Thanks for your ideas

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:01 pm

Hi Guys,
Greetings from a wet old Coffs Harbour.
I have been reading your forum for a while now & have really benefited from your collection of information. I haven't got any tricks or tips that I can share with you all, but in the spirit of this sort of community, I do have some pictures of wood.
I completed my first guitar late last year. It sounds nice, but isn't that pretty - I have noticed that you haven't run a tutorial on how to scorch & crack sides yet - happy to help out

Here's some pics of the steel string I have just finished. It's more of a collection of wood that I liked the look of, rather than a lesson in aesthetics, but perhaps that will come with time. A nice piece of Tiger Myrtle from Tim S,

bunya soundboard, Cooktown Ironwood fretboard/bridge.

Qld maple back, sides & neck

It doesn't sound as bass-y as I thought that it might, but I guess that I didn't really know what to expect. Anyway, I've learnt heaps of things for the next project.
Steve

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 1:26 pm

Gidday Steve, reasonably new here myself so I won't hand out the formal welcomes I'll leave that to one of the old hands. Saw Coffs Harbour on NZ news last night and yeah it did look a little damp under foot, hope it hasn't disrupted too many people, that's all Aussie want now is more natural disasters.
Good job on the guitar, looks nice and tidy & well executed. I presume the pictures are of the first one that you talk of? Doesn't look like the ugly sister to me!

Must confess to not liking Tiger Myrtyle much (:shock: *ducks to avoid rotten fruit from other members*) but the Bunya looks really cool & a gorgeous bit of Q maple too!
I could do a toot on cracked sides if you like, just love hand bending those highly figured curly maple sides

especially my first ever side.. tutorial won't have any pictures in it though! Less said about that adventure the better, made good fire lighters though

Paul B · Post by **Paul B** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:11 pm

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum. Since we've only been online for a bit over a year, I guess there aren't any 'old hands', though most of us know each other from other forums, most of us weren't too keen on the "RULES" in these other places. (you're allowed to say SHIT here if it fits the vibe, for e.g.)

Your first axe looks pretty good to me, mine looked good in pics, but I see all the errors, just like everyone else does with their first, I guess (except Craig who got pics of his first in the bloody LMII catalog). If you aren't happy with it, build another, and another, and another. Just like the rest of us.

Oh, and I'm not too keen on tiger myrtle either Nick, though I used it for bindings once.

What plan did you build from? Looks like an OLF SJ or MJ.

Welcome aboard,

Paul

Lillian · Post by **Lillian** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 2:19 pm

Welcome to the forum Steve.

As for the pictures, either that isn't the ugly guitar you were mentioning or we really need to talk about your severe self criticism. Tell me this isn't your first.

sebastiaan56 · Post by **sebastiaan56** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 3:05 pm

Welcome Steve,

Nice looking guitar. That Maple is pretty, Im going to have to get some of that. Most importantly you like the sound, you can always call it a "studio model"

David Hurd (who posts here) in his Left Brain Lutherie book describes the process of building as an opportunity to make mistakes. You're part of a club now.....

Hippety Hop · Post by **Hippety Hop** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:52 pm

G'day Steve. I see you take it to bed with you - and well you might - it's a sexy lookin thing.

Cheers Hip.

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:04 pm

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the ANZLF. I really like your first, from the images it shows a tasteful blend of woods and well executed build.

How thick did you leave the Bunya??

Cheers

Kim

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:21 pm

Welcome to the forum Steve. It's great that you've taken the plunge and decided to post picts of what is sure to become an obsession that's going to devour large sums of cash and your free time.

Very nice job on your first.

Thanks for the offer, but no tutorial required for scorched and cracked sides. We're all fairly versed in that.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:35 pm

Thanks for the welcome everyone. No, these picture were of the second guitar that I just finished (the first one is a classical with a kauri soundboard). For both guitars I just worked through Jim Williams' book. For the steel string I followed Jim's basic procedures, but changed the shape to something like the SJ (so Kim, the bunya was 3.2mm).
This one turned out way better than the first, and hopefully won't be as good as the next one. It is remarkably easy to spend large wads of cash on wood, but what a satisfying way to spend your time.
Steve

Localele · Post by **Localele** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:43 pm

Hello Steve , Welcome to the loony bin.Your guitar looks great and I would say that with the top that thick it might take a little while to "open up" and show its true sound.Play it often and I am sure it will settle in nicely.

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 7:52 pm

Steve wrote: It is remarkably easy to spend large wads of cash on wood, but what a satisfying way to spend your time.
Steve

Aaaaaaaamen!!!

