Tenor guitar build thread
- martintaylor
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Tenor guitar build thread
Hi all,
I am building a Tenor guitar from my own plans. Thought I'd share some pics along the way.
Back and sides - River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
Back bracing - Queensland Maple (Flindersia brayleyana)
Soundboard - King Billy Pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides}
Sound board bracing - Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii)
Neck - Recycled Red Cedar
Fretboard - River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
Binding - Recycled Silky Oak
Red Gum back bookmatched
Sides Bent and joined to blocks. Red gum is hard to bend! had to go to 195°C
Back bracing going on
Joining back to sides
Centre strip, side reinforcement done
Soundboard bracing done
Box closed
I am building a Tenor guitar from my own plans. Thought I'd share some pics along the way.
Back and sides - River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
Back bracing - Queensland Maple (Flindersia brayleyana)
Soundboard - King Billy Pine (Athrotaxis selaginoides}
Sound board bracing - Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii)
Neck - Recycled Red Cedar
Fretboard - River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
Binding - Recycled Silky Oak
Red Gum back bookmatched
Sides Bent and joined to blocks. Red gum is hard to bend! had to go to 195°C
Back bracing going on
Joining back to sides
Centre strip, side reinforcement done
Soundboard bracing done
Box closed
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Hi Martin,
Looks great!
I'd definitely be interested to see more pics as your build progresses!
Thanks,
GregL.
Looks great!
I'd definitely be interested to see more pics as your build progresses!
Thanks,
GregL.
Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Nice, I don't recall any other builds with river red gum, it will be interesting to see it with a finish next to Silky-oak bindings. You going to do another tru oil finish?
Col
Col
Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Tenors are darn fun, I've built two so far and I'm sure there are more to come. Yours looks great!
Kerry
Kerry
KLW Strings Luthier Blog...
http://klwstrings.blogspot.ca/
http://klwstrings.blogspot.ca/
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Hi Col, I'll be doing the Danish Oil finish again. I have tested some scraps with the Red Gum and they look good.colburge wrote:Nice, I don't recall any other builds with river red gum, it will be interesting to see it with a finish next to Silky-oak bindings. You going to do another tru oil finish?
Col
haha, is it brave to be stupid? Bending the sides was tough but I got there in the end. Had to set the bending iron to 195°C before it would move.kiwigeo wrote:River Red gum...give that man a medal for bravery.
I am enjoying the experiment so far, so hopefully she'll work out.
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Bending red gum......it's all about getting the stuff to bend before it catches fire
Martin
Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Often by name and nature it's not called 'hardwood' for nothinkiwigeo wrote:Bending red gum......it's all about getting the stuff to bend before it catches fire
Steve
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Some more progress pics
Binding channels routed
Silky Oak Bindings going on
Fretboard shaped in my jig. 12" radius.
Fret slots going in
Jig for routing the dovetail. Stewmac with base with some additions.
Starting to shape the neck. I love this part.
Old Martin style bridge for this one. RIver Red Gum.
Neck on, Frets in.
Ready for oiling. I use Danish Oil (6 coats) and then Carnuba Wax (2 coats)
Gotta love this part! I love seeing the timber come alive.
The River Red Gum back is looking nice too.
Binding channels routed
Silky Oak Bindings going on
Fretboard shaped in my jig. 12" radius.
Fret slots going in
Jig for routing the dovetail. Stewmac with base with some additions.
Starting to shape the neck. I love this part.
Old Martin style bridge for this one. RIver Red Gum.
Neck on, Frets in.
Ready for oiling. I use Danish Oil (6 coats) and then Carnuba Wax (2 coats)
Gotta love this part! I love seeing the timber come alive.
The River Red Gum back is looking nice too.
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
Re: Tenor guitar build thread
The silky bindings are a great combo with the redwood, l really like it, well done on another beautiful guitar.
Cheers
Col
Cheers
Col
Re: Tenor guitar build thread
The timbers look beautiful, but what about the weight of the red gum? It is so dense, I'm wondering if the instrument will be on the heavy side. Ed.
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
edrobins wrote:The timbers look beautiful, but what about the weight of the red gum? It is so dense, I'm wondering if the instrument will be on the heavy side. Ed.
Hi Ed,
I've kept the back and sides pretty thin. When she's all finished I'll weigh her and see how I went. She still feels pretty light.
Martin
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
- slowlearner
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Looks fantastic.
What does the carnuba wax do for the oil finish?
What does the carnuba wax do for the oil finish?
Pete
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
slowlearner wrote:Looks fantastic.
What does the carnuba wax do for the oil finish?
Hi Pete,
I use the wax to get a final hand buffed finish. Probably not completely necessary but I find it is an extra protective finish.
Martin
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Here she is, all finished! Sounds amazing. Will hopefully get some sounds recorded soon.
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
So, finding a case for a Tenor Guitar is a little harder than expected. Off to the shed and now a case/road case is born.
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Excuse the rudimentary playing but I finally did a recording of this Tenor. Give a man GarageBand and anything is possible! The link is an mp3.
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au/au...20Universe.mp3
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au/au...20Universe.mp3
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
- martintaylor
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
oops, the link is broken, try this one http://martintaylorguitars.com.au/audio ... iverse.mp3
Martin Taylor
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
http://martintaylorguitars.com.au
- Nick
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Re: Tenor guitar build thread
Love the sound of this little fella Martin, very 'folky' sort of feel to it, a very tight focussed sound,loving it. Good job
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- Dennis Leahy
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