Just finished Blackwood OM

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peter.coombe
Blackwood
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Just finished Blackwood OM

Post by peter.coombe » Thu Feb 19, 2015 11:56 am

This is my latest. Just finished in time for the Port Fairy folk festival. Adi top, Blackwood back and sides, African Mahogany neck, Indian Rosewood bindings, Qld Maple rosette with Paua ring, Blackwood bridge, Schertler tuners with Ebony knobs, varnish finish. Very clean clear sound, but not as smooth and mellow as the damaged Rosewood guitar. Sounds completely different from the rosewood guitar, and I think I still like the Rosewood but this guitar is still quite raw.

The blackwood is a set I got off ebay from Distinctive Timbers, very happy with their wood. Beautiful dark blackwood, the pictures do not do it justice.
Attachments
Front.jpg
Front.jpg (291.82 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Back.jpg
Back.jpg (379.26 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Front_close.jpg
Front_close.jpg (301.59 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Rosette.jpg
Rosette.jpg (311.24 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Back_close.jpg
Back_close.jpg (390.71 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Back_figure.jpg
Back_figure.jpg (340.26 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Headstock.jpg
Headstock.jpg (295.07 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Tuners.jpg
Tuners.jpg (289.79 KiB) Viewed 9194 times
Peter Coombe - mandolin, mandola and guitar maker
http://www.petercoombe.com

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colburge
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Re: Just finished Blackwood OM

Post by colburge » Thu Feb 19, 2015 12:01 pm

Beautiful work Pete, it has a really nice shape to it.

Perfect finish as well.

Cheers

Col

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ozwood
Blackwood
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Re: Just finished Blackwood OM

Post by ozwood » Thu Feb 19, 2015 4:11 pm

That's really nice Pete, I like everything about that Guitar :cl :cl :cl :cl :cl .

Well done !

Cheers,
Paul .

Kamusur
Blackwood
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Re: Just finished Blackwood OM

Post by Kamusur » Thu Feb 19, 2015 6:45 pm

Very nice Peter, and also looking on the bright side you didn't lend your mate 2 guitars.

Steve

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peter.coombe
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Re: Just finished Blackwood OM

Post by peter.coombe » Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:11 pm

Very nice Peter, and also looking on the bright side you didn't lend your mate 2 guitars.
Good point!

Peter
Peter Coombe - mandolin, mandola and guitar maker
http://www.petercoombe.com

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peter.coombe
Blackwood
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Re: Just finished Blackwood OM

Post by peter.coombe » Sat Feb 21, 2015 9:48 am

Perfect finish as well.
Not so sure about that, nothing is ever perfect. There is a bit of a story about the finish. Last year I ran out of nitro before the National Folk Festival. Durobond quoted 6 weeks delivery, which was after the festival, so had to do something quick. Decided to use the same varnish I use on my mandolins (Target Coatings EM2000, water based alkyd resin varnish. i.e. an oil varnish in a water emulsion). Finished it on time, and it looked surprisingly good, but it is not as shiny nor as level as nitro so I was a little disappointed. Anyway I was sitting at my booth looking at the back of the guitars and if I tilt my head this way and move over there so the light was right, I could see some fine brush marks on the varnished guitar. Looking at the perfectly shiny flat guitars across the isle it was mmm. Plus could see a few other flaws. Decided would not use varnish on a guitar ever again. Then blow me down if people didn't start pointing at the varnished guitar saying "love the finish". Even a couple of the shiny guitar makers did the same thing! It was getting annoying, can't they see the flaws? So I got up out of my chair and walked around to the front and had a look. The varnished guitar was sitting next to two guitars I finished with nitro. Well bugger me, they were right! The varnish DOES look better. Is difficult to describe the difference, but it was noticeable. Changed my mind, no more nitro. Is best to look at the bigger picture and not get bogged down in the details.

Every finish has advantages and disadvantages. The varnish is softer than nitro, but it goes on thinner and is more flexible so from an acoustic point of view it gets the nod. Personally I don't think there is much difference to the sound with guitars. My varnished guitars do seem to sound a bit "looser" when new, but that is about it. On the other hand on mandolins nitro seems to give a sight edge to the sound that I don't like so have always used varnish on mandolins. Varnish is also not as forgiving as nitro. Stuff up and it can be difficult to recover without sanding back and starting over. With nitro if you get a run, sand it level then re-spray and it disappears. That just doesn't happen with varnish, and it can take many coats to recover from a run so you definitely don't want them. Varnish is not really shiny, more of a semi gloss, but then I don't particularly like very shiny finishes. Being so thin, every little defect shows so you need to be anal retentive about preparation. I also don't like spraying water based finishes. You need to be anal retentive about cleaning the gun, and you can't leave the varnish in the gun between coats, it will gum up. Much time is spent cleaning and precious little time spent actually spraying. The good bits are EM2000 brushes well, but it does require good brushing skills and the right brush for best results. Best of all it is non toxic, and smells hardly at all. It smells like oil varnish, but no where near as strong, and the smell disappears after the varnish dries. It dries really quickly so dusts and insects are not an issue, recoat in 90mins. So, no fumes, no mask nor protective clothing needed. If you do get it on your hands, just wash off with water, and clean the brush under the tap. Also no problems with temperature or high humidity, although it is not a good idea to apply in very hot weather, it dries too quickly and does not level properly. In hot weather I brush the stuff in air conditioned comfort. Can't do that with nitro! On the mandolins I buff with micromesh and French polish over the varnish. EM2000 is compatible with shellac, although the alcohol does soften the varnish, but it hardens up again after a couple of days. French polish is so tricky and time consuming, and with a much bigger surface area to polish, I avoid that with the guitars and just buff with micromesh.

Some of the American makers are using varnish of various sorts on their guitars, but here in Australia I have not come across any one not using some form of lacquer on guitars. That may be because they have some strict air quality controls in the US that we don't have here so it becomes very difficult to use volatile organic solvents.
Peter Coombe - mandolin, mandola and guitar maker
http://www.petercoombe.com

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demonx
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Re: Just finished Blackwood OM

Post by demonx » Fri Mar 13, 2015 7:57 am

Very nice build. I'm a big fan of blackwood

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