This one will be a dog

Sam Price · Post by **Sam Price** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:50 am

Dave White wrote:
Sam Price wrote:Dave, will you be exhibiting at the Cheltenham guitar festival again this year? (if there is one...?)
Sam,

Yes I will. September 13-14. Keep an eye on their website.

Excellent, thanks.

My husband was a bit miffed being left with the kids all day- and banned me from going this year- as I was VERY late back

but it's tough luck, I'm going, even if I have to bring my children with me!!

My son has expressed an interest in helping me build a guitar in the workshop, "When I'm Eleven and a half" quoth he...

Hesh1956 · Post by **Hesh1956** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:27 pm

Tom that is a VERY cool guitar and I always was a back of the guitar man anyway. I second the request for a full frontal view if you have one or can you direct us to the builder's site?

Tom Morici · Post by **Tom Morici** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:07 pm

Sorry guys!
I never did take a pic of the front of that guitar.

Hesh,
Not only no website, no computer!

He has a network of stores that sell his builds, over 250 Acoustic and electric builds as of last year. So no newbie here.

Tom

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:38 am

OK. Here's the top rough cut to shape (not the twin necks yet though) with the bracing glued on but not profiled yet. The bridgeplate is spruce, around 2.2mm thick in the centre and thinned out towards the lower bout edges - thegrain runs perpendicular to the top. Two hardwood pieces have beeen inlet and glued in where the bridge pins will be. The soundhole has a re-enforcement piece of khaya with grain running perpendicular to the top. The ladder braces are lutz spruce, 6mm wide and currently 16mm high - although they will be reduced when the top is voiced. The A frame braces are lutz spruce and are around 6mm square:

Serge · Post by **Serge** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:49 am

Awesome work Dave, it's always a pleasure to follow your work trail my friend, very inspiring how diverse is your range of interests in the craft too, keep us informed on how it develops, really cool instrument!

Serge

Ron Wisdom · Post by **Ron Wisdom** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:41 am

Very nice, Dave. Man, I've got to get back to work. I finished my brother's guitar in mid-November and haven't started another yet.

Ron

Sam Price · Post by **Sam Price** » Sun Feb 24, 2008 1:22 am

Great work, Dave!! DO you have much of a workshop? All your pics look like you build in a conservatory of some type!!

(I'm starting to outgrow mine a little....

)

Tell you what, though, I really like the black and gold fabric backdrop you've got there too....looks Chinese to me!

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:35 am

Serge and Ron - thanks!!

Sam,

Yes I have a workshop but I also expand to fill all available space until shouted at by the wife and kids

My wife is a textile artist and collects lots of stuff. The backdrop is a Japanese Kimono with gold threadwork dragon:

Here's some more Orthus progress. The two fretboards in sycamore with curly eucalyptus bindings. The fret markers are the same as the rosette:

And here's the top cut to fit and taped on to check that everything aligns. The braces haven't been carved yet - I've just notched the ends to fit in the linings:

Sam Price · Post by **Sam Price** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:35 am

Dave White wrote:
Yes I have a workshop but I also expand to fill all available space until shouted at by the wife and kids

LOL, tell me about it!! I use my kitchen as a workshop too- easy to clean, and humidity controllable too!!

My wife is a textile artist and collects lots of stuff. The backdrop is a Japanese Kimono with gold threadwork dragon:

Stunning, absolutely stunning.

I remember you telling me that your wife was a textile artist. Does she have a website?

I was a textile artist for a while, studied fashion & textiles at college. Yup, I went through a phase of collecting kimonos, but since were made into waistcoats- and I have a drawer full of STUNNING silk embroidered salwar kurti that I intended to wear, but feel that the rural area I live in is rather too conservative.....

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:59 am

Well the box was closed up today.

Here's the back/rimset with the side braces on, the carbon fibre buttress braces in place and the necks cf "lattice work" completed. I was originally planning on having the box around 4" deep but this just didn't feel or look right and I settled on around 3.5" to 3.75" at its deepest:

Here's the top braces carved and the top "voiced" - the ladder braces on either side of the bridgeplate ended up at around 12-13mm at their highest:

Then the top was signed and dated - given the instruments name this seemed appropriate. It's also a Rick Mayall/Blackadder joke that Martha will appreciate:

The parts ready to be joined:

And joined they are:

jeffhigh · Post by **jeffhigh** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:10 am

Ok Dave, looking good .
As an ex structural engineer I have to ask why the triangulated CF bracing in the neck, I can see why you would want the braces from the neck block, but the ones in the neck under the fingerboard area?
I would just be interested in your reasons for these.
regards
Jeff

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:46 am

Hi Jeff,

The ones that go across the neck are there to help keep the neck shape and add a little rigidity. The diagonal ones are there as my simple brain thought that they would help a little in resisting the necks "curling" under the string tension. They are all off-cuts from cf rods I've installed in convential guitar necks over the years so cost me nothing in money terms and very little in weight. I did this in the first two Weisses I made and they have held up very well.

