!!

Nice zoot....

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

That's so cool, man.

[QUOTE=SniderMike] Oh yes, I should certainly not forget to give special thanks to Robbie for
being such a great teacher! Thanks Robbie!

Mike[/QUOTE]

Thanks Mike you have real talent!! After seeing Mike's work one will realize why I chose him as one of my teacher assistants for my steel string building classes. He does nice work and really knows his stuff.

I don't remember seeing the peghead inlay. Did you cut and inlay it yourself?

Indeed, what can I say that hasnt already been voiced above? I am truly impressed with this beautiful; definitely. Question - what guitar is this? I know you mentioned you had built the SS#1 for your sweetie, is trhis your second guitar? or only your second steelstring?
Cheers
Charliewood

[QUOTE=Robbie O'Brien]I don't remember seeing the peghead inlay. Did
you cut and inlay it yourself? [/QUOTE]

Yeah, I did that a couple weeks ago, and it was a pain in the arse to cut it
out. I think it broke at least 3 times. Perhaps I should look into getting it
CNC'd.


[QUOTE=Charliewood]Question - what guitar is this? I know you
mentioned you had built the SS#1 for your sweetie, is trhis your second
guitar? or only your second steelstring? [/QUOTE]

Charliewood, It's my 3rd total. One electric and one steelstring before
this one.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger