My First Guitar-OM Blog

Take us through building your guitar step by step. Post pictures and tell us what you're doing.
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johnnparchem
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Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:50 pm
Location: Seattle
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Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by johnnparchem »

A very nice guitar! I really like the design elements like the head stock inlays, the rosette and the fret board inlays. They all go together well to make a stunning looking guitar.
mnmusic
Posts: 141
Joined: Tue Nov 26, 2013 7:15 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by mnmusic »

Very nice! An OM will be my second build after I first build a 000.

Well done!

Ed
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Thank you everyone. I enjoyed building it.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Thank you everyone for your comments.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Zen
Posts: 301
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 12:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by Zen »

Excellent Guitar !! Beautiful work as well.
I know this is an old post but just wondering could you tell me what process you used to finish the top ? I have just had a shaky start finishing my dreadnought with shellac using the french polishing method and i have decided to scrape it all back to bare wood and start again. I'm not fussy if its gloss or satin but I just need to get a suitably hard finish on there that will last and look good. Its a sitka spruce top and the back and sides are Indian rosewood. I have not yet decided what to do with the back and sides.
Any info appreciated
best Regards
Rusty
RUSTY
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Zen wrote:Excellent Guitar !! Beautiful work as well.
I know this is an old post but just wondering could you tell me what process you used to finish the top ? I have just had a shaky start finishing my dreadnought with shellac using the french polishing method and i have decided to scrape it all back to bare wood and start again. I'm not fussy if its gloss or satin but I just need to get a suitably hard finish on there that will last and look good. Its a sitka spruce top and the back and sides are Indian rosewood. I have not yet decided what to do with the back and sides.
Any info appreciated
best Regards
Rusty
Hi Rusty,

I found shellac hard to work with in the beginning also. Since I have problems with my hands, I decided on an alternative to French Polish. I used the technique that is used on Stansell guitars, instead of French polishing. I can tell you that it took me 3 attempts before I got it right, even using this technique. I ended up using alcohol and scraping the shellac off of the guitar a couple of times, then I started again. I finished the entire guitar box, including the top, in shellac. Since the neck and headstock get more punishment, I finished them with rub on polyurethane.

I made the mistake of trying to "even out" the shellac, like you do with poly. Of course, it dries so quickly, all I ended up doing was messing up the finish. I finally had to relax and just apply it. It's easily leveled out between coats with fine sandpaper.

Using the Stansell Guitars technique, the one thing I found was that shellac levels really fast with sandpaper; I ended up using 600 grit between the flood coats, to level out the shellac. When I used any grit under this, I ended up sanding through the finish.

Here is the site that has the instructions on how Stansell finishes his guitars: http://www.stansellguitars.com/construc ... lac-finish

Here is the Youtube video of how Stansell finishes his guitars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk8wmr-Np4s
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Zen
Posts: 301
Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 12:35 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by Zen »

Thank You for some great advise there Diane. I will indeed check out the Stansell method and hopefully get the hang of it
All the best
Rusty
RUSTY
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Just when you think it's done...it's not.

I've been tweaking the OM for the past month. The treble was a big "twangy", so I tried changing strings. I'm currently using Elixir HD's, which are made for a guitar of this size. It helped, however, it wasn't quite enough, so I took a good look at the nut and saddle. I decided that I could have done a better job with the saddle, so I made another.

What a difference this small step made. First, although I thought I had it dead flat, it wasn't; second, the shape could have been smoother, along the side. This time, I smoothed the bottom by using sandpaper on top of the marble counter top; I double checked that it was absolutely flat with my fret leveling beam, then triple checked using my machinist ruler.

I finally got a fret crowning file, which worked well to ensure that the top of the saddle was evenly rounded. I knew that I had to file an angle for the B string as well as the bass E, for intonation, so I did a preliminary angle. I fit the saddle into the bridge, tight enough that it won't fall out, but not so tight that I have to use a tool to get it out. After installing the new saddle and restringing with new strings, I gave her a try.

Holy SHINOLA!

The "twang" is gone and the bass and mids are strong. In fact, the entire guitar projects HUGE! I recorded 4 cords, + the individual strings on January 16th, prior to replacing the saddle. After replacing the saddle, I recorded the same sequence of cords and strings, using the same recorder (my phone, unfortunately), the same location, with the phone the same distance and position, and me in the same position. The guitar projects twice as much. The sustain has been great since it was built; now it's a good 50% longer.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by MaineGeezer »

Those seemingly innocuous details can make so much difference. I hope I don't overlook too many of them! But at this point I have no idea what matters.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: My First Guitar-OM Blog

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

MaineGeezer wrote:Those seemingly innocuous details can make so much difference. I hope I don't overlook too many of them! But at this point I have no idea what matters.
Neither do I Steve; neither do I. I'm just playing it by ear, so to speak.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
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