Bob Connor · Post by **Bob Connor** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:51 pm

Welcome to the forum Steve.

Lovely looking instrument there mate.

ozziebluesman · Post by **ozziebluesman** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 11:52 pm

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum.

My first set of sides where sassafrass which is a light coloured wood and I managed to burn the crap out of both sides during the bending process. The burnt patches sanded out ok but my guitar is a bit thin in some places and that wasn't my intension. It's still holding together and hasn't caved in yet!

Your guitar looks fantastic and I like the Myrtle headplate. Very classy indeed!!

It is great to read here how many different ways there are to build a guitar.

Cheers

Alan

Mark McLean · Post by **Mark McLean** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:27 pm

Hi Steve
I'll put in a plus vote for the Tiger Myrtle. I am close to the end of my number 2 and plan to use some on #3. I like the look of your SJ, and it is cool that it is all/mostly Aussie timbers.

If I wanted to make an entirely indigenous instrument what does everyone recommend for bracing and bridgeplate?

Mark

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 2:50 pm

Tim has some Bunya bracing in stock at a good price. I have some in the shop and it seems very suitable as it is light and very stiff, however I have not used it as yet so take from my opinion what you want. As for bridge plate material, I would think that some of the darker, harder, blackwood, or many others local timbers would be suitable. You just want to look for something that is not too spongy that it will compress at the ball ends of the strings, not so hard it is likely to splinter from tension of same, and has a nice 'ping' to it when a bit 13mm thick and about the size of a bridge blank is dropped onto a concrete floor.

Cheers

Kim

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:36 pm

Yes Mark, I was going for native timbers. I used some kauri for bracing, some offcuts of Qld Maple for the bridge plate, & Tas blackwood bindings. I'm trying to get hold of a stash of native rosewood from a local guy that has a whole heap of stumps to cut up. Might make an interesting project to be able to make a guitar from timber from my local area.
Steve

James Mc · Post by **James Mc** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:56 pm

Hi Steve
I'll just jump on the welcome wagon and say hello, heard it is raining a bit down Coffs... hope you haven't got washed away. Great looking guitar, woods work well together and I like the shape.

A word of warning on the Aust rosewood, it tends towards being unstable when thinned down. I've tried using it for cigar boxes and stuff and it has always developed little cracks after a few years unless it has been laminated onto something solid.

I'll nominate Australian red cedar as a local brace wood, but it is all over the place in terms of density depending on where it is growing, which could be a problem.

Cheers
James

Hesh1956 · Post by **Hesh1956** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:30 pm

A little late but a big welcome Steve from me too!

Your guitar looks fantastic M8 - very nicely done and you should be very proud!

Localele · Post by **Localele** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:31 am

The other problem with Rosewood is the oil in it eventually bleeds to the surface in ugly little blotches under the finish.I have a few blocks which were air dried for 20 years ,re-sawn and air dried for another 5 years then made into some Lazy Susan's.Two years later the sticky blotches appeared under the finish and the left over boards from the project were trying to stick themselves together.As a good mate of mine says "It is not a matter of if it will bleed only when"
As far as the density of your brace wood I think as long as you use something relatively light and strong it won't make much difference on a one by one instrument basis.Each guitar gets voiced with the braces that you have used and will have its own sound regardless of the bracing trying to meet a certain weight /stiffness criteria.Might mean more of you were trying to make a batch of guitars all the same but who wants to be a factory.Possibilities include Bunya Pine , Hoop Pine, QLD Maple, Red Cedar,Silver Ash.Straight grained material in that 450-650 kg/m3 range should be good.

DarwinStrings · Post by **DarwinStrings** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:18 am

Cold and 'wet' sounds like a understatement at the moment. Nice bit of Australian tree you have there Steve and that is a particularly tan looking bridge that sits well in the middle of that bunya pine, nice work.

Jim

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:05 pm

Thanks for the heads-up on rosewood James & Michael. What a shame, but I guess there's lots of other choices out there.
And Alan, yes the classical sides got very thin in the waist - I wasn't game to sand the scorches right out. I was a bit worried about the cracks too, so bent some offcuts from the sides & glued them on the inside as band-aids for a bit of insurance. Ohhhh yes, it looks very classy

Steve

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:15 pm

James Mc wrote:
I'll nominate Australian red cedar as a local brace wood, but it is all over the place in terms of density depending on where it is growing, which could be a problem.

Cheers
James

I tried Aussie red cedar bracewood but ended up shaving it off the top...didnt like it at all and went with sitka braces.

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