Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Posted: **Thu Nov 17, 2016 1:04 pm**

Hi all,
This is my first attempt at a scratch build, in the style of the famous Gibson J45. I used the Gore/Gilet books as my bible for the construction.
I went with a radial brace pattern on the back instead of the usual ladder bracing. I strung it up last week and have played it for a while each day. From a bit of playing so far,this is an awesomely loud guitar, but well-balanced from the lows to the highs. Sitka spruce top, cherry back and sides, and ebony fingerboard and bridge. Rosewood bindings and tail wedge.

: DBD_2821.JPG (342.65 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2834.JPG (255.53 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2838.JPG (233.69 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2884.JPG (242.4 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2890.JPG (256.3 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2916.JPG (189.02 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2929.JPG (382.48 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2948.JPG (250.38 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2961.JPG (290.37 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

: DBD_2965.JPG (390.71 KiB) Viewed 10938 times

Thanks for looking. Any and all comments welcome.

Posted: **Thu Nov 17, 2016 1:58 pm**

Looks really great Dave.

What is the finish ?

Posted: **Thu Nov 17, 2016 2:10 pm**

Thank you. The finish on the body is rattle-can NC lacquer (Watco brand) overtop of a couple of light epoxy coats, sanded back (mostly to fill the rosewood bindings, but I did the body too). For the neck, I used epoxy to fill and then a shellac sealer coat, followed by many thin coats of Tru-oil.

Posted: **Thu Nov 17, 2016 5:31 pm**

Wow, that looks classy. Great job. Love the colours and the grain in the cherry. The purflings look pretty sharp too...

Posted: **Fri Nov 18, 2016 5:27 am**

Thanks Richard. Classy is what I was striving for!

Posted: **Fri Nov 18, 2016 7:48 pm**

Nice work Dave. Is the top falcate braced?

Posted: **Sat Nov 19, 2016 12:48 pm**

Thanks Martin. It has regular x-bracing with tone bars and finger braces.

Posted: **Sun Nov 20, 2016 11:43 am**

REALLY nice, tastefully appointed, first scratch build or not!

Pat

Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

My first scratch build, J-45 style

My first scratch build, J-45 style

Re: My first scratch build, J-45 style

Re: My first scratch build, J-45 style

Re: My first scratch build, J-45 style

Re: My first scratch build, J-45 style

Re: My first scratch build, J-45 style

Re: My first scratch build, J-45 style

Re: My first scratch build, J-45 style