Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

Hi, this guitar is not named after a gold mine on the Charters Towers goldfields as others usually are, but after a long-time mate, Tom, who passed away after a long illness.
The back and sides are from a large slab of African Walnut Tom gave me before he passed, saying he will not get a chance to use it now. A while after his passing I asked his wife if I could build a guitar in his memory, using the Walnut he had given me. I had sliced it up and got four sets out of the board. I also used cedar for the top that I had bought at the same time and at the same place he bought the Walnut, twenty-five years earlier.
The guitar is a ‘000’ size and style, the inlays depict his interests, achievements, and quirks. In a one-room bedsit in Melbourne, he built a large-scale size galleon on the kitchen table. He was a very keen competitive cyclist… The 12th fret marker shows another passion, we could not travel too far without stopping for a cup of tea… A perfectionist for all those years… …and a very skilled woodworker. I presented the guitar to his wife on the first anniversary of his passing.
Cheers Taff

Hi Taffy,
A fitting tribute. As I have said before I just admire your inlay skill and love the story it depicts.
The walnut displays beautiful figure.
I think you may like the 000 size guitar?
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Alan

That one is a stunner Taffy. I love the inlay work and the story telling. I am sure that Tommy's family will cherish it. And you still have a few sets of that walnut to work with!

Hi guys, Thanks Alan and Mark for your interest.
Alan, it was you who introduced me to the 000-style guitar when you ordered one from me many years ago. Something about those dimensions that's works for me. Good volume and great tone, if I get it right.

Mark, I have two tests left now, my next build will use one of them. I did not realise how well this guitar sounded until I played it for the family, and others, at a Budist-style remembrance ceremony under the palm trees on a beach north of Cairns. I had never played it in the open air before and sounded so much better.

The bracing is not as fancy as some shown here, but I'm a bit long in the tooth to start relearning. Cheers Taff