My Latest Effort

A place where you can let us see your finished instruments in all their glory.

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Pete Brown
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My Latest Effort

Post by Pete Brown » Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:07 am

This one is a gift to a musician mate in Melbourne. I'll deliver it in person next week which is the least I can do after promising it to him 18 months ago! It's been strung up for the past week and I'll carry out final adjustments to the nut, saddle and action over the weekend. It certainly hasn't been without its dramas and there's ample evidence that my finishing skills have a way to go, but overall I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Best of all, it's easily my best effort to date in terms of tone.

Soundboard: Engelmann spruce
Back and sides: East Indian rosewood
Neck: Queensland maple
Fretboard and bridge: ebony
Bindings and trim: koa
Rosette and fretboard inlay: green abalone
Tuners: Schaller mini
Fretwire: Gold "Evo"
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back.jpg
bodyBridgeHorz.jpg
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headstockRear.jpg
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Cheers
Pete

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Daniel_M
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Daniel_M » Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:54 am

great job Pete, among other things I really like the headstock-simple and elegant. Your finishing skills look great! Being a little more shallow how does it sound?

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ozwood
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by ozwood » Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:38 am

Looks pretty bloody good to me , finish and all , It's good to strive for perfection ,but if you finish one better than that I will be impressed.

Awsome looking Guitar mate , Love it.
Paul .

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Kim
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Kim » Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:24 am

Lovely work Pete its all tied in beautifully and if the tone is your best yet you really have something to smile about.

Cheers

Kim

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Allen
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Allen » Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:34 am

Very stylish Pete. I like the headstock design to go along with a cutaway.
Allen R. McFarlen
https://www.brguitars.com
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Cairns, Australia

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Nick
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Nick » Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:12 am

Very tasty Pete (in fact I think it's that tasty that somebody's already taken a bite out of the headstock! :lol: ) :cl . Nice clean lines & the Koa binding really works in well. I particularly like the purf line border of the headstock face, just gives it that extra touch of class. Do I detect a little 'homage' touch to Benedetto in the twelth fret inlay? :) Finish looks alright to me too, I'd say your mate is sure going to be happy with it & decide that it was well worth the wait. :wink:
"Jesus Loves You."
Nice to hear in church but not in a Mexican prison.

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ozziebluesman
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by ozziebluesman » Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:25 am

G'day Pete,

Absolutely beautiful guitar mate and I think the finish looks great.

It is a great attribute to seek perfection but there is always something that goes wrong along the way!

Cheers

Alan
"Play to express, not to impress"

Alan Hamley

http://www.hamleyfineguitars.com/

Pete Brown
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Pete Brown » Sat Apr 23, 2011 11:25 am

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments.
Daniel_M wrote:Being a little more shallow how does it sound?
Daniel, while it's shallower than some, the upper bout depth of 95mm is actually 10mm deeper than the Martin specs I have. It certainly doesn't lack for bass response, which may be due in part to the rosewood back and sides.
Nick wrote:Do I detect a little 'homage' touch to Benedetto in the twelth fret inlay?
Nick, I claim it as my own, but it's most definitely inspired by Benedetto's inlays. It's minimalist and easy to accomplish, both of which I view as positive attributes!

I finished the guitar with Grafted Coatings' KTM-SV which I'm pretty impressed with. The main problem was that it was my first attempt with that product and I was overly cautious when I level sanded; I wasn't thorough enough - particularly on the edges - for fear of sanding through. I also had a false start when it came to rubbing it out. I began rubbing out the finish by hand - with limited success - then pretty much started afresh once I'd given up and forked out the cash for a Shopfox buffing arbor. By that stage, I had even greater concerns about the finish thickness which further contributed to my tentative approach and the less-than-perfect finish.

While I'm in the mood for fessing up, the more astute observers among you will have noticed that the neck joins the body at fret 14 1/2! The guitar was intended to be an OM with its 25.4" scale, but after measuring for the bridge position not once, not twice, but three times, I managed to position it as if for the shorter 24.9" scale I'd always used to that point. By the time I'd realised my blunder, I'd removed the finish in the area of the bridge. The only solution was to make another OM neck with a 000 fretboard. Most importantly, it isn't a huge discrepancy and the bridge pins still pass through the bridge plate.

At the risk of sounding too negative, I do tend to put to one side any aspects of the guitar which I feel meet my standards and focus on the problem areas, first identifying areas for improvement, then figuring out methods which will (hopefully!) return better results next time around. Finishing is likely to be an area needing refinement of my techniques for some time to come!

Cheers
Pete

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kiwigeo
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by kiwigeo » Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:36 pm

Nice work Pete....

Would like to hear more about your experiences with the KTM-SV finish.

Cheers Martin
Martin

Pete Brown
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Pete Brown » Sat Apr 23, 2011 12:44 pm

kiwigeo wrote:Nice work Pete....

Would like to hear more about your experiences with the KTM-SV finish.

Cheers Martin
Thanks Martin.

I blogged about KTM-SV here:
http://woodwithstrings.blogspot.com/201 ... tings.html

and here:
http://woodwithstrings.blogspot.com/201 ... oblem.html

Cheers
Pete

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DarwinStrings
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by DarwinStrings » Sat Apr 23, 2011 3:23 pm

That would be a pat on the back from me too. Nice work Pete and I look forward to getting around to your blogs when I get the chance.

Jim
Life is good when you are amongst the wood.
Jim Schofield

liam_fnq
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by liam_fnq » Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:32 pm

Classy look overall Pete. A bit of trim but not too much. well done

Pete Brown
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Pete Brown » Sat Apr 23, 2011 6:53 pm

Thanks guys!

Note to self: don't use MOP dots in koa fingerboard binding!

Cheers
Pete

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Lillian
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Lillian » Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:51 pm

Pete, its looks grand. Simply understated elegance. I'm sure your friend will forgive you the wait just as soon as he sees it.

seeaxe
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by seeaxe » Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:42 am

Pete, lovely guitar, very elegant indeed. Well done.

For your soundhole did you put any reinforcing on the inside of the ribs where you cut it out??.

Cheers
Richard

Pete Brown
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Re: My Latest Effort

Post by Pete Brown » Sun Apr 24, 2011 9:59 am

Thanks Lillian and Richard!

Richard, to reinforce the area around the soundport, I laminated two layers of veneer (black and natural maple), waited for the glue to dry then sized them to wedge between the linings (they're pretty flexible if their grain runs in the same direction). They were glued in place with their grain at right angles to the grain of the sides.

The separate walnut piece, bent to a slightly smaller radius than that of the sides, acted as a clamp as I glued in the veneers. I applied glue to the veneer laminate which I slid into position between the linings, placed the walnut caul on top and clamped either end. The walnut caul was a bit of an experiment, the success of which was questionable, although it worked well enough. The port itself was cut out and side "braces" added at either end of the veneer once the glue had dried.
SoundportClamp.jpg
SoundportClamp.jpg (25.59 KiB) Viewed 16100 times
Cheers
Pete

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