They do look like the mark of Zorro though

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:53 pm

Dave White wrote:
My wife is a textile artist and collects lots of stuff. The backdrop is a Japanese Kimono with gold threadwork dragon:

Hi Dave,

Where did your wife get the kimono? I ask because my (Japanese) wife reckons the design looks more Chinese than Japanese. The garment reminds me of a Japanese wedding kimono we looked at hiring for our wedding....the plan soon got shot down in flames when the shop gave us the rental rate they wanted for the garment....$US2000 per day.

Cheers Martin

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 10:32 pm

Martin,

Interesting. Debbie bought it eight years ago at a local Antique/Craft fair as out Silver Wedding Anniversary present. She was told that it was Japanese and early twentieth century. Here's a photo of the front showin where the dragons tails go (there's other stuff there but the photo is a bit dark):

And here's a close up of one of the dragons heads showing the threadwork - this might help your wife more with it's nationality:

Sam Price · Post by **Sam Price** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:56 am

A superb work of craftsmanship- both the "dog" and the dragon kimono...

We teach goldwork at the college I work in- incredible & meticuous attention is needed.

Bob Connor · Post by **Bob Connor** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 6:43 am

It's certainly going to be an impressive weapon when completed Dave.

What are you thinking of housing this beast in?

Bob

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:21 am

Here is the design on the kimono in more detail

Cheers

Kim

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 10:02 am

Okay the boss has just had another look with her specs on this time and shes of the opinion that even though the garment style is Japanese the design is Chinese.

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:27 pm

Sam,

Thanks - Debbie doesn't have a website yet but we're working on it.

Bob,

I think I'll make a kennel

Kim,

Great computer skills - how did you do that?

Martin,

Thanks to your good wife again. It's made us do some Googling and we found this about Chinese and Japanese dragons. Scroll down the page and it says that Japanese dragons have 3 claws and Chinese ones 5. The Kimono dragons have three:

Interesting stuff!!

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:16 am

Certainly interesting stuff.....my wife wasn't aware of the 3 versus 5 claw distinction between Japanese and Chinese dragons.

Kim · Post by **Kim** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:39 am

Dave White wrote:
Kim,

how did you do that?

No great skills here Dave, I just saved your image to my PC, opened it with an editing program and adjusted the lighting and contrast. That's the beauty and the beast of the digital age, if you don't like the look you can change it with a few clicks of the mouse, just ask any high profile public figure. I use Adobe Elements 3 as an editor because whilst it may not have all the bells and whistles of Photoshop, it does have enough to fit my needs and one does not need to give up building guitars in order to learn how to use it.

As for this THIS

And your wife's beautiful Kimono, all I can say is by geez I love that stuff! What artistry and design, such a wonderful and elegant balance between simplicity and complexity, it truly does confound our western perception of style.

Cheers

Kim

Sam Price · Post by **Sam Price** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 5:21 am

Absolutely fascinating stuff.

I love Japanese design.

Dave White · Post by **Dave White** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:07 am

A bit more progress. The body has been bound with curly eucalyptus - a tricky task as I didn't have full lengths and some joints aren't as perfect as I would like - but hey it's pretty much a prototype. The fretboards are not glued - just attached via dowels, and the bridge has been made and the outer two pin holes drilled through the top for gluing. It's held in place with two of the ebony bridge pins that will be used. I decided on a sycamore bridge to tie in with the fretboards. I am trying a lot of new things in this build and the fretboard postion markers are Old Rio Rosewood ones I made from the off-cuts of the headstock veneer. The nuts and sadlles are also going to be Old Rio RosewoodHere it is reposing against the Kimono:

And a side view:

Tom Morici · Post by **Tom Morici** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:20 am

Dave,

That looks great, good call on the binding and bridge choices.
That does tie it all together.

Tom

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 5:54 pm

Dave , that is so so ,,,so cool !

It's magnificent in fact. So, is it called a puppy when first strung up ?

Unbelievably beautiful work mate. An instrument of absolute class.

Really looking forward to the sound clip on this one !

Cheers ,Craig

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