Thread: Progress...

Originally Posted by Malibu

Yeehaaa!

I spent the morning cutting the mortice for the neck joint... 1/4mm at a time, finaly I got to the right size, a test fit and in went the neck...
Ta-dah! A guitar is born!

Ya spent only a morning on the neck joint??? Talk about beginners luck!!

Took me about 3 days to get my first dovetail M and T joint to fit properly.

Originally Posted by kiwigeo

... to fit properly.

Well... I'm still working on that part of it!

Malibu,

I like your approach to crafting.

You are following the book, and also implementing your own
research to compensate for what may or may not happen.

Cutting edge Luthery. You could be the next big name in
Archtops.

Enjoy your process.

Fiona

Originally Posted by myguitar

Cutting edge Luthery. You could be the next big name in
Archtops.

Enjoy your process.

Thanks Fiona, I am definately enjoying it!
I doubt I'm ready to make a big dent in the guitar building world, but I'd be happy enough to be a big name in my own workshop
It's funny that you mention cutting edge, because I was thinking tonight while doing final shaping on the neck how much it probably hasn't changed over the years (including violins etc). The tools we use are quicker, but the process would remain the same.
Just one of the idle thoughts that clutter my head from time-to-time

You'll find not many makin true archtops for selling.
So much time you coulld never make money off them unless you charged $10k
prolly about what benedetto would get.

I remember aksing stewie male years ago about making carve top guitars even like a LP and he said no way....he was making enough outa fender copies and repairs not to bother with all that extra work carving tops.....but that was when strat was king in the 80's early 90's

he made some great guitars that guy specially tele's

maybe you'll make more malibu...
maybe you will make a name and sell high dollar archtops

the one you are doin now looks great...
i would love to play it when your done.....

Originally Posted by old_picker

i would love to play it when your done.....

You're on! (Although, it might be a little while yet!)

If I was making archtops for a living, I'd have to either radicaly change construction styles (ie: CNC roughing out) or, charge horrendous prices which would price myself out of business.
I think it's an instrument for a specific music style (ie: jazz and/or big band) so limits the market in a big way. For me, I just wanted to build one even though I'm far short of being an average player.

Just for an indication of price for a Benedetto original...
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BENEDETTO-MAN...QQcmdZViewItem

More work in the past week, and the result is a nearly finished neck (mainly just the FP to go, once it's glued on) ...
Shaped to no particular gauge, but until it felt good. The frets are in, trimmed and leveled, but not polished yet. The nut is on, but needs final shaping once I string it up and check gaps. The tuning keys are in place, but not fixed yet.
I'm thinking of a little bit of binding around the bottom of the heel to continue the body binding, but I'm not too sure yet. I'll ponder over that one later.
I started the bridge today and it's going well so far, but there's a bit in it... that's a job for during the week. One thing I learned with ebony; take your time!
I put a couple of fishing line guides between the tail and into the tuning keys to check distances etc. Once I got a bit of tension on the lines, I had a nice guitar sound (very weak) and could feel a bit of vibration in the top plate. Pretty happy about that!

Where do you get your fret wire from?
PS looks good

Absolutely fantastic Malibu, your craftmanship is second to none.

You are almost there, I hope you post some nice detail pics when it is done.

Slowing down a bit now.
I've made the bridge from ebony and bone, but I think it's a bit 'clunky' looking, so I'll ponder over the design and see what I can come up with. The bone slips into a rebate in the ebony and to adjust the height of the bridge I'll slip some veneer under the bone. Not sure if it will work, but I'll find out soon enough

The neck is all fretted up, shaped nicely and glued on.

I fitted strings a couple of weeks ago (oooh, sounded gooooood!) but getting it up near pitch the tension broke the (nylon) tail strap and I got tangled in a web of strings as the tail flew past me I have a new one on order from Stewmac, along with some nut files so in the interim, I started the french polish on the outside. Only concentrating on the back, neck and sides for now until I get the strings fitted again and hear what the tone is like. I might have to do some more tuning on the top.

While I was at work today, I had a visit from a mouse with a taste for Queensland Maple (or maybe shellac) and took a nibble out of the head stock veneer
The most chewed part can be hidden under one of the tuners, but there's a couple of scrape marks across the veneer. I'll have to sand that back and start the head stock back again
That's gonna be one sorry mouse!

Originally Posted by Malibu

While I was at work today, I had a visit from a mouse with a taste for Queensland Maple (or maybe shellac) and took a nibble out of the head stock veneer

Probably the shellac..its actually registered as a food product by the FDA in the US.

The guitar is looking good. Flying bridges and tail pieces a common occurance during string up, its one reason I always stand at the bum end of a guitar when Im stringing it up for the first time.

Lookin fine there malibu
You be playing it soon

You're probably right about it being the shellac Martin. I'm just glad he stopped at the headstock and left the body alone!
It's interesting that shellac is registered as a food product... although, I could think of tastier things to eat!
Anyway, my stuff arrived from Stewmac last night so I refitted the tail strap and strung it up to pitch.
~WOW~!
I was pretty darned happy with the result after all the work!
I strummed for most of the night (this time with no flying bridge/tail!) to get the feel of it and ended up with sore fingers because the action is way too high. I spent the morning with the nut files getting it down to a playable string height at the nut, and next will be the saddle height and then truss rod adjusting.
So far, it has good bass projection and a great open string sound but I think the higher notes are a little thin. I've left the top unfinished because I purposely made it a bit thick until I could hear the tone. I can still sand a bit more out of it until I get good sustain from the fretted strings. I'll do a bit more reading and thinking before I tackle it.
So far, so good... I'm pleased with the (almost) finished product, but there's still a lot to go!