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You would be very welcome! There really is something very compelling about guitar making like yours though - I think for me it has a lot to do with the functional nature of the object being created, combined with the artistic element which is so obviously present in your work as well. Add the considerable skill and know-how needed, and it is a potent mix! No wonder I have been staring at your guitar in progress with my mouth open!
Originally Posted by wwwilkie
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11-20-2010 12:31 PM
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Thanks again Meggy, very nice of you to say. Still plenty to do on this guitar although the next few steps involve lots of down time. In a day or two it will go into the UV lightbox where it will stay for somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 weeks, then comes the finishing process. I'll be doing a traditional french polish finish using shellac and this will be done in my new shop which will be ready to set up in about 4 weeks time. I'm relocating across the harbor to Royston, BC.
Thanks also to SamBooka, clem-gael, billkath, and lindydanny for your continued interest!
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Jeeze... Another fine instrument, that isn't made in the USA.
~DB
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Construction is complete as soon as I get the heel cap on there and for this I'm using nicely figured bigleaf maple to match the rest of the guitar. A piece of black fiber material is glued to the bottom of the cap to create a black line to line up with the body binding.
Photos 2 and 3 show the shaping of the heel cap after it has been glued on and for this I use various sanding blocks (I've got a million of 'em). I make it only slightly over-sized to keep the shaping to a minimum.
Photo 4 shows the heel cap after it has been blended into the neck and after the first coat of finish has been applied. As I mentioned in a previous post I'm using shellac and am doing a traditional french polish finish. I mix super blonde shellac flakes in grain alcohol and the first coat is simply wiped on.
Photo 5 shows the back after the first coat of finish,
and #6 the front of guitar after the fingerboard has been taped off.
I have only recently started to apply a coat of finish before putting the instrument in the UV lightbox and I do this mainly for protection. The colour it receives using this method is dramatic but also very thin making it all too easy to sand away some of the colour if a minor repair needed to be done, so it is nice to have a protective coat on there. One thing I have noticed doing it this way is that it somehow intensifies the UV effect and will need less time in the box. I really don't know why this is so if there is a chemist out there I would love to hear a theory. Could the finish act as a sort of magnifying glass?
I'll be checking the guitar every few days to monitor it's progress but if I had to guess I'd say it's going to be in there for as much as 2 weeks. We'll just have to wait and see.
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Wow!
A truly beautiful instrument.
That is amazing. I have really enjoyed reading this thread and watching these pieces of wood become an instrument and a work of art.
Thank You.
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Wow Wyatt that looks like a great set-up for growing your "tomato" plants. My guess is the shellac is aging and not the wood but I'm not a chemist. Keep up the good work.
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+1 Originally Posted by horel
I'd guess you're getting the combination of the two which would increase the effect.
Beautiful work and lovely instrument.
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Man, I want one! If I could only get my wife to let me spend the extra cash...
~DB
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It's nearly ready!!! Man, it looks classy.
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WWWILKIE Hi i once spoke to you about a guitar builder near me called paul mcnab (paulman).sadly as you know he died.However i used to get some fretboard juice of him which was really great stuff,he would only tell me that it contained lemon oil and another secret ingredient he has now taken this knowledge to the grave.So i wondered if you might know what this other secret ingredient might have been.
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Sorry, I don't know. Originally Posted by gingerjazz
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I'd wager it had some linseed oil in it. I've used that as a wipe on finish for a while now.
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It's been in the UV lightbox for a full week now and I thought I would take a few photos to show the difference in colour.
The first two show before and after shots of the front using the same lighting.
Next is a current shot of the neck.
I'm thinking another week will do it, Steve wants it to "glow in the dark".Last edited by wwwilkie; 12-12-2010 at 11:49 PM.
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Thank you very much. I'm glad there has been so much interest in this thread, makes me want to do it again sometime. Originally Posted by gpmedium
I'm in the process of moving shop so it will be a bit longer between posts right now. The next steps will be the design and building of the bridge, tailpiece and finger rest.
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Some details of your French Polish method would be entertaining.
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You really can see how the UV adds depth to wood, very interesting. And all the beautiful flamed wood on the back, binding and neck looks just drop-dead gorgeous! - about the nicest looking thing I have seen for a long while.
I cannot wait to see what the final instrument looks like when ready to play.
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Will do! Originally Posted by kenbennett
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Originally Posted by Meggy
You really can see how the UV adds depth to wood, very interesting. And all the beautiful flamed wood on the back, binding and neck looks just drop-dead gorgeous! - about the nicest looking thing I have seen for a long while. I cannot wait to see what the final instrument looks like when ready to play.
Thank you!
I plan to take it out of the box tomorrow, having achieved what I think is the right look. Now the finishing process begins. I'll get into that after the big move which is coming up in a few days.Last edited by wwwilkie; 12-12-2010 at 10:10 PM.
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The new shop is coming into focus and I'm getting back to work on Steve's guitar by mixing shellac flakes with grain alcohol. I've been using a coffee grinder to reduce the flakes a bit, making them dissolve quicker but I seem to have misplaced the grinder in the move so I'll go back to the old mortar and pestle. I mix for a 2 lb. cut. Next I'll clear a space and get to it.
The second photo shows the shop yesterday with a lot of work yet to do.
Happy New Year by the way.
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Thanks for sharing again. Quick question, woodworker to woodworker: Do you have a dedicated dust collection system or do you just use one or more shop vacs?
~DB
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I use a series of shop vacs. I would love to have a great big powerful dust collection system, but I just haven't gotten around to it. What have you got? Originally Posted by lindydanny
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I bought a dust collector (single stage) but I don't have the power requirements for it in my basement. I built a separator out of a trash can that I hook my shop vac to. Makes a good substitute, but I want to get the wire pulled for the big one and get piped for better collection.
~DB
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It's been a while but I'm finally set up in the new shop and back to work.
For the finish I'm using the previously dissolved ultra-blonde shellac flakes, grain alcohol and mineral oil. It takes quite a bit of practice to get the mixture just right, and it takes even more patience. It's a lengthy process to say the least but in my opinion it's worth the extra work. Using a wad of cheese-cloth for the core, the shellac/alcohol/oil mixture is added and a tight-knit square of cotton cloth is used for the outside applicator.
You know it's going on right if you can't see the liquid on the surface of the guitar but instead you'll see a quickly evaporating cloud trailing behind the pad. I use circular motions mostly but will use many different patterns during the entire process. In one session I'll spend about 45 minutes to an hour going over the entire guitar.
The 3rd photo shows the back of the neck after only one session,
and the back.
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nice
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I don't make my living as a luthier these days, but I did go to the Roberto-Venn school of luthiery years ago. Today I do some modifications and repairs for my friends guitars for free, as well as my instruments.
Indeed, building an archtop from scratch is a BIG job! My first archtop was pretty, but the top was too thick. My second one was really gorgeous but the top wasn't quite right. I used to think that the top should be of uniform thickness all the way across. As it turns out, having the outer perimeter thinner (called the recurve) is crucial to allowing the top to become the vibrating membrane that makes some guitars sound so good.
By the way, the method of making glue by mixing shellac flakes with grain alcohol is great if your surfaces fit together tightly (professional). For the beginner however If there are any gaps, no matter how slight, yellow wood glue might be a better option.
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