Cherry parlor guitar, project #2

[MaineGeezer]

I drilled and reamed the bridge pin holes and got the saddle and nut roughly fitted, enough to put strings on. I tried some light gauge GHS silk and bronze. It sounds very nice, with good sustain and full tone from bass to treble. Carter's unorthodox bracing scheme seems to work quite well. I'll have a better idea after I get the saddle and nut properly shaped so the strings don't buzz because they are resting on the flat top of the saddle instead of a well-defined break point. Initial impression though, is highly favorable. Yahoo!

[Diane Kauffmds]

Great news; can't wait to see the photos of the finished guitar!

[johnnparchem]

Sure is fun to hear a guitar fro the first time. There is a huge difference between the sound of the rough setup and a proper setup. An exciting time.

[MaineGeezer]

It is pretty much complete. The saddle still needs the ends trimmed and a few frets need to be crowned after leveling. I may polish the finish again. Otherwise, it's DONE.

[MaineGeezer]

Here are some more photos.

[MaineGeezer]

Here is a sound sample. The microphone was not all that great, but I think it still sounds pretty good.

[ruby@magpage.com]

Well done - the cherry looks great.

About the rosette and purfling - how much time do you have into it? Was it hard to level? Would you do it again?

And can you show another picture of the peghead so I can see how the slots in the front don't come through in the back.

Ed

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Yes siree, it sounds like a GEETAR.
Nicely done, sounds great...would make a great bluegrass player I think.

[johnnparchem]

congratulations, looks and sounds great!

[MaineGeezer]

Well done - the cherry looks great.

About the rosette and purfling - how much time do you have into it? Was it hard to level? Would you do it again?

And can you show another picture of the peghead so I can see how the slots in the front don't come through in the back.

Ed

There are some more pictures of the peghead in the blog starting here
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=7255&start=70#p40532 and for the next few entries. If there is some other angle you would like to see, let me know. There is nothing particularly complicated about it-- I just cut grooves with a 9/16" diameter ball-end cutter that are 5/8" deep, and the headstock (with the cap) is 3/4" thick. I happen to have a milling machine, but you could do it with a router and fences or templates to guide the cuts.

As far as the purfling goes....that's described in previous entries. The installation was was more difficult than I anticipated. The black epoxy filler made a mess when I sanded it. It's important to have the groove the proper depth, because the pattern is not very thick (0.040" I think) and while that ought to be plenty, my general lack of skill in installing the stuff resulted in me sanding through the rosette. I had to cut out the remains of the rosette and install a new strip.
It is also fairly expensive. Including the fret markers and tail pin, I think the assorted Purflex items for the rosette, back strip, and edge purfling came to something like $204. Plus another $40 or something for the second piece I needed to replace the one I sanded through in the rosette.
The stuff does look nice, especially when it's installed by somebody who has more artistic talent than I do. Some of the pictures on the Purflex website http://purflex.net/Purflex/Welcome.html are incredible.
I am glad I tried it, and I (mostly) like the result. Would I do it again? Probably not. If for some reason the right situation came up (e.g. somebody with more money than brains asked me to build them a guitar with Purflex trim) I guess I would, but I doubt I'll ever do it for myself again.